Myitsone Dam
Encyclopedia
The Myitsone Dam is a large dam
and hydroelectric power development project currently under construction on the Irawaddy River in Burma (Myanmar). If completed as planned in 2017, it will be the fifteenth largest hydroelectric power station in the world. The dam, planned to be 500 feet wide and 500 feet high, is being built by Burmese government contractors and the China Power Investment Corporation
(CPI). It is estimated that it will provide between 3,600 to 6,000 megawatts of electricity primarily for Yunnan
, China.
The dam project has been controversial in Burma due to its enormous flooding area, environmental impact and its location on the Saging fault line. The electricity generated will be distributed mainly to China for fifty years despite limited power supply in Burma. The Burmese public also resent the growing Chinese influence in Burma, whose companies have invested billions of dollar in the country, mainly in the energy sector. Even the government itself appears divided on the project.
On 30 September 2011, President Thein Sein
announced that the Myitsone dam project was to be suspended during his tenure. The unexpected decision has been widely applauded by environmentalists, activists and the public for the government appears to have taken the public opinion into account for the first time in many years.
In response to the President Thein Sein's announcement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei called on Myanmar to hold consultations to handle any problems with the Myitsone dam. In October 2011, Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin travelled to Beijing to settle the issue.
The dam site is located 3.2 km (2 mi) mile below the confluence of the Mali River
and the N'Mai River
about 42 kilometres (26.1 mi) north of Myitkyina
, the capital of Kachin State
, in northern Burma.
The source of both the N'mai and Mali Rivers is the Himalaya glaciers of northern Burma in the vicinity of 28° N. The eastern most of the two, N'mai river, is the larger stream and rises in the Languela Glacier north of Putao
. It is unnavigable because of the strong current whereas the smaller western river, the Mali, is navigable, despite a few rapids.
The Myanmar Electrical Power Enterprise and the Agriculture and Irrigation Ministry scheduled the Irawaddy Myitsone Dam Multipurpose Water Utilization Project in 2001. The survey phase was initiated in 2003. First the government contracted the Japan
ese Kansai Electric Power Company
(KEPCO) to build a small weather station
at Tang Hpre village, near the confluence. Chinese and Burmese contractors, including Yunnan Machinery Equipment Import & Export Company (YMEC), Kunming Hydropower Institute of Design, surveyed the dam site. In 2006, Suntac Technologies Co. Ltd., a Burmese Geographic Information System
(GIS) mapping contractor set up an office at the monastery in Tang Hpre village. They also set up a temporary camp at Washawng village to facilitate transport of survey equipment from the YMEC company in China. In October, the Asia World Company built a project implementation camp on a hill top at the dam site 3 mi (4.8 km) downstream from the confluence. when the camp was complete, Chinese inspectors stayed and surveyed the area for five months. In December 2006, the Ministry of Electric Power No. 1 and the China Power Investment Corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a 4,100 MW project at Myitsone and a 2,000 MW project at Chibwe.
The design phase began in 2007. The Changjiang Design Institute of China sent several groups of design personnel and conducted geological drilling, reservoir inspection and hydrological measuring near the dam site. To supply electricity for dam construction projects, a small 65 MW, Chibwe Creek hydroelectricity was built in April 2007. In May, the New Light of Myanmar reported that the Ministry of Power No. 1 and CPI would build seven hydropower dams on the N'Mai and Irawaddy rivers.
On 16 June 2009, Myanmar Ambassador Thein Lwin and President of China Power Investment Corporation Lu Qizhou signed a Memorandum of Agreement between the Department of Hydropower Implementation and the China Power Investment Corporation for the Development, Operation and Transfer of the hydropower Projects in Maykha, Malikha and Upstream of Irrawaddy-Myitsone River Basins. The official opening ceremony of the dam construction phase was held on December 21.
and an export tax on exported electricity to China. After a fifty-year period, the government would totally own the project free of charge. Myanmar would receive US$17 billion from the project during the contracted fifty-year period.
For all the seven dams in the Irrawaddy basin, the Burmese government was to get USD54 billion via taxation, free electricity and share dividends, far more than CPI's return on investment during the Chinese operation period according to the President of CPI.
In China, the world's largest electricity-generating plant of any kind.
