Contested Waterscapes in the Mekong Region Hydropower, Livelihoods and Governance
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Gold Mining in Shwegyin Township, Pegu Division (Earthrights International)
Accessible Alternatives Ethnic Communities’ Contribution to Social Development and Environmental Conservation in Burma Burma Environmental Working Group September 2009 CONTENTS Acknowledgments ......................................................................................... iii About BEWG ................................................................................................. iii Executive Summary ...................................................................................... v Notes on Place Names and Currency .......................................................... vii Burma Map & Case Study Areas ................................................................. viii Introduction ................................................................................................... 1 Arakan State Cut into the Ground: The Destruction of Mangroves and its Impacts on Local Coastal Communities (Network for Environmental and Economic Development - Burma) ................................................................. 2 Traditional Oil Drillers Threatened by China’s Oil Exploration (Arakan Oil Watch) ........................................................................................ 14 Kachin State Kachin Herbal Medicine Initiative: Creating Opportunities for Conservation and Income Generation (Pan Kachin Development Society) ........................ 33 The Role of Kachin People in the Hugawng Valley Tiger Reserve (Kachin Development Networking Group) ................................................... 44 Karen -
Projects to Boost Supply of Irrigation Water Maung Maung Myo (Bago)
Established 1914 Volume XVIII, Number 79 13th Waning of First Waso 1372 ME Friday, 9 July, 2010 Four political objectives * Stability of the State, community peace and tranquillity, Golden deer, star turtles handed prevalence of law and order * National reconsolidation * Emergence of a new enduring State Constitution over to ZPO, Thailand * Building of a new modern developed nation in accord with the new State Constitution Four economic objectives * Development of agriculture as the base and all-round develop- NAY P YI T AW, 8 July—A ceremony to handover Chairman of Thai-Myanmar Friendship As- ment of other sectors of the economy as well * Proper evolution of the market-oriented economic system two pairs of golden deer and five pairs of star turtles sociation General Lertrat Ratanavanich spoke words * Development of the economy inviting participation in terms by the Ministry of Forestry to Zoological Park Or- of technical know-how and investments from sources inside of thanks, presented gift to the Minister. Then, those the country and abroad ganization (ZPO, Thailand) took place at Forest present had documentary photo taken. * The initiative to shape the national economy must be kept in the Department (head office), here, today. It was also attended by departmental heads of hands of the State and the national peoples At the ceremony, Minister for Forestry the Enterprises and Departments under the ministry, Four social objectives * Uplift of the morale and morality of the entire nation U Thein Aung made a speech. rector, deputy directors-general, pro-rectors, direc- * Uplift of national prestige and integrity and preserva- After that, acting Director-General U Aye tors, Second Secretary Mr Roongruk Chanprasert tion and safeguarding of cultural heritage and national Myint Maung of Forest Department handed over character from Thai Embassy, Thai delegation members and * Uplift of dynamism of patriotic spirit documents related to the animals to Director-Gen- guests. -
Mekong Tipping Point
Mekong Tipping Point Richard Cronin Timothy Hamlin MEKONG TIPPING POINT: HYDROPOWER DAMS, HUMAN SECURITY AND REGIONAL STABILITY RICHARD P. CRONIN TIMOTHY HAMLIN AUTHORS ii │ Copyright©2010 The Henry L. Stimson Center Cover design by Shawn Woodley All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written consent from The Henry L. Stimson Center. The Henry L. Stimson Center 1111 19th Street, NW 12th Floor Washington, DC 20036 Phone: 202.223.5956 fax: 202.238.9604 www.stimson.org | iii CONTENTS Preface............................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ............................................................................................ v Hydropower Proposals in the Lower Mekong Basin.......................................viii Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 The Political Economy of Hydropower.............................................................. 5 Man Versus Nature in the Mekong Basin: A Recurring Story..................... 5 D rivers of Hydropower Development................................................................ 8 Dams and Civil Society in Thailand.......................................................... 10 From Migratory to Reservoir Fisheries .................................................... 13 Elusive Support for Cooperative Water Management..................................... -
Identity Crisis: Ethnicity and Conflict in Myanmar
