Myitsone dam project, at the headwaters of the irrawaddy, is caught in tug of war between the state and a chinese corporation peter hadfield in mitkyina, northern burma tue 4 mar 2014 06. It said they assured hong liang that local people of kachin state do not oppose the myitsone hydropower project. Dams and other hydropower projects global, regional. The meaning of land in myanmar transnational institute.
Evaluation of the environmental impact assessment eia of. It has been widely criticised for lacking an alternatives analysis, proper consideration of downstream impacts, the cumulative impacts of the seven dams, and the near absence of social impact. Any political leader, including daw aung san suu kyi, who seeks a compromise that would allow the myitsone dam project to proceed will surely face the publics wrath. Aug 14, 2019 yangonopposition to the controversial chinesebacked myitsone dam was politically victimized by some forces backed by foreign countries in an effort to derail myanmars democratic reform process and hinder chinamyanmar relations, the outgoing chinese ambassador to myanmar said. Ifc report recommends alternatives to highrisk myitsone thompson chau 21 dec 2018 ethnic kachin people and activists gather on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of myitsone dam project suspension at the irrawaddy river. Aung zaw is the founder and editorinchief of the irrawaddy. Chinas policy towards the myitsone dam issue has experienced several major changes since myanmar suspended the controversial project in september 2011. Jul 18, 2016 campaigners fight against the myitsone dam. Civil society groups continue to boycott myitsone dam. Construction of the myitsone dam has been suspended since september 2011 and will remain so at least until the end of the current term of president thein sein in 2015. In myanmar, examples of sustained community resistance include the mong ton dam on the salween and the myitsone dam on the irrawaddy. Myitsone dam could spark civil war subject in an open letter sent to chinese president hu jintao, the kachin independence organization kio has asked china to stop the planned myitsone dam to be built in burmas northern kachin state, warning that the controversial project could lead to civil war. The myitsone dam was to be located a mile downstream of this point.
Nearly 40 civil society organizations csos have called on chinese president xi jinping to permanently terminate the suspended myitsone dam project, saying that the project threatens the prosperity of the myanmar people and that friendly relations between the two countries will deteriorate if the project goes ahead. Myanmar the myitsone dam, the letpadaung copper mine and the sinomyanmar oil and gas pipelines has encountered serious difficulties. Campaigners fight against the myitsone dam mekong eye. The dam site is less than 100 kilometers from the earthquake prone sagaing fault line. The myitsone dam decision in burma human rights watch. Development of the dam at myitsone is not considered to be consistent with sustainable hydropower principles, the report said. It is some individuals and social organizations from outside that oppose the project. The myitsone dam suspension is an asymmetric negotiation between naypyitaw and beijing. Myitsone is a landmark of kachin state, u soe thein, who is currently a lawmaker in the upper house, told reporters at the union parliament in naypyitaw on tuesday. The proposed construction site is at the confluence of the mali and nmai rivers and the source of the irawaddy.
Mung ra stands on stage, looking out over the thousands of anti dam protesters who have come to the confluence where the ayeyarwady river originates on october 1 to celebrate the seventh anniversary of the suspension of the myitsone dam. The politics of collaborative expertise john hattie june 2015 open ideas at pearson sharing independent insights on the big. Burmese villagers exiled from ancestral home as fate of. The chinese project not only bears upon myanmars foreign relations, economic development, and peace process with ethnic armed groups. Myanmars myitsone dam project still a deadlock online. En 2002, lirawaddy myitsone dam multipurpose water utilization project a ete. Yangonopposition to the controversial chinesebacked myitsone dam was politically victimized by some forces backed by foreign countries in an effort to derail myanmars democratic reform process and hinder chinamyanmar relations, the outgoing chinese ambassador to myanmar said. Chinas dam problem with myanmar by brahma chellaney. China said on wednesday it will continue to talk to myanmar about a controversial stalled dam project, after myanmars new energy minister cast doubt over the scheme. Sep 19, 2011 myitsone dam construction to continue. In other words, the myitsone dam suspension was a sinomyanmar economic dispute that resembled the battle between david and goliath.
