Biofuel by Decree - Unmasking Burma's bio-energy fiasco
Published: 2008
Organization: Ethnic Community Development Forum
In December 2005, Burma’s Senior General Than Shwe ordered the start of a nation-wide- campaign to plant the toxic bush-like tree, Jatropha curcas, for biodiesel production. The country was to plant eight million acres, or an area the size of Belgium, within three years. Two years on, this report documents how Burma’s people have endured forced labor, confiscation of farmlands, loss of income and threats to food security under the program. At the same time, testimonies of crop failure and mismanagement from all of Burma’s states expose the campaign as a fiasco.
Dammed by Burma's Generals - The Karenni Experience with hydropower Development, from Lawpita to the Salween.
Published: 2006
Organization: Karenni Development Research Group
Dammed by Burma’s Generals, chronicles the impacts of the Lawpita hydropower project since the early 1960s. Promised abundant electricity and irrigation, the local population instead suffered from forced displacement, water shortages, increased militarization, human rights abuses, and thousands of landmines planted to secure the project. Most of the power was sent directly to Rangoon; still today 80% of the Karenni are without electricity.
Damming the Irrawaddy
Published: 2007
Organization: Kachin Development Networking Group and Kachin Environmental Organization
The report outlines the potential impacts of the first dam on Burma’s Irrawaddy River, including the displacement of 10,000 people, livelihood destruction, and threats to the endangered Irrawaddy dolphin. A timeline and profiles of the companies involved in the project are included as well as a description of the six other dams planned for the N’Mai and Mali rivers.
Damming at Gunpoint - Burma Army Atrocities Pave the Way for Salween Dams in Karen State
Published: November 2004
Organization: Karen Rivers Watch
As Thailand proceeds with plans to join Burma’s military regime in building a series of dams on the Salween River to gain “cheap” electricity, this report reveals the atrocities being inflicted on the people of Northern Karen State to pave the way for two of the planned dams.
The Upper Salween (Wei Gyi) Dam and Lower Salween (Dar Gwin) Dam are planned to be built on the river where it forms the border between Thailand’s Mae Hong Son province and Burma’s Karen State. Together they will produce about 5,300 MW of electricity. It is estimated that the reservoir for the Upper Dam will stretch for 380 kilometers inside Karen and Karenni States of Burma.
Aftershocks Along Burma's Mekong - Reef-blasting and military-style development in Eastern Shan State
Published: August 2003
Organization: Lahu National Development Organization
Many of the Lahu in Shan State live along the Mekong River, and like the other peoples living and depending on the river, were not consulted about plans to blast the Mekong reefs. The first they knew about the plans were when the explosions began, destroying forever sections of the river which had sustained them physically and spiritually for generations.
Secrecy and lack of consultation with affected communities are common aspects of development projects under the military regime in Burma. To this day, the Burmese state-run media has not even mentioned the Mekong reef-blasting program to the general public. What is more alarming is that this navigation improvement project is a regional initiative under the Greater Mekong Subregion Program of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and should have been carried out according to rigorous international standards, ensuring proper environmental and social impact assessments and participation of all affected communities
In the Balance - Salween dams threaten ownstream communities in Burma
Organization: Mon Youth Progressive Organization
The Salween is Southeast Asia's longest free flowing river and one of Burma's most important waterways. For the hafl a million people living where the river meets the Andaman Sea, the Salween is a way of life interlinked with its seasonal flows and daily tides. However, Burmas military dictatorship, together with Thai and Chinese investors, is moving ahead with plans to dam the Salween. The communities living downstream have not been informed or consulted about the dam plans or their potential impacts, even though their lives stand to be permanently altered.
Under the Boot - The Burma Army clears the way for Chinese dams on the Shweli River
Organization: Ta'ang Students and Youth Organization
AThis is the story of Man Tat village, a hamlet of 700 ethnically Palaung tea and rice farmers, fishers, hunters, mothers, and children. The village is located 90 kilometers from the Chinese town of Ruili, inside northern Burma. In late 2000, 300 armed soldiers from Burma's army converged on the village and set up a permanent base there. Unbeknownst to the villagers, Burma's military junta was planning to build a hydropower dam in their sacred Shweli River togheter with Chinese companies. Nothing has been the same since.
Earth Rights Abuses in Burma Exposed EarthRights School of Burma
Published: Sep 2008
Organization: EarthRights International
This collection of reports is the result of the hard work and dedication of fourteen young men and women from diverse ethnic groups and regions in Burma who attended EarthRights International's year-long leadership school for human rights and environmental advocacy, the EarthRights School of Burma (ERSB). While conducting research the students took great risks, often placing themselves in danger, to reveal the truth about Burma and the perspectives of the people directly affected by human rights abuses and environmental destruction.
Russian-backed Mining Project Threatens Pa-O Communities in Shan State, Burma
Published: June 2009
Organization: Pa-o Youth Organization
In 2004, the Pa-o Youth Organization began hearing concerns from fellow community members about the commencement of an iron ore mining operation and factories at Mount Pinpet, and iconic landmark for the Pa-O just ten kilometers south of the Shan State capital Taunggyi. Over the next few years, villagers became increasingly alarmed about the influx of workers from central Burma, the arrival of Russian personnel together with top military generals, and rumors of uranium depositions in the mountain. Public information about the projects, like many in military-ruled Burma, was extremely limited, however. The organization therefore undertook a three-year investigation into the parameters of the projects. their unfolding impacts, and the potential threats to the surrounding community. this report is a result of that investigation.
Voices from Burma on Earth Rights Abuses
Published: June 2009
Organization: EarthRights International
This publication is a collection of research reports by the students of the EarthRights School of Burma class of 2009. The report documents the findings of their fieldwork research projects undertaken inside and adjacent to Burma. The research reports on 'earth rights' abuses, and focuses on three topics: Land Confiscation, Economic Development, and Human Development.
Covering diverse topics such as infrastructure developments, mining, and people trafficking, the reports uniformly show that the military regime governing Burma respects neither human rights nor the environment, and is willing to sell the Burma’s natural resources and peoples to the highest bidder for short-term profits. A number of reports also highlighted the impacts of the regimes actions on migrant workers and refugees forced to flee to surrounding countries such as Thailand. These people face further instability, poverty, discrimination, and lack of access to jobs and services.
Khoe Kay: Biodiversity in Peril
Published: 2008
Organization: Karen Environmental and Social Action Network
Khoe Kay: Biodiversity in Peril recounts the history, methods and results of more than 3 months of surveys on this bend in the Salween in Karen State, Burma. The researches found 194 plant species and 200 animals, including 42 endangered species, indicating that the area still holds significant biodiversity, but is subject to outside threats. The main threats facing the Salween basin are from proposed dams, and Khoe Kay is located at the Wei Gyi dam site. The report follows the work of the World Commission on Dams to predict several serious impacts, including fisheries, forests, greenhouse gas emissions, and cumulative impacts from a cascade of dams.
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