Identity Crisis: Ethnicity and Conflict in Myanmar Asia Report N°312 | 28 August 2020 Headquarters International Crisis Group Avenue Louise 235 • 1050 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32 2 502 90 38 • Fax: +32 2 502 50 38 [email protected] Preventing War. Shaping Peace. Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................... i I. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 II. A Legacy of Division ......................................................................................................... 4 A. Who Lives in Myanmar? ............................................................................................ 4 B. Those Who Belong and Those Who Don’t ................................................................. 5 C. Contemporary Ramifications..................................................................................... 7 III. Liberalisation and Ethno-nationalism ............................................................................. 9 IV. The Militarisation of Ethnicity ......................................................................................... 13 A. The Rise and Fall of the Kaungkha Militia ................................................................ 14 B. The Shanni: A New Ethnic Armed Group ................................................................. 18 C. An Uncertain Fate for Upland People in Rakhine -
CPWF Project Report
CPWF Project Report Mekong Basin Focal Project: Final Report Project Number: PN58 Mac Kirby1, Chayanis Krittasudthacheewa2, Mohammed Mainuddin1, Eric Kemp-Benedict2, Chris Swartz2, Elnora de la Rosa2 1CSIRO Water for a Healthy Country 2Stockholm Environment Institute for submission to the August, 2009 Acknowledgements The Mekong Basin Focal Project was undertaken by the CSIRO, the Stockholm Environment Institute, the Mekong River Commission and the Japan International Research Centre for Agricultural Science. The project was partly funded by all of those organizations and partly by the Challenge Program on Water and Food. Program Preface The Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF) contributes to efforts of the international community to ensure global diversions of water to agriculture are maintained at the level of the year 2000. It is a multi-institutional research initiative that aims to increase water productivity for agriculture—that is, to change the way water is managed and used to meet international food security and poverty eradication goals—in order to leave more water for other users and the environment. The CPWF conducts action-oriented research in nine river basins in Africa, Asia and Latin America, focusing on crop water productivity, fisheries and aquatic ecosystems, community arrangements for sharing water, integrated river basin management, and institutions and policies for successful implementation of developments in the water-food- environment nexus. Project Preface The Mekong Basin Focal Project aims were to assess water use, water productivity and water poverty in the basin, and analyse the opportunities and risks of change in water management that influences water poverty. The main issue facing the Lower Mekong is not water availability (except for seasonally in certain areas such as northeast Thailand) but the impact of changed flows (which may result from dam or irrigation development or climate change) on ecology, fish production, access to water and food security. -
Letters from the MEKONG TIME for a NEW NARRATIVE on MEKONG HYDROPOWER
Time for a New Narrative on Mekong Hydropower Letters from the MEKONG TIME FOR A NEW NARRATIVE ON MEKONG HYDROPOWER by Richard Cronin and Courtney Weatherby OCTOBER 2015 1 © 2015 The Stimson Center All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written consent from the Stimson Center. Photo credits: Courtney Weatherby: front cover, page 17, 36, and back cover Rich Cronin: pages 12, 14, 15, 28, 31 Brian Eyler: pages 4, 20, 24, 26 International Rivers: page 22 NASA Observatory: page 34 STIMSON 1211 Connecticut Avenue NW, 8th Floor Washington, DC 20036 Tel: 202.223.5956 | Fax: 202.238.9604 www.stimson.org Time for a New Narrative on Mekong Hydropower CONTENTS Introduction 5 Background 7 Xayaburi and Don Sahong Dam Projects: Site Visits and Findings 13 Xayaburi Dam Site Visit 15 Don Sahong Site Visit 17 Emerging Need for a New Narrative 21 The China Factor 25 Recommendations 29 Conclusion 35 About and Acknowledgements 38 3 Letters from the Mekong THE CURRENT NARRATIVE IS OVERLY PESSIMISTIC… A NEW AND MORE NUANCED VIEW IS REQUIRED. Villages in the Siphandon region 4near the Don Sahong Dam site. CRONIN & WEATHERBY Time for a New Narrative on Mekong Hydropower INTRODUCTION This issue brief – the second in Stimson’s “Letters from the Mekong” series – examines the current status of mitigation efforts at Laos’ Xayaburi and Don Sahong dam projects and the relevance of the existing narrative surrounding hydropower development on the river’s mainstream. Based on extensive research on the status and expected impacts of these projects, the authors of this brief have concluded that the current narrative of inev- itability surrounding the future of the Mekong is increasingly at odds with what is in fact a very fluid situation. -
MOU-ASEAN.Pdf
