Shan people urges end to Mongtong dam EIA process
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People in two townships of Shan State, Myanmar wrote an open letter to Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation (SMEC), urging it to end the ongoing environmental impact assessment for the Mongtong Dam hydropower project.
Power from the hydropower project will be sold to China and Thailand.
The letter dated September 9 was signed by Nang Wah Nu, an MP of the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party, and leaders of people from Karli and Kunhing.
In the letter, they said there has been continued fighting in Shan and Kachin state, with the latest one taking place in Kunhing in August.
"Deadly fighting is taking place on the ground in territories controlled by armed groups, which are rich in natural resources, and where international investors and the government of Myanmar are pushing ahead with development projects on the ground without paying any attention to local people’s concerns. The Burmese troops are using this opportunity to reinforce their troops into the area of hydropower projects, saying they will take security for the companies which are carrying out the projects. This will lead to more fighting between the armed groups and government troops while there is no guarantee of a political settlement," they said.
Nang Wah Nu, a local Shan MP, said that without local people's consent, every step of the dam building process should be stopped.
She said, “Our people do not agree to the building of the dam. Our Shan Community Based Organisations do not agree, and our Shan political parties do not agree with the dam either. Therefore, all the dam building process must be stopped”.
In the letter they said that the construction of Mongtong dam on the upper Salween River would create huge negative impacts on society and environment. The project would force tens of thousands of local people to relocate. Together with Tai Youth Organisation, they urged SMEC to stop any activities to promote the dam. They also expressed opposition to any sort of EIA/SIA process, to be
conducted by any parties.
The dam would encompass 640 square kilometres. Ninety per cent of its 7,000 megawatts capacity would be sold to China and Thailand while the remaining 10 per cent is set for domestic use. Major investors in the project are the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, China’s Three Gorges Corp and Myanmar’s Ministry of Electric Power and International Group of Entrepreneurs.