Minister of Electric Power Zaw Min claimed that the dam was designed to withstand an earthquake of 8.0 Richter Scale, a scale that has never been recorded to have occurred in that region, and the most devastating flood of a millennium.
is project manager of the Confluence Region Hydropower Projects. The seven dams combined total design installed capacity is 16,500 MW of electricity.
The dam was to provide electricity primarily to the China Southern Power Grid
via its subsidiary, the Yunnan Power Grid Company, in Yunnan Province
and then on to the power hungry eastern coastal areas of China
, in conformity with the Chinese central Government's 'West to East Transmission Policy'. The hydropower project was being implemented under an agreement signed in late 2006 with the state-owned China Power Investment Corporation
(CPI) and Burma’s Ministry of Electric Power No 1. The dam and reservoir planning and construction is managed by the Burmese government in cooperation with the China Southern Power Grid and several subcontractors.
presence, forced relocations
, deforestation
and flood
s would follow hand-in-hand with its construction according to The Irrawaddy
news agency. The activists in exile stated that the dam would also submerge historical temples, churches and cultural heritage sites important to Kachin identity and history and the natural heritage of the Kachin people in Myitsone area would be lost.
In response, the government reported in the state run New Light of Myanmar
that relocated villages from the project area had been provided with all forms of aids including water, electric power and buildings and that the government also helped in relocation of religious buildings. CPI reported a total expense of 4.1 billion kyats in compensation and 25 million US dollars in resettlement. In addition, the government stated that the remote region would benefit greatly from the new roads and access to electricity.
Local communities pointed out that the environmental impact, community displacement, and threat to cultural sites. Others opposed the dam site because it is less than 100 km (62.1 mi) from the major Sagaing fault line, posing a risk to basin inhabitants if an earthquake
weakened the dam or caused landslides in the reservoir. If the Irrawaddy Myitsone Dam broke during an earthquake, it would endanger the lives of hundred of thousands of people downstream in Kachin State’s largest city, Myikyina.
In response, the government said that the dam would withstand an earthquake of magnitude 8.0 Richter scale. On the other hand, Burmese scientists, who carried out the environmental assessment, recommended to build two smaller dams farther upstream instead of building on earthquake-prone zone. In an interview with Xinhua News, Lu Qizhou, President of China Power Investment Corporation,said Myitsone Hydropower Station follows the standard of fortification intensity 9, two points above the intensity of Zipingbu Hydropower Station that withstood 2008 Sichuan earthquake
of 8.0 Richter scale.
characteristics of the river and prevent sediment
from enriching the traditionally highly productive agricultural floodplains downstream. This can affect fertility as far downstream as the Irrawaddy Delta
, the major rice-producing area of Myanmar. The government responded that officials had taken sediment accumulation into consideration, and that the Myintsone dam would have capabilities to discharge the accumulated sediment.
Other consequences of flooding by the reservoir include loss of farmland and loss of spawning habitat as fish cannot swim upstream anymore. This would lead to lost income for fishermen according to Kachin environmental activist groups in exile. On the other hand, research by Biodiversity And Nature Conservation Association (BANCA) contradicts the activists' statement. BANCA's research asserts that commercial fishing is not reported from the project area. But, it confirms that some resident aquatic species will be affected by the change in hydrological conditions.
Ecological concerns focus on the inundation of an area that is the border of the Indo-Burma and South Central China biodiversity hotspot
. The Mali and N'mai River confluence region falls within the Mizoram-Manipur-Kachin rainforest
s. Nevertheless, the dam would increase the shipping capacity of Irrawaddy river. The number of floods occurring once per year would be reduced to once every twenty years. Since the hydropower is the renewable energy, the energy produced by the dam would decrease the need for air polluting sources of energy such as fossil fuel
. The construction and the maintenance of the dam would have employed a large number of people.
sent a letter to Senior General Than Shwe and the junta’s Ministry of Electric Power asking for the project to be cancelled. Burma Rivers Network also sent a letter to the Chinese government asking Chinese companies operating in Burma to conduct environmental and social impact assessments, publicly release information, and to include affected communities in the decision-making process. In a parliamentary session, government minister Zaw Min responded that environmental impact had been carried out by the Biodiversity And Nature Conservation Association (BANCA) at a cost of USD1.25 million and stated that Myitsone Dam Project was started only when the government had studied the possible impacts environmentally. However, the results of BANCA's assessment were not disclosed publicly.
