More Energy—Tragically UnnecessaryDecentralised, small-scale options (micro hydro, home-scale solar electric systems, and wind and biomass system) based on localrenewable sources offer an important near-term, and possibly long-term, potential particularly in rural areas far away from centralisedsupply networks. – World Commission on Dams, 2000The supposed purpose of the Tasang Dam is to provide energy for Thailand. However, the Thai government has consistently overestimatedthe country’s energy needs which has led to an energy glut. Energy from the Tasang Dam, like that from the Yadana andYetagun pipeline projects, is completely unnecessary. The Tasang Dam should be scrapped on the basis of this factor alone.The era of large dams is ending. Thai energy planners have bought into the myth that “bigger is better,” but large-scale projects’lack of flexibility to meet shifting demand levels outweighs advantages of centralizing production costs. Alternatives—such asdemand-side management (DSM), small-scale power generation such as a reciprocating engine, renewable energy sources such aswind and solar power, biomass, and fuel cells—are available and affordable and should be considered much more seriously by Thaienergy planners.resisting the damWe oppose the privatization of rivers and water resources. We also oppose the control of rivers and water resources by illegitimate andrepressive governments, as in Burma. Access to water is a basic human right. Rivers must be in the hands of the people, not the privatesector or military regimes. – Pak Mun Declaration, signed by RWESA members and allies, 2000fatally flawedThe Tasang Dam on the Salween River“If the dam is constructed blocking the river, not only will the SalweenRiver stop flowing but so will Shan history. Our culture will disappear asour houses, temples, and farms are flooded.” –Shan refugee, 2000The obstacles faced by those resisting the Tasang Dam are considerable: an entrenched military regime bent on crushing minoritygroups’ desires for autonomy, an authoritarian system of governance that renders dissent a death-wish, lack of transparency regardingthe funding of the project, and self-interested “constructive engagement” policies pursued by governments and companies.Nonetheless, indigenous community groups and international organizations have succeeded in mobilizing a powerful challenge tothe Tasang Dam. This challenge is also an appeal to the consciences of governments, financial institutions, citizens in Thailand, theUnited States, Japan, and Europe: avoid complicity in the human rights crimes of the Burmese military; avoid association with theTasang Dam; help prevent this tragedy before it escalates. The people of Shan State must take great risks to oppose this threat totheir lives and their environment. We must support them.for more information or to join a campaign against the Tasang Dam,please contact ERI or the groups and organizations listed below.Shan Sapawa Environmental OrganizationThe recently formed Sapawa is the first Shan organization dedicated solely to the preservation of theenvironment in Shan State. Contact: email@example.com WatchFounded in 1998, Salween Watch is a coalition of local groups from Burma concerned about the fate of theSalween River. Contact: firstname.lastname@example.org Watch East and Southeast AsiaRivers Watch East and Southeast Asia (RWESA) has been working to publicize the damaging effects of largedams in the region. Contact: email@example.com Watch (Japan)Mekong Watch is a Japanese organization established in 1993 to monitor and research social and environmentalimpacts of Japanese development initiatives in the Mekong region, including the Salween River.Contact: firstname.lastname@example.org; www.jca.apc.org/mekongwatchInternational Rivers NetworkInternational Rivers Network supports local communities working to protect their rivers and watersheds.Contact: email@example.com; www.irn.orgFor more information on the World Commission on Dams, see www.dams.org.For more information on the International Labour Organization, see www.ilo.org.EarthRights International (ERI)combines the power of law and thepower of people to protect humanrights and the environment.U.S. Office2012 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.Washington, D.C. 20036Tel: (202) 466-5188Fax: (202) 466-5189email: firstname.lastname@example.org Asia OfficeP.O. Box 12 Lard Phrao JunctionBangkok 10901 ThailandTel/Fax: 66 2 512 2051email: email@example.com from the public spotlight in northeast Burma lies ShanState, home to indigenous groups, diverse forests andanimals, and Southeast Asia’s longest undammed river,the Salween.In this remote zone of civil war and conflict over resources, theBurmese military and an energy company from Thailand aredeveloping the Tasang Dam, slated to be the tallest dam inSoutheast Asia. Given the Burmese regime’s predilection forviolence and disregard for human rights and environmentalstandards, the Tasang Dam, if built, would provoke forced labor,forced relocations, environmental destruction, and suppressionof dissent. To date, public participation has been absent surroundingthe project, and forced labor and portering have already beenlinked to the project and its security. The Tasang Dam projectwould be not only destructive but entirely unnecessary, a boondogglethat would benefit the Burmese generals and a few privatecompanies while doing nothing to provide for the needs andaspirations of the people of Burma or Thailand.An inspiring resistance to the Tasang Dam in Burma is active,if underground, despite the notorious repression of the Burmesemilitary regime. It is not too late to stop the Tasang Dam. It isnot to late to save the Salween.BANGLADESHBay ofBengalINDIAMandalayBURMARangoonShanStateTaunggyilween R.SaAndamanSeaTasang DamCHINATHAILANDBangkokLAOSAbove: Map showing the Salween River and the planned siteof the Tasang Dam
