By AMY SMITH AND JOHN CAMPBELL
If there is one confluence of the Irrawaddy River that is famous throughout Burma, it is the Mali and N’Mai rivers, located 27 miles from Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin state.
The confluence is many things to the Kachin people: a source of livelihood; a location of amazing biodiversity that attracts tourists; a potent emblem of identity; and a historical beacon (legend says that it’s the birth place and residence of the Father Dragon and his two sons, Hkrai Nawng and Hkrai Gam).
A man prepares to pan for gold on the Irrawaddy River at the confluence the N’mai and Mali rivers, an area where the largest hydropower dam in the network will be located. (Photo: AMY SMITH and JOHN CAMPBELL)
Since August, the sole road leading to this sanctuary has witnessed a spike in vehicle traffic. The dragon’s sleep has been disturbed by a continual convoy of shinny white Mitsubishi jeeps, their occupants obscured through smoked colored windows. The convoy’s route is a 7 mile stretch between the river and the newly established offices of the Burmese regime friendly Asia World Company, a construction company that contracted with the Power Investment Corporation, a Chinese state company developing the hydro scheme project that will send most of the electricity into China's energy-hungry Yunnan Province, according to International Rivers, a nongovernmental agency.
Asia World has started the construction of the hydroelectric projects at Chibwe, on the N’Mai River, that will lead to the resettlement of hundreds of villagers. For local residents, the vehicles and the buildings are the foreboding signs of the coming social and environmental storm.
The confluence will be home of a 152-meter high dam; the 7th and largest in the dam network on the N’mai and Mali rivers. The network will generate thousands of megawatts of hydroelectricity (capacity of 3,600 MW for the confluent dam alone).
The design is the brainchild of the China Southern Power Grid Company and its construction was authorized by the SPDC. The dams represent a huge financial windfall for the SPDC and an energy bonanza for China.
The custom with economic deals of this nature in Burma is that the decision making is centralized and the contract details are kept from public view. The contract was signed in 2007. While the details are murky, the costs, financially and environmentally, will be significant. The dam’s construction will be ecologically ruinous, razing the confluence’s biodiversity. Perhaps more profound will be the social repercussions: 15,000 villagers face imminent displacement.
Men work to find gold near the site where a 152-meter high dam will be located, forcing many villagers to relocate. Up to a few weeks ago, these local communities, living for generations in the 60 villages on the 766 km square to be flooded by the dam, have never officially been told that they would have to move. Now, they have received eviction notices and ordered to leave.
Most of their livelihoods will be destroyed as well as their houses and other assets. If the scenario is similar to what has happened at other dam construction sites, they will receive no compensation. The army is expected to increase its presence in the region, and with it the number of human rights likely will rise.
The villagers are manifestly poor, the victims of decades of civil strife and government neglect. They have no allies and face powerful adversaries. Their plight appears hopeless. Yet, out of their desperation, a resistance has swelled among the local communities.
Undeterred, villagers held protests at the planned construction site in October, as 20,000 Chinese workers were waiting to be transferred to the area. Local communities, deprived of the minimum to insure their survival, refuse to leave the site.Many villagers said they would rather die in their villages than leave the confluence.
The tension has been ratcheted up and support for opposition has increased among the villagers.
The confluence is many things to the Kachin people: a source of livelihood; a location of amazing biodiversity that attracts tourists; a potent emblem of identity; and a historical beacon (legend says that it’s the birth place and residence of the Father Dragon and his two sons, Hkrai Nawng and Hkrai Gam).
A man prepares to pan for gold on the Irrawaddy River at the confluence the N’mai and Mali rivers, an area where the largest hydropower dam in the network will be located. (Photo: AMY SMITH and JOHN CAMPBELL)
Since August, the sole road leading to this sanctuary has witnessed a spike in vehicle traffic. The dragon’s sleep has been disturbed by a continual convoy of shinny white Mitsubishi jeeps, their occupants obscured through smoked colored windows. The convoy’s route is a 7 mile stretch between the river and the newly established offices of the Burmese regime friendly Asia World Company, a construction company that contracted with the Power Investment Corporation, a Chinese state company developing the hydro scheme project that will send most of the electricity into China's energy-hungry Yunnan Province, according to International Rivers, a nongovernmental agency.
