lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

Air & Water PollutionYou don’t need to be a scientific expert to sniff the air pollution in Yangonand Mandalay. According to a spokesperson for Ecodev (www.ecodev-mm.com), a local NGO, studies by the National Commission for EnvironmentalAffairs pegged air quality in these cities at below WorldHealth Organisation standards.Uncontrolled gold and other mining means that the release of pollutantsinto rivers and the sea is steadily increasing. The most noticeableaspect of pollution to travellers will be the piles of non-biodegradablewaste, such as plastic bags, dumped at the edge of towns and villagesand seen fluttering across the fields. Bans on the production and sale ofpolythene bags and cord exist in both Yangon and Mandalay but they arenot strictly enforced.Dams & PipelinesIn the last decade the authorities have embarked on a series of hydroelectricdam projects along the country’s major rivers, creating a crescendoof economic, social and environmental problems. Trumping thefuss made over the ongoing construction of the Tamanthi Dam on theChindwin River, which has so far forced the relocation of many tribalKuki villages and threatens the habitat of rare wildlife species, is theMyitsone Dam, the biggest of seven large dams currently planned on theMali, the N’Mai and the Ayeyarwady rivers.The government has said it wants to make hydropower its sole sourceof electricity by 2030 but critics believe the majority of the power generatedwill be exported to neighbouring countries.There’s also concern among environmentalists about the developmentof oil and gas fields off Myanmar’s coast and the impact this is having onfragile eco-systems as pipelines are built across the country to send thefossil fuels to Thailand and China.Find out aboutMyanmar’s riversand the environmentalproblemsthey face atBurma RiversNetwork www.burmariversnetwork.org, anumbrella gro.EarthrightsInternational(www.earthrights.org) documentshuman rights andenvironmentalabuses in Myanmar,focusingin particular onthe controversialYadana gaspipeline.327ENVIRONMENT & WILDLIFE ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES