One of the most successful conservation projects in the country now under threat from unregulated extractive industry.
Tag: Dawei
Myanmar-Thailand highway branded ‘ecological and social disaster’
Community and conservation groups in Myanmar say the planned highway linking a port project to Thailand will uproot indigenous people from their homes and farms.
Reckoning With Human Rights Violations in Thailand’s Extraterritorial Investments
The human rights footprint of Thais is on the rise–linking malpractice of businesses, environmental destructions and large displacements.
Myanmar renews SEZ push
Three special economic zones underpin plans to expand manufacturing to spur economic development, but Dawei in particular has languished for years.
Dawei’s ill-starred ‘zombie’ project
Investors rekindle hope in the sluggish Dawei Special Economic Zone amidst increasing concerns surrounding its social and environmental impacts
It’s time to scrap the Dawei Special Economic Zone
Arguments in favour to build one of the region’s largest industrial zones at Dawei are deeply flawed, and vastly outweighed by its potential for social and environmental damage.
Lack of accountability and clarity in SEZ Law highlighted in Dawei
An inadequate legal framework, poor implementation process, absence of accountabilities and the lack of transparency lead to violations of human rights and environmental disruption in Myanmar’s Special Economic Zones: experts.
Japanese businesses express no interest in Dawei or Kyaukphyu SEZ
Interview with Katsuji Nakagawa from the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Myanmar: “…At least among JCCM members, we did not have any comments like ‘oh we want to support Dawei”.
Officials committed to Dawei
Thai officials and their Myanmar counterparts remain committed to the long-awaited Dawei megaproject, with the Myanmar-Thailand Joint High-Level Committee (JHC) and the Joint Coordinating Committee (JCC) to be set up soon to foster development.
Porametee Vimolsiri, secretary-general to the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), said the recent joint ministerial meeting held on Aug 15-16 in Myanmar agreed to revitalise the role of the JHC and the JCC to rev up the multibillion-dollar project.
New sets of the two committees, which stalled before Myanmar held a general election on Nov 8 last year, are to be established soon.
Into the Zone: SEZs in the Mekong Region, Income…or Instability? (Part 2)
While neighboring Thailand’s Special Economic Zones are now progressing without much public consultation or review, Myanmar may be moving in the opposite direction. Its three SEZs which were launched in the waning years of the junta, are now under the direction of the civilian government fully aware of concerns raised by communities and independent researchers, and inclined to take stock of what their predecessors set in motion. At issue are a whole range of social and environmental grievances, as well as the viability of the projects themselves and to what extent they reflect the new leadership’s priorities.