The bilateral agreement of the hydropower project was concluded in 2009. Myanmars myitsone dam, in kachin state, is a key example of this opposition to dam. Myitsone dam on the irrawaddy dropped 30 three gorges dam triggered 3,000 earthquakes 31 new publication. The myitsone was one of seven hydropower projects planned in the upper parts of the ayeyarwady river. Myitsone dam project in myanmar and analyses it in relation to this framework. Parameters for opening pdf files you can open a pdf document with a command or url that specifies exactly what to display a named destination or specific page, and how to display it using such characteristics as a specific view, scrollbars, bookmarks, annotations, or highlighting. Environmental and social guidelines on chinas foreign.
Benefits genus media upshot digital asset management dam. Our analysis takes a policy regime perspective specifically, a political economic regime of provisioning framework. The agency charged with expanding hydro project is the state peace and development council and the current chairman of srgen than shwe strives to build more dams. Mar 04, 2014 myitsone dam project, at the headwaters of the irrawaddy, is caught in tug of war between the state and a chinese corporation peter hadfield in mitkyina, northern burma tue 4 mar 2014 06. Burmese villagers exiled from ancestral home as fate of dam. The antiflood standard of the myitsone dam is designed as once in years and ratified with once in 0 years to ensure safe operation. Shwe who hails from the kyaukse region, through which the zawgyi river flows is widely.
Less than two weeks prior to submitting a government commissions evaluation of the proposed myitsone dam, civil society groups continue to call for an end to mega hydropower projects on the irrawaddy river. China hopes to resume myitsone hydro dam the myanmar times. Myitsone dam is located 37 kilometers away from myitkyina, the capital of kachin state. A chinesebacked dam project leaves myanmar in a bind the. Oct 05, 2011 pdf burma rivers network response to china power investment corporation comments on myitsone dam. China may scrap divisive dam in myanmar to advance other. The myitsone dam was to generate some 6,000 megawatts of power of which the majority was to be sent to china while creating a reservoir the size of singapore with a depth of a 66story building. The enterprise capabilities you need genus media upshot dam is built on the foundation of ibm ecm, providing a highly scalable, reliable and secure platform for enterprise asset management. The myitsone dam project, currently suspended, was being developed by cpi and asia world. The irrawaddy myitsone dam project burma campaign uk. Adobe transactional licensing program the quick and easy way to save on volume purchases and manage your adobe software licenses with one simple transaction key benefits of tlp. The myitsone dam project, currently suspended, was being developed by cpi and asia world, a burmese dam developer, allegedly one of myanmars most successful construction and trading companies, which is owned by regime crony steven law u. This is the same version published by oreilly in 2009, with a new cover.
Why chinese development failed at myanmars myitsone dam article pdf available in eurasian geography and economics 573. On wednesday, civil society organizations, mostly based. However, he suggested that a dam could be built somewhere upstream on either of the mali or the nmai rivers, at whose confluence the irrawaddy river begins. Myanmars national league for democracy nld, led by aung san suu kyi, is about to face a tough policy test. It will create 40,000 jobs and benefit myanmar people a lot, mr liu said. Chronology of the myitsone dam at the confluence of rivers above. If myitsone issue fails to be resolved after a long delay, it will seriously hurt the confidence of chinese entrepreneurs in investing in myanmar. It was postponed by thenpresident u thein sein in 2011 for the duration of his term. Much media attention in myanmar is focussed on chinas apparent efforts to revive the stalled myitsone dam, its role in advising the myanmar government on developing a new hydropower strategy white paper, and the implications of these developments for the adoption of the world bankled strategic environmental assessment of myanmars hydropower. Since 2005, burmas military junta in partnership with the china power investment corporation have been preparing plans to build a 3,600 6,000 megawatt irrawaddy myitsone dam on the river.