Outside Burma, activists in exile have actively carried out protests in various countries. In February 2010, the UK-based Kachin National Organization (KNO) protested against construction of the dam in front of the Burmese Embassies in the UK, Japan, Australia and USA. Leaked United States diplomatic cable
s by Wikileak revealed that U.S embassy in Yangon funded some of the activist groups.
Skirmishes have been broken out between Kachin Independence Army and Burmese military over the dam issue since June 2011. On April 17, 2010, three bombs exploded close to the site of dam, killing four Chinese workers. The Burmese government blamed Kachin Independence Army
for planting the bombs. KIA has denied having anything to do with the Myitsone bombing.
Domestic campaigns against the project are brought together by political activists including Nobel peace prize
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi
, conservationists, scholars, poets and journalists. Local media openly criticized the lack of transparency in dam project. Journalists argued that the deal was agreed by previous government
without considering public opinions. Burmese poets wrote several poems portraying the future of Irrawaddy river including The Dead River by Maung Sein Min.
Despite the opposition, Minister Zaw Min for the Ministry of Electric Power responded to the press that the government would continue this project up to the completion. But, in September 2011 he conceded that despite promised benefits from the project, it may be appropriate to minimize the environmental impacts by redesigning the tunnel, shortening the dam's height and reducing the water storage capacity, relocating to the upstream, and reassessing environmental impacts. He also agreed that final decision should depend on the environment impact assessment report by the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry and the study by the Engineer Group.
announced that the Myitsone dam project would be halted during the term of his government. The letter from the president consisted of ten points including,
The decision was universally acclaimed by environmentalists, political activists and locals alike. It is considered as "a rare reversal" in that for the first time, the government had listened to the people in face of public opposition.. Western nations including EU and the United States
welcome the President's decision.
In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei stated that the Chinese government has urged the Burmese government to protect the legal and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies. He reminded that the Myitsone dam is a jointly invested project between China and Myanmar, and one that has been thoroughly examined by both sides. He also confirmed that the matters would be resolved through friendly consultation. The president of CPI, Lu Qizhou, has warned that a halt in construction could lead to legal action.
In October 2011, Myanmar Foreign Minister traveled to Beijing to settle the dispute.
Internationally, the suspension is considered as one of the democratic reforms along with other engagements such as dialogues with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and release of some political prisoners. Marie Lall, a BBC South Asia analyst attributes Burma's bid for the Asean chair in 2014, the needs to reform the economy for ASEAN Free Trade Area
and the government's desire to win the election in 2015 as the main motives of the reforms.
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
and hydroelectric power development project currently under construction on the Irawaddy River in Burma (Myanmar). If completed as planned in 2017, it will be the fifteenth largest hydroelectric power station in the world. The dam, planned to be 500 feet wide and 500 feet high, is being built by Burmese government contractors and the China Power Investment Corporation
China Power Investment Corporation
China Power Investment Corporation is one of the five largest state-owned power producers in the People's Republic of China, administrated by SASAC for the State Council of the People's Republic of China. It is engaged in development, investment, construction, operation and management of power...
(CPI). It is estimated that it will provide between 3,600 to 6,000 megawatts of electricity primarily for Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
, China.
The dam project has been controversial in Burma due to its enormous flooding area, environmental impact and its location on the Saging fault line. The electricity generated will be distributed mainly to China for fifty years despite limited power supply in Burma. The Burmese public also resent the growing Chinese influence in Burma, whose companies have invested billions of dollar in the country, mainly in the energy sector. Even the government itself appears divided on the project.
On 30 September 2011, President Thein Sein
Thein Sein
Thein Sein is a Burmese politician and military figure who has been president of Myanmar since March 2011. Previously, he was Prime Minister from 2007 until 2011...
announced that the Myitsone dam project was to be suspended during his tenure. The unexpected decision has been widely applauded by environmentalists, activists and the public for the government appears to have taken the public opinion into account for the first time in many years.
In response to the President Thein Sein's announcement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei called on Myanmar to hold consultations to handle any problems with the Myitsone dam. In October 2011, Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin travelled to Beijing to settle the issue.
Location
Mali River
The Mali River is a river that originates in northern Burma. It flows approximately 320 km, when it meets with the N'Mai River and forms the Ayeyarwady River. Construction of the Myitsone Dam has begun at this confluence....
and the N'Mai River
N'Mai River
The N'Mai River or May Kha River is a river in northern Myanmar .The N'Mai, runs parallel to the Mali River, and has its source in the Himalaya glaciers of Northern Myanmar at about 28° north latitude. It is not navigable because of strong currents...
about 42 kilometres (26.1 mi) north of Myitkyina
Myitkyina
Myitkyina is the capital city of Kachin State in Myanmar , located from Yangon, and from Mandalay. In Burmese it means "near the big river", and in fact "Myitkyina" lies on the west bank of the Ayeyarwady River, just below from Myit-son of its two headstreams...
, the capital of Kachin State
Kachin State
Kachin State , is the northernmost state of Burma. It is bordered by China to the north and east; Shan State to the south; and Sagaing Division and India to the west. It lies between north latitude 23° 27' and 28° 25' longitude 96° 0' and 98° 44'. The area of Kachin State is . The capital of the...
, in northern Burma.
The source of both the N'mai and Mali Rivers is the Himalaya glaciers of northern Burma in the vicinity of 28° N. The eastern most of the two, N'mai river, is the larger stream and rises in the Languela Glacier north of Putao
Putao
Putao is the northernmost town of Kachin State, Myanmar and is the site of the World War II British Fort Hertz. It is the principal town in Putao Township. It can only be reached by road during summer but is accessible year round by air if there are sufficient tourist groups to justify a plane...
. It is unnavigable because of the strong current whereas the smaller western river, the Mali, is navigable, despite a few rapids.
History
The Myitsone Dam is part of the Confluence Region Hydropower Project (CRHP), which includes seven dams with a total installed capacity of 16,500 MW. CRHP alone accounts for 41 percent of the total power capacity called for by a 30-year strategic plan. Outlined in 2001, the plan includes 64 hydropower plants and three coal power plants with combined installed capacity of more than 40,000 MW.The Myanmar Electrical Power Enterprise and the Agriculture and Irrigation Ministry scheduled the Irawaddy Myitsone Dam Multipurpose Water Utilization Project in 2001. The survey phase was initiated in 2003. First the government contracted the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese Kansai Electric Power Company
Kansai Electric Power Company
, also known as , is an electric utility with its operational area of Kansai region, Japan . The company is regarded as one of the leading companies in Kansai, as well as a leader of the Japanese electric power industry....
(KEPCO) to build a small weather station
Weather station
A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for observing atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, wind speed, wind...
at Tang Hpre village, near the confluence. Chinese and Burmese contractors, including Yunnan Machinery Equipment Import & Export Company (YMEC), Kunming Hydropower Institute of Design, surveyed the dam site. In 2006, Suntac Technologies Co. Ltd., a Burmese Geographic Information System
Geographic Information System
A geographic information system, geographical information science, or geospatial information studies is a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present all types of geographically referenced data...
(GIS) mapping contractor set up an office at the monastery in Tang Hpre village. They also set up a temporary camp at Washawng village to facilitate transport of survey equipment from the YMEC company in China. In October, the Asia World Company built a project implementation camp on a hill top at the dam site 3 mi (4.8 km) downstream from the confluence. when the camp was complete, Chinese inspectors stayed and surveyed the area for five months. In December 2006, the Ministry of Electric Power No. 1 and the China Power Investment Corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a 4,100 MW project at Myitsone and a 2,000 MW project at Chibwe.
The design phase began in 2007. The Changjiang Design Institute of China sent several groups of design personnel and conducted geological drilling, reservoir inspection and hydrological measuring near the dam site. To supply electricity for dam construction projects, a small 65 MW, Chibwe Creek hydroelectricity was built in April 2007. In May, the New Light of Myanmar reported that the Ministry of Power No. 1 and CPI would build seven hydropower dams on the N'Mai and Irawaddy rivers.
On 16 June 2009, Myanmar Ambassador Thein Lwin and President of China Power Investment Corporation Lu Qizhou signed a Memorandum of Agreement between the Department of Hydropower Implementation and the China Power Investment Corporation for the Development, Operation and Transfer of the hydropower Projects in Maykha, Malikha and Upstream of Irrawaddy-Myitsone River Basins. The official opening ceremony of the dam construction phase was held on December 21.
Economics
The majority of total US$3.6 billion cost was to be covered by the China Power Investment Corporation in a joint venture with the Asia World Company, Suntac Technologies, the Myanmar Electrical Power Enterprise, and Kansai Electric Power Company. The Burmese government would get ten percent of the electricity generated and fifteen percent of the project shares. In addition, the government would charge a withholding taxWithholding tax
Withholding tax, also called retention tax, is a government requirement for the payer of an item of income to withhold or deduct tax from the payment, and pay that tax to the government. In most jurisdictions, withholding tax applies to employment income. Many jurisdictions also require...
and an export tax on exported electricity to China. After a fifty-year period, the government would totally own the project free of charge. Myanmar would receive US$17 billion from the project during the contracted fifty-year period.
For all the seven dams in the Irrawaddy basin, the Burmese government was to get USD54 billion via taxation, free electricity and share dividends, far more than CPI's return on investment during the Chinese operation period according to the President of CPI.
Design
The dam was planned to be a concrete faced rock-fill dam 152 m (498.7 ft) in both height and width, and projected to produce 3,600 megawatts (MW) of electricity by 2017. This is equivalent to 16% of the 22,500 MW output of the Three Gorges DamThree Gorges Dam
The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric dam that spans the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping, located in the Yiling District of Yichang, in Hubei province, China...
In China, the world's largest electricity-generating plant of any kind.
Minister of Electric Power Zaw Min claimed that the dam was designed to withstand an earthquake of 8.0 Richter Scale, a scale that has never been recorded to have occurred in that region, and the most devastating flood of a millennium.
Power generation
The Myitsone dam is the biggest of seven large dams currently planned on the Mali River, the N'Mai River and the Irawaddy rivers. The China Power Investment CorporationChina Power Investment Corporation
China Power Investment Corporation is one of the five largest state-owned power producers in the People's Republic of China, administrated by SASAC for the State Council of the People's Republic of China. It is engaged in development, investment, construction, operation and management of power...
is project manager of the Confluence Region Hydropower Projects. The seven dams combined total design installed capacity is 16,500 MW of electricity.
The dam was to provide electricity primarily to the China Southern Power Grid
China Southern Power Grid
China Southern Power Grid Company Limited is one of the two state-owned enterprises established in 2002 according to the precept to reform the power system promulgated by the State Council of the People's Republic of China, the other being State Grid Corporation of China...
via its subsidiary, the Yunnan Power Grid Company, in Yunnan Province
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
and then on to the power hungry eastern coastal areas of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, in conformity with the Chinese central Government's 'West to East Transmission Policy'. The hydropower project was being implemented under an agreement signed in late 2006 with the state-owned China Power Investment Corporation
China Power Investment Corporation
China Power Investment Corporation is one of the five largest state-owned power producers in the People's Republic of China, administrated by SASAC for the State Council of the People's Republic of China. It is engaged in development, investment, construction, operation and management of power...
(CPI) and Burma’s Ministry of Electric Power No 1. The dam and reservoir planning and construction is managed by the Burmese government in cooperation with the China Southern Power Grid and several subcontractors.
Social impact
The dam was expected to flood 766 km² (295.8 sq mi) including 47 villages near the construction site and displace more than 10,000 ethnic Kachin people living in those villages. The large military securityMilitary occupation
Military occupation occurs when the control and authority over a territory passes to a hostile army. The territory then becomes occupied territory.-Military occupation and the laws of war:...
presence, forced relocations
Population transfer
Population transfer is the movement of a large group of people from one region to another by state policy or international authority, most frequently on the basis of ethnicity or religion...
, deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
and flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
s would follow hand-in-hand with its construction according to The Irrawaddy
The Irrawaddy
This article is about a newsmagazine. For other uses of the term, please see Irrawaddy.For the Second World War battle honour, see Battle of Pokoku and Irrawaddy River operations...
news agency. The activists in exile stated that the dam would also submerge historical temples, churches and cultural heritage sites important to Kachin identity and history and the natural heritage of the Kachin people in Myitsone area would be lost.
In response, the government reported in the state run New Light of Myanmar
New Light of Myanmar
The New Light of Myanmar is a government-owned newspaper published by the Ministry of Information and based in Yangon , Myanmar....
that relocated villages from the project area had been provided with all forms of aids including water, electric power and buildings and that the government also helped in relocation of religious buildings. CPI reported a total expense of 4.1 billion kyats in compensation and 25 million US dollars in resettlement. In addition, the government stated that the remote region would benefit greatly from the new roads and access to electricity.