Memorandum of Understanding Between the Mekong River Commission Secretariat and the ASEAN Secretariat Preamble REAFFIRMING the development of partnership between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Secretariat (the "ASEC") and the Mekong River Commission Secretariat (the "MRCS") to contribute towards the sustainable development of the Mekong Basin. The ASEC and the MRCS have agreed to increase their cooperation and enter into partnership in fields of common interest. NOTING the Memorandum of Understanding (the "MoU") sets out the modalities under which ASEC and MRCS intend to closely collaborate. Noting 1. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is an intergovernmental institution established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok by the five original Member States, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined on 8 January 1984, Vietnam on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999. The ASEAN Secretariat is located in Jakarta, Indonesia 2. The ASEAN Charter entered into force on 15 December 2008 and it is a legally binding agreement among the ten Member States. The Charter provides the legal and institutional framework for the realisation of the ASEAN Community by 2015. 3. At the 13th and 14th ASEAN Summits held in 2007 and 2008, respectively, the Leaders adopted the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint, the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint and the ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint and the IAI Work Plan II which serves as the Roadmap for an ASEAN Community (2009-2015). 4. The Roadmap provides strategic plan of actions in promoting sustainability of water resources to ensure equitable accessibility and sufficient water quantity of acceptable quality to meet the needs of the people of ASEAN. -
Development and Climate Change in the Mekong Region Case Studies
Development and Climate Change in the Mekong Region Case Studies edited by Chayanis Kri�asudthacheewa Hap Navy Bui Duc Tinh Saykham Voladet Contents i Development and Climate Change in the Mekong Region ii Development and Climate Change in the Mekong Region Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) SEI is an international non-profit research and policy organization that tackles environment and development challenges. SEI connects science and decision- making to develop solutions for a sustainable future for all. SEI’s approach is highly collaborative: stakeholder involvement is at the heart of our efforts to build capacity, strengthen institutions and equip partners for the long-term. SEI promotes debate and shares knowledge by convening decision-makers, academics and practitioners, and engaging with policy processes, development action and business practice throughout the world. The Asia Centre of SEI, based in Bangkok, focuses on gender and social equity, climate adaptation, reducing disaster risk, water insecurity and integrated water resources management, urbanization, and renewable energy. SEI is an affiliate of Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. SUMERNET Launched in 2005, the Sustainable Mekong Research Network (SUMERNET) brings together a network of research partners working on sustainable development in the countries of the Mekong Region: Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The network aims to bridge science and policy in the Mekong Region and pursues an evolving agenda in response to environmental issues that arise in the region. In the present phase of its program (2019–27), SUMERNET 4 All, the network is focusing on reducing water insecurity for all, in particular for the poor, marginalized and socially vulnerable groups of women and men in the Mekong Region. -
Khone Phapheng Aesthetics: Evaluating and Ameliorating the Hydraulic and Visual Impacts of the Don Sahong Hydroelectric Project (Lao PDR)
Khone Phapheng aesthetics: evaluating and ameliorating the hydraulic and visual impacts of the Don Sahong Hydroelectric Project (Lao PDR) The Don Sahong hydropower scheme, now under construction in the Siphandone (“four Don Sahong details Longqingxia ! Dams in the Mekong Basin thousand islands”) region of Khong District (of Champassak Province) in far southern Laos Za Qu Z i Q Commissioned, Under Construction and Planned Dams u has been extremely controversial since the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was first in May 2013 Map Description: The map shows every known commissioned, under construction, and planned Qamdo dam in the basin. ‘Unknown’ dams are mainly dams and reservoirs constructed for use in irrigation and/or water supply, the names of which are currently unknown. agreed between the Lao PDR government and MegaFirst Berhad: a Malaysian company with ! Cege ! Jinhe ! Yuelong Kagong ! Data Sources : Citations for the data sources contributing to the location of the dams in this map may be found Lhasa Banda great experience in engineering and land development, but which had never previously built ! at our website - http://mekong.waterandfood.org/archives/2648 Background relief data is courtesy of Natural Earth and SRTM data from the JPL of NASA Rumei River basin boundary and river vector data is courtesy of the IWMI ! CHINA All other administrative and physiographic data courtesy of NOAA's National Geophysical Data Guxue Center's Global Self-consistent, Hierarchical, High-resolution Geography Database any hydroelectric projects. The initial dust-up was over the Lao PDR’s argument that since ! Acknowledgements: Gushui ! CPWF-Mekong gratefully acknowledges the financial support of AusAID in the production of this map. -