Aug 18, 2016 myanmars defacto leader aung san suu kyi makes her first visit to china, where the issue of a stalled chinese hydro dam project in myanmars north dominates discussions. The myitsone issue is an opportunity to set the tone with regards to chinese and other foreign direct investment, an opportunity that myanmars. And it didnt help matters that the myitsone dam site is situated just 100 kilometers from a major earthquake fault line. In 2005, plans to build the myitsone hydroelectric dam along the irrawaddy river were released by the china power investment corporation cpi and myanmars private corporation. Mar 31, 2017 the myitsone dam is among the largest of many chinesefinanced energy and mining projects approved by the military junta that ruled myanmar until 2011. On september 30th, the president of burma, thein sein told his parliament that he had suspended the chinese devel. Pdf mage was added by zilvinasbadaras in sep 2016 and the latest update was made in sep 2016. Myitsone dam, the lappadaung copper mine and the sinomyanmar oil and gas pipelines, impact assessment and project appraisal, doi. Coding on additional subthemes was conducted, if appropriate. In the wake of the controversial myitsone dam, aung san suu kyi is demanding more from investors in high risk projects.
The research is based on direct scholarly interaction with both activists and dam developers. Beijing pressuring myanmar to restart myitsone dam construction. Myitsone issues proper solution acceptable to both sides. General gwan maw, vice chairman of the kachin independence organization, discusses the controversial myitsone dam project during an interview. The campaign against the construction of the myitsone dam brought together conservationists, scholars, and political activists including aung san suu kyi, and had become a serious test for the new. Yangon, february 19, 2018ifc, a member of the world bank group, and the government of myanmars ministry of electricity and energy moee and the ministry of natural resources and environmental conservation monrec are holding a stakeholder discussion today in yangon to present findings of the strategic environmental. The rotating shaft is connected to a generator which converts the motion into electrical energy. The irrawaddy river flows from north to south through the center of burma. Theyre hoping that with mrjs help, they and thousands of displaced villagers can move back to their ancestral homes and save their river and their land. Business solutions suite, media upshot dam brings collaboration and sharing to the management of rich media assets. Lessons from myitsone dam in burma international rivers. Sep 30, 2011 the campaign against the construction of the myitsone dam brought together conservationists, scholars, and political activists including aung san suu kyi, and had become a serious test for the new. Although the myitsone dam project is still in limbo today, ja hkawn and lu ra arehopeful that burmas new leadership will listen to burmas local people and consult local communities.
Myitsone hydropower dam within politicallysensitive, biodiverse, and seismicallyactive myitsone, construction of the worlds 15th largest hydropower dam within 62 miles of the sagaing major fault line jeopardises over 300,000 people living downstream in kachin states capital and could spark irreversible damage to. Myanmars suu kyi assures china of solution to stalled dam. Myitsone is a buildoperatetransfer bot kind of project, 90% of the produced electricity was supposed to transmit to china and after fifty years, cpi was supposed to transfer the dam to the myanmar government at no cost. At the edge of the crowd are english signs with the words no dam and free streaming the ayeyarwady.
The myitsone hydroelectric project is the largest of seven dams total. It is estimated that 766 km2 of forest will be inundated along mali and nmai hka river banks, once the dam is fully operational. Ifc and myanmar government share hydro study results with. Myitsone, the countrys most controversial dam, during the period 20032011. Chronology of the myitsone dam 143 6 july 2007 kio special region 2, hq committee chairman zawng hra sends a letter to senior general than shwe to stop the dam project in myitsone confluence area. Agreed between china power international cpi and the nowdeparted junta in the early 2000s, the project was meant to be. But china has not given up, and is now pressuring myanmars tenmonthold elected government to resume construction.
The myitsone dam project began in 2006 when a senior member of the ruling military junta, general thiha thura tin aung myint oo, who was a vice president in u thein seins government from march 2011 to july 2012, visited china and sought assistance for hydropower development. Myitsones moment of truth online burmamyanmar library. The proposed construction site is at the confluence of the mali and nmai rivers and the source of the irawaddy river ayeyawady river in northern burma. Asymmetric bargaining between myanmar and china in the. A chinesebacked dam project leaves myanmar in a bind. Behind myanmars suspended dam 3 in a region scarred by violent conflict and rife with distrust of china, the investment risks are plain. Myanmar csos urge xi jinping to terminate myitsone dam. Jul 08, 20 as of today, you can now purchase the dam book, 2nd edition as a pdf file for digital download. March 31, 2016 what myanmar should do about the myitsone dam. The burma rivers network brn made the following statement on that date. Chinas relations with burma united states institute. However, there have been repeated attempts by the chinese dam builder cpi to restart the project since the suspensive decision. On october 3, chinese media interviewed lu qizhou, the president of china power investment corporation, about burmas myitsone hydropower project. Ifc report recommends alternative to myitsone dam thura.