Asia World has started the construction of the hydroelectric projects at Chibwe, on the N’Mai River, that will lead to the resettlement of hundreds of villagers. For local residents, the vehicles and the buildings are the foreboding signs of the coming social and environmental storm.
The confluence will be home of a 152-meter high dam; the 7th and largest in the dam network on the N’mai and Mali rivers. The network will generate thousands of megawatts of hydroelectricity (capacity of 3,600 MW for the confluent dam alone).
The design is the brainchild of the China Southern Power Grid Company and its construction was authorized by the SPDC. The dams represent a huge financial windfall for the SPDC and an energy bonanza for China.
The custom with economic deals of this nature in Burma is that the decision making is centralized and the contract details are kept from public view. The contract was signed in 2007. While the details are murky, the costs, financially and environmentally, will be significant. The dam’s construction will be ecologically ruinous, razing the confluence’s biodiversity. Perhaps more profound will be the social repercussions: 15,000 villagers face imminent displacement.
Men work to find gold near the site where a 152-meter high dam will be located, forcing many villagers to relocate. Up to a few weeks ago, these local communities, living for generations in the 60 villages on the 766 km square to be flooded by the dam, have never officially been told that they would have to move. Now, they have received eviction notices and ordered to leave.
Most of their livelihoods will be destroyed as well as their houses and other assets. If the scenario is similar to what has happened at other dam construction sites, they will receive no compensation. The army is expected to increase its presence in the region, and with it the number of human rights likely will rise.
The villagers are manifestly poor, the victims of decades of civil strife and government neglect. They have no allies and face powerful adversaries. Their plight appears hopeless. Yet, out of their desperation, a resistance has swelled among the local communities.
Undeterred, villagers held protests at the planned construction site in October, as 20,000 Chinese workers were waiting to be transferred to the area. Local communities, deprived of the minimum to insure their survival, refuse to leave the site.Many villagers said they would rather die in their villages than leave the confluence.
The tension has been ratcheted up and support for opposition has increased among the villagers.
This has already produced a tangible result: the arrival of the Chinese workers has been delayed to avoid any confrontation.
In a move to diffuse the situation, the army’s northern commander called for a public meeting in October. More than 100 residents attended, voicing their opposition to the project. At an enormous risk to their personal safety, the villagers have chosen to fight a decision that will destroy their homes and livelihoods. How long can they stem the dam’s construction? one can question the actual position of the KIO, which has been unusually silent on the issue.
Many villagers are demanding that the government stop the dam project. An open letter addressed to the Snr-Gen Than Shwe and other officials has been widely disseminated:
“It is our wish that these Chinese hydropower companies realize the danger and disastrous effects upon the people to be caused by the construction of the dam. Local residents do not want to leave their homeland which they inherited from their ancestors.”
Predictably, it remains unanswered. The delay of the arrival of the Chinese workers is an encouraging sign of the impact of the local protests, but how long can the villagers hold out without wider support?
Can David challenge Goliath in Burma? In other words: can a handful of determined and brave villagers influence the Burmese junta’s decision without the active support of more individuals and public groups, both inside Burma and abroad?
In a move to diffuse the situation, the army’s northern commander called for a public meeting in October. More than 100 residents attended, voicing their opposition to the project. At an enormous risk to their personal safety, the villagers have chosen to fight a decision that will destroy their homes and livelihoods. How long can they stem the dam’s construction? one can question the actual position of the KIO, which has been unusually silent on the issue.
Many villagers are demanding that the government stop the dam project. An open letter addressed to the Snr-Gen Than Shwe and other officials has been widely disseminated:
“It is our wish that these Chinese hydropower companies realize the danger and disastrous effects upon the people to be caused by the construction of the dam. Local residents do not want to leave their homeland which they inherited from their ancestors.”
Predictably, it remains unanswered. The delay of the arrival of the Chinese workers is an encouraging sign of the impact of the local protests, but how long can the villagers hold out without wider support?
Can David challenge Goliath in Burma? In other words: can a handful of determined and brave villagers influence the Burmese junta’s decision without the active support of more individuals and public groups, both inside Burma and abroad?
Irrawaddy
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