the factswhatThe Tasang Dam would be a hydroelectricdam with a likely generating capacity of atleast 3,300 megawatts and a cost of at leastUS$3 billion. It would be the tallest dam inSoutheast Asia, at least 188 meters high.The flood area caused by the dam wouldcover at least 640 square kilometers.whereThe Salween River is the longest freeflowingriver in Southeast Asia, runningthrough China, Burma, and along the Thai-Burmese border before emptying into theAndaman Sea. The planned location ofthe dam is in Shan State in Burma atTasang. The dam would flood areas alongthe Salween River as well as its tributaries.whoGreater Mekong Subregion (GMS) PowerCo. Ltd. of Thailand is studying thepotential for the project with its Burmesepartner, Myanmar Economic Corporation.Most of the power generated by the damis probably for export to Thailand. It is stillunknown who will finance the project, butoutside loans will be necessary.whenThe Tasang Dam is in the late stages of preconstructionplanning. The next stagesinclude the Detailed Design (D/D),Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA),and a financial plan. The timeline for thedam depends on negotiations among thecompanies and governments for the saleof the electricity. A buyer for the energyproduced by the dam and a price for thepower will be necessary to secure financing.whyThe energy produced by the Tasang Dam isslated for use in Thailand. Just before GMScontracted to begin project studies,Thailand signed a Memorandum ofUnderstanding to explore the possibilityof purchasing up to 1,500 megawatts ofelectricity power from Burma by 2010. Thedam would earn money for the companieswhen it starts generating electricity thatthey can sell. The Burmese regime wouldgain income by taxing the companies’profits and perhaps as a joint venturer.Photo courtesy of ERI.five fatal flawsof the tasang damForced Labor and ViolenceIn Burma, increased military presence in an area means enormous hardship for thelocal population. At Tasang, the military presence has already grown as the companieshave conducted surveys, leading to forced labor and portering by villagers.The Burmese military regime is notorious for its use of violence and forced laborfor development projects. The military troops providing security for the infamousYadana and Yetagun pipeline projects inflicted forced labor, violence, rape, forcedrelocations, and extrajudicial killings on the local population. Other major damprojects in Burma, such as those in Pegu Division, Rakhine State, and Shan State haveinvolved thousands of forced laborers.The Tasang Dam project is following this same pattern of abuse. In fact, forcedlabor in Burma is so widespread, brutal, and systematic that the International LabourOrganization has called on its constituents (governments, workers, and employers)to review any projects that could contribute to the practice. In light of the ILOdecision, the Thai government and GMS Power should halt the Tasang Dam project,recognizing it as a venture that will lead to more forced labor.Environmental and Cultural DestructionThe Salween River sustains the rainforest that supports the survival of different kinds ofanimals. The forest not only protects us from natural disaster and climate change but alsoprovides cool shelter for people and animals. – Shan woman in exile, 2000Large dams generally have a range of extensive impacts on rivers, watersheds and aquaticecosystems—these impacts are more negative than positive and, in many cases, have led toirreversible loss of species and ecosystems. – World Commission on Dams, 2000The beauty of the free-flowingSalween River will be lostif the Tasang Dam is built.The Salween River is at the heart of Shan State, both symbolically and geographically,supporting the biodiversity of the area as well as the agriculture, fisheries, and theculture of the people of Shan State. The Tasang Dam would lead to fragmentation ofthe ecosystem, decreasing biodiversity in the area. The dam would also reduce thereplenishment of nutrients downstream and other benefits that come from naturalflooding. Additional effects would likely include erosion of the riverbed downstreamof the dam, logging in the reservoir area before it is flooded, malaria breeding in thereservoir, and the degradation of forests by people with no other resources. The weightof the dam’s reservoir would also increase the threat of major earthquakes in the region.The harmful cultural and social effects are indisputable. Even at this early stageof the project, the army has restricted movements of river-dependent communities,hindering their livelihoods and cultural practices—essentially, the peoples’ earthrights. Earth rights are those rights that demonstrate the connection between humanwell-being and a sound environment and include the right to a healthy environment,the right to speak out and act to protect the environment, and the right to participatein development decisions.No Participatory Decision-MakingThe Tasang Dam in Shan State represents an extreme case of lack of public participation. Themilitary junta’s record on this issue is consistent. They will abuse or kill anyone who dissents.– Sai Win Pay, elected and exiled Member of Parliament from Shan State, 2000Meaningful public participation in environmental decisions is both impossible anduseless under the brutal military regime whose repressive practices make openopposition to their plans dangerous, even deadly. Consultation with the affectedcommunities has not taken place, and the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy,which won the largest number of Shan State seats in the 1990 election has not beencontacted about the project. The rule of law does not function in Burma. Themilitary junta rules arbitrarily and without transparency, the field of environmentalregulation is severely underdeveloped, and there is no access to legal remedies.Financing BrutalityWhat [investment] did was give the military authorities and those connected with thema chance to consolidate their economic position in the same way in which they hadconsolidated their power base. – Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, 1999Money flowing into Burma through foreign investment does not reach the ordinarycitizen; instead, it helps the military regime keep its grip on power and reduces itsincentive to negotiate a peaceful transfer of power. From 1990-97, the regime spent264% more on its military than it did on health and education combined. TheNational League for Democracy (NLD), headed by Nobel Peace Laureate Daw AungSan Suu Kyi, won over 80% of the parliamentary seats in the 1990 elections, but themilitary regime refused to recognize the election results. The NLD has called forinternational sanctions against the regime and for foreign companies not to operate inthe country until democracy is restored.The Thai government has disregarded this appeal in favor of business interests.Like Thai businesses’ timber deals and participation in the controversial Yadana andYetagun pipeline consortiums, GMS Power’s involvement in the Tasang Dam projectperpetuates a pattern of Thai companies taking advantage of Burma’s political crisisfor profit under the guise of “constructive engagement.” There is no evidence tosupport claims by companies investing in Burma that their constructive engagementbenefits the country. The Tasang Dam is yet another case of destructive engagement,with the military and the investing companies as the only beneficiaries.“I helped construct a building near the dam site for the soldiers . . . . I received no payment for my work, and Idid not want to do the work. But I knew that if I refused to work, I would be arrested.” –Shan villager, 2001“[I]t appeared thatforced labour was usedby the Government [ofBurma] in relation to. . . projects and publicworks such as dams.”–International LabourOrganization, 1999Photo courtesy of ERI.