Local communities pointed out that the environmental impact, community displacement, and threat to cultural sites. Others opposed the dam site because it is less than 100 km (62.1 mi) from the major Sagaing fault line, posing a risk to basin inhabitants if an earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
weakened the dam or caused landslides in the reservoir. If the Irrawaddy Myitsone Dam broke during an earthquake, it would endanger the lives of hundred of thousands of people downstream in Kachin State’s largest city, Myikyina.
In response, the government said that the dam would withstand an earthquake of magnitude 8.0 Richter scale. On the other hand, Burmese scientists, who carried out the environmental assessment, recommended to build two smaller dams farther upstream instead of building on earthquake-prone zone. In an interview with Xinhua News, Lu Qizhou, President of China Power Investment Corporation,said Myitsone Hydropower Station follows the standard of fortification intensity 9, two points above the intensity of Zipingbu Hydropower Station that withstood 2008 Sichuan earthquake
2008 Sichuan earthquake
The 2008 Sichuan earthquake or the Great Sichuan Earthquake was a deadly earthquake that measured at 8.0 Msand 7.9 Mw occurred at 14:28:01 CST...
of 8.0 Richter scale.
Environmental impact
As with other large dam projects, the Myitsone Dam construction would have altered the hydrologicalHydrology
Hydrology is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets, including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and environmental watershed sustainability...
characteristics of the river and prevent sediment
Sediment
Sediment is naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of fluids such as wind, water, or ice, and/or by the force of gravity acting on the particle itself....
from enriching the traditionally highly productive agricultural floodplains downstream. This can affect fertility as far downstream as the Irrawaddy Delta
Irrawaddy Delta
The Irrawaddy Delta or Ayeyarwady Delta lies in the Ayeyarwady Region , the lowest expanse of land in Burma that fans out from the limit of tidal influence at Myan Aung to the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, 290 km to the south at the mouth of the Ayeyarwady River...
, the major rice-producing area of Myanmar. The government responded that officials had taken sediment accumulation into consideration, and that the Myintsone dam would have capabilities to discharge the accumulated sediment.
Other consequences of flooding by the reservoir include loss of farmland and loss of spawning habitat as fish cannot swim upstream anymore. This would lead to lost income for fishermen according to Kachin environmental activist groups in exile. On the other hand, research by Biodiversity And Nature Conservation Association (BANCA) contradicts the activists' statement. BANCA's research asserts that commercial fishing is not reported from the project area. But, it confirms that some resident aquatic species will be affected by the change in hydrological conditions.
Ecological concerns focus on the inundation of an area that is the border of the Indo-Burma and South Central China biodiversity hotspot
Biodiversity hotspot
A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat from humans.The concept of biodiversity hotspots was originated by Norman Myers in two articles in “The Environmentalist” , revised after thorough analysis by Myers and others in...
. The Mali and N'mai River confluence region falls within the Mizoram-Manipur-Kachin rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
s. Nevertheless, the dam would increase the shipping capacity of Irrawaddy river. The number of floods occurring once per year would be reduced to once every twenty years. Since the hydropower is the renewable energy, the energy produced by the dam would decrease the need for air polluting sources of energy such as fossil fuel
Fossil fuel
Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years...
. The construction and the maintenance of the dam would have employed a large number of people.
Opposition
Local villages have opposed the project since its proposal in 2001. In 2007, 12 local leaders from Kachin StateKachin State
Kachin State , is the northernmost state of Burma. It is bordered by China to the north and east; Shan State to the south; and Sagaing Division and India to the west. It lies between north latitude 23° 27' and 28° 25' longitude 96° 0' and 98° 44'. The area of Kachin State is . The capital of the...
sent a letter to Senior General Than Shwe and the junta’s Ministry of Electric Power asking for the project to be cancelled. Burma Rivers Network also sent a letter to the Chinese government asking Chinese companies operating in Burma to conduct environmental and social impact assessments, publicly release information, and to include affected communities in the decision-making process. In a parliamentary session, government minister Zaw Min responded that environmental impact had been carried out by the Biodiversity And Nature Conservation Association (BANCA) at a cost of USD1.25 million and stated that Myitsone Dam Project was started only when the government had studied the possible impacts environmentally. However, the results of BANCA's assessment were not disclosed publicly.