Listening to Women Fishers on the Sekong River: Fostering Resilience in Village Fishery Co-Management
Listening to Women Fishers on the Sekong River: Fostering Resilience in Village Fishery Co-Management Charlotte Moser Abstract The accelerated economic development of landlocked Laos, combined with extreme climate variables, points to dramatic transformations in subsistence fisheries on its rivers. In the country’s first Fisheries Law, adopted in 2009, co-management of village fisheries is required as a way to promote sustainable development at a local level. The co-management model, however, does not stipulate participation by women fishers, important stakeholders who make up almost one-half of all Lao fishers and whose work contributes directly to family nutrition and well-being. Based on fieldwork conducted in fishing villages on the Sekong River in southern Laos in 2013, this paper takes an ecosystems approach to discuss how the country can build resilience and social cohesion into fisheries by incorporating women and their knowledge into village fishery management. In the process, the health of river ecosystems and food security will improve, while women fishers will acquire new skills to help them avoid ‘poverty traps.’ Introduction The concept of resilience is central to effective adaptive management of ecosystems. Developed by ecologist C.S. “Buzz” Holling in the 1970s as a theory for managing complex ecosystems, resilience theory suggests that an ecosystem is resilient if it has the ability to remain cohesive during periods of extreme perturbations or what are called ‘shocks’ (Holling 1973). Rather than “bouncing back” to a former equilibrium, an ecosystem is resilient if it can absorb changes in internal and external variables and still persist, albeit in a somewhat different yet robust form. -
Mekong Watch Japan
3F AOKI Bldg., 1-12-11 Taito Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0016, Japan Mekong Watch Tel: +81-3-3832-5034, Fax: +81 -3-3832-5039 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.mekongwatch.org Mekong Watch Fact Sheet Rasi Salai Dami Project Name: Rasi Salai Weir(Rasi Salai Dam) Location: Rasi Salai District, Srisaket Province Project Outline The Rasi Salai Dam was completed in 1993 in the middle Mun River Basin for irrigation purposes. As a part of the Kong-Chi-Mun Water Diversion Projectii, the dam was built under the direction of the Department of Power Development and Promotion (DPDP), Ministry of Sciences, Technology and Environment, Thailand. It is currently operated by the Royal Irrigation Department of Thailand. Project Costs The original budget for construction was 140 million bahts, but the cost has risen by a factor of more than six to 871 million bahts. In addition, unforeseen compensation payments continue to be made. The Rasi Salai Dam Environmental and Social Impacts of the Dam The area around the dam construction site has distinctive environmental conditions under the influence of the monsoon, being highly arid for half of the year during the dry season, while during the rainy season, it is undergoes flooding for three months, with about 600 km2 of wetlands and inundated forest. The villagers call it Pa Bun Pa Tham, and use it for farming, fishing, pasturage and gathering of wild plants and animals. In ancient times the area was a part of a sea, and has a vast underground layer of salt deposits. The people here have long engaged in salt production, gathering the salt that seeps up from these deposits underground. -
The Electrification of Myanmar Thurain Win
Perspective & Analysis Focus Asia No. 9 September 2014 The Electrification of Myanmar Thurain Win Myanmar has the lowest electrification rate among the ASEAN countries with less than 30 percent of the population having access to electricity. Upgrading its electricity infrastructure and updating legislation gov- erning the electricity sector is central to Myanmar’s economic development and for alleviating rural pover- ty. In particular, Myanmar is seeking to utilize its rich hydropower resources, which have been estimated at over 100,000 MW. In this paper the author provides an overview of Myanmar’s electricity sector and power generation potential in addition to outlining some of the challenges the country faces. n a speech delivered on May 20, 2011, at the Na- agricultural-based economy with around two-thirds of tional Level Workshop on Rural Development the population living in rural areas with no access to and Poverty Alleviation, President Thein Sein em- electricity. If the population is to be lifted out of pov- Iphasized that: “In Myanmar, rural people who make erty and economic development is to proceed, Myan- up about 70% of the population are the main working mar therefore needs to not only harness its energy re- force, and the majority of them engage in agricultural sources—in particular exploiting its rich hydropower and livestock farming. Therefore, boosting production potential—but also make the necessary reforms to its of goods and economic development of rural areas is electricity sector, which has hitherto been regulated by the engine of national economic development. Only outdated laws. with economic development of rural areas, will there be alleviation of poverty.”1 Myanmar’s Low Electrification Rate Economic development is accordingly a priority for Myanmar.