Dam

Community based organisations, including the Shan Human Rights organisation and Action for Rivers, have called for an immediate halt in government backed dam projects in Shan State, where conflict has escalated in recent months. The Shan Human Rights organisation said it estimated that half of 43 government planned dam projects were to be constructed on rivers inside Shan State –…

General Ner Dah Bo Mya, the head of the Karen National Defence Organisation told Karen News that armed conflict this month in Burma is linked to plans to build hydropower dams on the Salween River. In an exclusive interview General Ner Dah explains to Karen News why he has placed his troops are on high alert. General Ner Dah said…

An environmental coalition of civil society groups group has issued a statement claiming that recent armed conflict in Karen State is linked to the Burma government’s plans to dam the Salween River. Salween Watch said it was “gravely concerned at the recent escalation of fighting and displacement in Karen state, Burma/Myanmar, which is linked to plans by the Burma Army…

General Baw Kyaw Heh, the Karen National Liberation Army’s vice-chief-of-staff, in an exclusive question and answer interview with Karen News discussed the consequences of mega- development projects, hydro-dams, armed conflict, corruption, the current ceasefire, peace talks and the militarization of Burma. Why are you opposed to a dam? Many reasons – too many dams bring too many problems, costs and…

Tens of thousands of people from Shan, Karenni, Karen and Mon State joined with over 100 civil society organisations and political parties to issue a petition on International Day of Action for Rivers to demand an immediate moratorium on Burmese Government plans to construct six dams on the Salween River. The petition, organized by Burma Rivers Network (BRN), released today…

A major dam and highway project in Shan State is destroying the livelihoods of locals, displacing people from dozens of villages, leading to heavy militarization in the area and contaminating water supplies, according to a human rights group. Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) has expressed grave concerns over the impacts on locals of Burma’s first dam project to span the…

Grave concerns over government plans to build six hydroelectric dams on the Salween River. The dam projects would be used to sell hydropower to Burma’s neighbors, China and Thailand. The planned dams lie in ethnic conflict zones where the critical issue of control over natural resources remains unresolved. Members of Burma’s Rivers Network (BRN) including the Karen Rivers Watch, Shan…

Villagers living along the Salween River claim that the Thai energy authority are moving ahead with plans to build a dam at the Hat Gyi site. Villagers in the area said that the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) have put up water level measurement posts on the Salween River bank at the proposed dam site. Local sources alleged that…

Karen National Union, Ler Mu Lah Township leaders warn that there is a risk of a division between the local people and the KNU if the organizations district or central leaders allow the construction of the Tenasserim Dam, in Southern Burma. Saw Thein Su, the KNU leader for Ler Mu Lah Township told Karen News. “The KNU’s Ler Mu Lah…

More than 100 villagers and Kachin based civil society groups held a prayer service to stop the Myit Sone Dam project on the Irrawaddy River and for displaced villagers to return home in Myitkyina, Kachin State last week. Sha Khaung Tan Gon, a representative of the Kachin civil society groups and who participated in the prayer service held on International…