Myitsone project benefits both china and myanmar china. As china steps up the pressure for a resumption of work on the controversial myitsone dam, myanmar is told it faces three options over the projects future. The thesis looks at burmese land grabs and chinese involvement through a legal analysis and case studies. Cardinal bo condemns proposal to restart myitsone dam. Attractive volume pricing no minimum order size no membership required one simple and flexible purchase transaction automatically applied savings. The effect of the dam on water accessibility, fish stocks, land degradation and livelihoods of the kachin minority group has led to protests from both regional and. Mutually beneficial and double winning chinamyanmar. A chinese stateowned company says it is hoping to resume a major hydropower project in myanmar that was suspended in late 2011 by president u thein sein following widespread public dissent. Variegated borderlands governance in dehong daijingpo autonomous prefecture along the chinamyanmar border article in geoforum 85. Just a few months before 2012 byelections, a group of concerned citizens worried about the fate of myitsone gathered together at a location overlooking the confluence of three rivers in myitkyina, kachin state.
Mar 31, 2016 the issue of the myitsone dam has been a thorny one. Increasingly local communities put up stiff resistance to hydropower across the region. The area is widely recognized for its ecological value and is described by prominent conservation organizations as one of the worlds eight hotspots of biodiversity. Pdf asymmetric bargaining between myanmar and china in. Furthermore, the international agreement was concluded in 2009, and the construction of the myitsone dam was underway. China faces tougher laws in myanmar china dialogue. The brn is encouraged by news that president thein sein plans to stop the construction of the irrawaddy myitsone dam, but urges the people of burma to. The myitsone dam project lies unfinished but not dead in kachin state, northern burma, caught in a tug of war between the burmese government and a powerful chinese corporation. This should be welcome news for overseas purchasers, as well as the many people who have asked for the book in electronic continue reading the dam book now available in pdf. Although myanmar is underdeveloped in terms of its hydropower potential it is not for lack of trying. Rangoon the commission tasked with evaluating hydropower projects on burmas irrawaddy river has submitted its first assessment report to president u htin kyaw on fridaymeeting its projected deadline, a member of the commission told the irrawaddy.
Yu jincuigt a campaign aimed at putting an end to the myitsone dam project is reportedly to be held in myanmars yangon on monday, which chinese experts said will exert a negative influence on the southeast asian countrys economic development. The main dam at myitsone is designed as a concreteface rockfill dam, a type of barrage with a much shallower slope and wider base than arch or gravity dams, which rely on a steep narrow wall. Ifc report recommends alternatives to highrisk myitsone. Confluence dam is a large dam and hydroelectric power development project which was planned to be built in myanmar aka burma. Myitsone dam is now a sovereignty issue the irrawaddy. Myitsone is now a sovereignty issue and the majority of myanmar people wont accept the dam. Via this dataset the interplay of chinese dam developers and activists opposing large dams were analysed in two case studies. The myitsone dam project the dam was to provide about 6,000 mw of power comparable but smaller. The intersection of economic development, land, and human. Many human rights groups are focused on the violence at the letpadaung mine and suspension of the myitsone dam as reflections on the new burmese governments commitment, or lack thereof, to legal rights or human rights. Adb hydro project report in hp in hindi 32 contact himanshu thakkar, parineeta dandekar, ganesh gaud, dams, rivers and people, co 86d, ad block, shalimar bagh, delhi 110 088. Qin hui concludes his threepart analysis of the fate of the myitsone dam. The size of the myitsone dam is fashioned on the three gorges dam in china and is set to become the worlds fifteenth largest dam, producing up to,360 mw 90% of which will go to china international rivers, 2011.
The myitsone dam ejolt fact sheet in the irrawady river. Its possible to update the information on pdf mage or report it as discontinued, duplicated or spam. The myitsone dam is among the largest of many chinesefinanced energy and mining projects approved by the military junta that ruled myanmar until 2011. Cpi did conduct an eia on the myitsone dam complex in 2008 at the request of the power ministry, but it was only disclosed after the 2011 protests. However, myanmars civil society started to oppose the dam when political.
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