Snaking through the verdant limestone landscape, the Salween River finally reaches the Andaman Sea by Burma’s former teak port capital of Moulmein after running a course of 2,800 kilometers during which it supports an estimated 10 million people. But times are changing for what was once the longest free-flowing river in Asia, as Chinese, Thai and Burmese-backed dam projects look set to transform the dynamic of this vital waterway in the wake of Naypyidaw’s peace deals with ethnic armed groups.
Burma Seeks to Dam Another River
Snaking through the verdant limestone landscape, the Salween River finally reaches the Andaman Sea by Burma’s former teak port capital of Moulmein after running a course of 2,800 kilometers during which it supports an estimated 10 million people. But times are changing for what was once the longest free-flowing river in Asia, as Chinese, Thai and Burmese-backed dam projects look set to transform the dynamic of this vital waterway in the wake of Naypyidaw’s peace deals with ethnic armed groups.
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