Salween River
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Salween River (Burmese: သံလ္ဝင္မ္ရစ္; IPA: [θànlwìn myiʔ]; also spelled Salwine) rises in Tibet, after which it flows through Yunnan, where it is known as the Nujiang river (Chinese: 怒江; pinyin: Nù Jiāng), although either name can be used for the whole river. The river is 2815 km long. It then leaves China and meanders through Myanmar (where it is known as the Thanlwin) and Thailand on its way to emptying in the Andaman Sea by Mawlamyine (Moulmien).
For most of its route the river is of little commercial value, and it passes through deep gorges and is often called China's Grand Canyon. It is home to over 7,000 species of plants and 80 rare or endangered animals and fish. Unesco said this region "may be the most biologically diverse temperate ecosystem in the world" and designated it a World Heritage Site in 2003.
The Nu people (Chinese: 怒族; pinyin: nù zú), one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, are named after this river.
[edit] Issues
The Salween is the longest undammed river in mainland Southeast Asia, and proposals to build several dams along it, mainly in Myanmar, are controversial.
On April 1, 2004, the Chinese premier halted the construction of 13 dams on the Salween in Yunnan.
But the Thai and Myanmar governments are planning to build several dams. One is said to be larger than the widely controversial Three Gorges Dam. On April 5, 2006 the Thai and Myanmar governments signed a 6 billion USD agreement to build the Ta Sang dam.
Another Thai-Myanmar project is for the Hatgyi dam. A feasibility survey was started in May 2006, but was abandoned until sometime in 2007, due to a military offensive by the State Peace and Development Council against Karen people in the area. The dam's builder, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, had hoped to have the feasibility study completed by April 2006, with construction to start in November 2007.
[edit] Further reading
- Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas
- Nature Conservancy: Gongshan Nature ReserveThe Nature Conservancy
- Rivers Watch East and Southeast Asia
- NuJiang River Project
- International Rivers Network
- Salween River - A Global 200 Ecoregion
- Hydrometeorological Approach to the Upper Salween River (USRB) - copyright by Christophe Lienert, Geographical Institute of the University of Berne and Kunming Institute of Botany
[edit] References
- Phoel, Cynthia M., "Bargaining Power", in Oxfam Exchange, Fall 2004.
- Phoel, Cynthia M., Defending Rivers and Earthrights in Burma on the site of Oxfam America
- Salween River Watch NGO
- First Descent of the Nu River (Salween) Headwaters
- China Huadian Corp to lead Nu River (upper Salween) hydropower plan
- Epoch Times : Proposed Nu River Hydroelectric Dam Causes Controversy
- Epoch Times: China to Halt Nu River Project
- Damming the Angry River
- New York Times : Seeking a Public Voice on China's 'Angry River'
- Dam Building Threatens China's 'Grand Canyon'
- Dam Opposition Swells
- The Nu Guard: A Chinese environmental journalist takes on a torrent of ecological issues.
- (AP) Nujiang dam project tests environmental policy
- Dam Projects and Environmental Sustainability
- Thai groups battle new China dam
- Missing Voices on the Nu River Dam Project
- Vast dam proposal is a test for China
- "Myanmar, Thailand Sign Six-Billion-Dollar Hydropower Plant Agreement", Associated Press.
- Wolf, Ismail (June 5, 2006). "EGAT Halt Myanmar Dam Survey, International Herald Tribune/ThaiDay.