Outside Burma, activists in exile have actively carried out protests in various countries. In February 2010, the UK-based Kachin National Organization (KNO) protested against construction of the dam in front of the Burmese Embassies in the UK, Japan, Australia and USA. Leaked United States diplomatic cable
United States diplomatic cables leak
The United States diplomatic cables leak, widely known as Cablegate, began in February 2010 when WikiLeaks—a non-profit organization that publishes submissions from anonymous whistleblowers—began releasing classified cables that had been sent to the U.S. State Department by 274 of its consulates,...
s by Wikileak revealed that U.S embassy in Yangon funded some of the activist groups.
Skirmishes have been broken out between Kachin Independence Army and Burmese military over the dam issue since June 2011. On April 17, 2010, three bombs exploded close to the site of dam, killing four Chinese workers. The Burmese government blamed Kachin Independence Army
Kachin Independence Army
The Kachin Independence Army is the military arm of the Kachin Independence Organization , a political group composed of ethnic Kachins in northern Burma...
for planting the bombs. KIA has denied having anything to do with the Myitsone bombing.
Domestic campaigns against the project are brought together by political activists including Nobel peace prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
laureate Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi, AC is a Burmese opposition politician and the General Secretary of the National League for Democracy. In the 1990 general election, her National League for Democracy party won 59% of the national votes and 81% of the seats in Parliament. She had, however, already been detained...
, conservationists, scholars, poets and journalists. Local media openly criticized the lack of transparency in dam project. Journalists argued that the deal was agreed by previous government
State Peace and Development Council
The State Peace and Development Council was the official name of the military regime of Burma , which seized power in 1988. On 30 March 2011, Senior General Than Shwe signed a decree to officially dissolve the Council....
without considering public opinions. Burmese poets wrote several poems portraying the future of Irrawaddy river including The Dead River by Maung Sein Min.
Despite the opposition, Minister Zaw Min for the Ministry of Electric Power responded to the press that the government would continue this project up to the completion. But, in September 2011 he conceded that despite promised benefits from the project, it may be appropriate to minimize the environmental impacts by redesigning the tunnel, shortening the dam's height and reducing the water storage capacity, relocating to the upstream, and reassessing environmental impacts. He also agreed that final decision should depend on the environment impact assessment report by the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry and the study by the Engineer Group.
Suspension
On 30 September 2011, in an address to the parliament, Burma's president Thein SeinThein Sein
Thein Sein is a Burmese politician and military figure who has been president of Myanmar since March 2011. Previously, he was Prime Minister from 2007 until 2011...
announced that the Myitsone dam project would be halted during the term of his government. The letter from the president consisted of ten points including,
The decision was universally acclaimed by environmentalists, political activists and locals alike. It is considered as "a rare reversal" in that for the first time, the government had listened to the people in face of public opposition.. Western nations including EU and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
welcome the President's decision.
In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei stated that the Chinese government has urged the Burmese government to protect the legal and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies. He reminded that the Myitsone dam is a jointly invested project between China and Myanmar, and one that has been thoroughly examined by both sides. He also confirmed that the matters would be resolved through friendly consultation. The president of CPI, Lu Qizhou, has warned that a halt in construction could lead to legal action.
In October 2011, Myanmar Foreign Minister traveled to Beijing to settle the dispute.
Analysis
Although the President Thein Sein's decision has been widely applauded, experts caution that Sino-Burma relation could be ultimately harmed by the suspension. Dr Nicholas Farrelly, a Southeast Asia specialist at the Australian National University in Canberra said that while there would inevitably be some short-term damage to bilateral relations pragmatism would override any potential for long-term animosity. The issue is further exacerbated by the massacre of 13 Chinese sailors near Burma-Thailand border.Internationally, the suspension is considered as one of the democratic reforms along with other engagements such as dialogues with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and release of some political prisoners. Marie Lall, a BBC South Asia analyst attributes Burma's bid for the Asean chair in 2014, the needs to reform the economy for ASEAN Free Trade Area
ASEAN Free Trade Area
ASEAN Free Trade Area is a trade bloc agreement by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations supporting local manufacturing in all ASEAN countries....
and the government's desire to win the election in 2015 as the main motives of the reforms.