Selected environmental stories from media outlets in the Mekong region and beyond.
Official Chinese representatives from the Shwe Htun Pauk company have said that they will stop their operations if they face continued opposition from residents.
The company, officially licensed to mine gold and other minerals at the Tanintharyi River near Maw Hta village, held a meeting about water pollution with around 40 residents, Dawei-Myeik representatives of the Karen National Union and regional civil groups.
There is high possibility that the Special Economic Zone will take away more than 1,190 acres of Boon Rueng forest from the community. There is also equally possibility that the Mekong River ecosystem will be destroyed if Boon Rueng forest transform into Special Economic Zone according to Thailand’s Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha’s vision. The abundant Boon Rueng forest in this wetlands is currently being nominated for SEZ consideration by Joint Public Private Committee, Office of the Permanent Secretary of Interior. If approve, half of the forest will be replaced with factories. According to the survey, there are more than 60 species of plants and 211 species of animal, especially endangered species such as Fishing Cat in Boon Rueng forest. Obviously, Boon Rueng forest is not ‘degraded forest’ as it was claimed.
A network of some 150 civil society organizations (CSOs) have called for their voices to be heard in bilateral timber trade talks between Burma and China supported by Western aid agencies.
The groups expressed concern about a lack of attention being paid to those who would be most affected by the projects, expected to benefit the Myanmar Timber Enterprise, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry that is in control of harvesting rights.
Interview: Devi Thant Cin is a well-known environmentalist and coordinator of the Myanmar Green Network. The non-government organisation has been using the increasing space for civil society in Myanmar in recent years to lobby against environmentally damaging mega projects, such as the Myitsone hydropower dam on the Ayeyarwaddy River.
The future of hydropower looks dim as heat and drought intensify
May Titthara From the hammock beneath his home in Sre Ko village along the southern banks of the Se San River in Stung Treng province, Fort Kheun remains adamant that he will not relocate to make way for the 336-kilomter reservoir that will stretch behind the Lower Se San River Dam after it is built. […]
Chea Vannak The Cambodian government will not allow the construction of any new hydropower dams in the country until 2020, officials say. Speaking yesterday to hundreds of electricity operators at a conference reviewing last year’s electricity services, Minister of Mines and Energy Suy Sem said, “Until 2020, there will be no construction of hydropower dams.” […]
The Ba section river which runs across Gia Lai is turning into a ‘dead river’ since the An Khe – Ka Nak hydropower plant began operation. It is becoming depleted as the plant stores water on the upper course to generate electricity. It is also polluted by the waste water discharged from tens of workshops and factories.
Farmers from Shan State held a press conference at Taunggyi Catholic Church memorial hall in southern Shan State on January 3, 2016, to protest against unfair treatment when trying to reclaim their confiscated lands. – See more at: http://www.mizzima.com/news-domestic/land-confiscation-problems-worsen#sthash.CZVBDGRj.dpuf
About 300 local people and their supporters took back their land from Myanmar Sithu Gold Mining Company at Yayhtwet village, Chaunggyi village-tracts, Thapeikyin Township, Pyinoolwin district, Mandalay Region on 3 January.
They were supported by people from Patheingyi, Madaya and Singu townships.
