IN THE NEWS: 'Salween Stories:' Hpa-an, Myanmar

/
IN THE NEWS: 'Salween Stories:' Hpa-an, Myanmar

Hpa-an town sits alongside the Salween River in the southeastern part of Myanmar. It is the capital city of Karen (Kayin) State, and home to over 400,000 people who are mostly Karen ethnicity. Surrounding the town are numerous limestone karst mountains, within some of which are located sacred caves and temples. These same mountains, however, have also attracted the mining industry, who view them as raw materials for cement production.

Read More

IN THE NEWS: 'Salween Stories' Website Launch

/
IN THE NEWS: 'Salween Stories' Website Launch

There are many stories about the Salween River. Myths from long ago. The hopes and tragedies of the recent past. The present day stories of a diversity of local lives and cultures. Dreams for a better future - some shared and some dissimiliar.  

“Salween Stories” is a space to share the stories of this unique river, told by those who live alongside and passionately care about its future.

Read More

IN THE NEWS: "One By One Big Hydropower Dams Disrupt Mekong River’s Free Flow"

/

By Keith Schneider [Circle of Blue, 2 August 2017]

In unfolding global energy revolution, expensive and ecologically risky dams may not be right choice to generate more electricity...

“The energy revolution is evolving around the world,” said Carl Middleton, an assistant professor of political science at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, and a scholar on Mekong River development. “This region is resisting the shift, though, because of the economics of building big new projects. But it seems inevitable that the shift will happen here. It raises questions about continuing to build so many big dams.”...

Read more at: http://www.circleofblue.org/2017/world/one-one-big-hydropower-dams-disrupt-mekong-rivers-free-flow/

IN THE NEWS: "Salween River Dams Intrude on Contested Land"

/
IN THE NEWS: "Salween River Dams Intrude on Contested Land"

By Brett Walton [Circle of Blue, 8 November 2016]

In a HotSpots H2O interview with Circle of Blue reporter Brett Walton, Dr. Carl Middleton discusses the strain that hydropower development is adding to one of the region’s most politically, culturally, and biologically diverse watersheds. Dr. Middleton, director of the Center for Social Development Studies at Chulalongkorn University, in Bangkok, Thailand, also explores alternate futures for the Salween River.

Read More