The Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN) is excited to complete the first biodiversity survey on the Salween river. Khoe Kay: Biodiversity in Peril (Wanida Press) recounts the history, methods and results of more than 3 months of surveys on this bend in the Salween in Karen State, Burma. The researches found 194 plant species and 200 animals, including 42 endangered species, indicating that the area still holds significant biodiversity, but is subject to outside threats. The main threats facing the Salween basin are from proposed dams, and Khoe Kay is located at the Wei Gyi dam site. The report follows the work of the World Commission on Dams to predict several serious impacts, including fisheries, forests, greenhouse gas emissions, and cumulative impacts from a cascade of dams. Finally, KESAN invites the academic and research communities to undertake further cooperative research into the Salween River ecosystems.

To download: English 

PRESS RELEASE
Karen Environmental and Social Action Network
Embargoed for September 26, 2008
 
First Salween Biodiversity Survey Reveals
Endangered Species Threatened by Dams

    The first detailed survey of the biodiversity of Burma's Salween River by indigenous researchers has identified over forty endangered plant and animal species which are being threatened by plans to build a series of large hydropower dams and ongoing military actions.

    Khoe Kay: Biodiversity in Peril, by the Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN) details the rich biodiversity of Khoe Kay on the Salween River opposite Thailand's Mae Hong Son province. The area includes the site of the planned Weigyi Dam, one of five giant hydropower dams planned for the Salween River by the Burmese, Thai and Chinese governments.

    Using traditional and academic methods of research, the KESAN team identified 194 plant species and 200 animals, forty-two of which are considered endangered by the World Conservation Union. One example is the Hairy faced bat, Myotis annectans (pictured). Over 2 dozen endemic and unknown species are also present, including eight endemic fish species identified by Dr. Chavalit Vidthayanon of WWF-Thailand. The report shows that the Salween River still contains amazing biodiversity, and deserves more attention from international scientists.

    According to KESAN Activist Ko Shwe, "the Karen people depend on a healthy Salween ecosystem, including fish, forest products, riverside gardens and transportation. The proposed dams will ruin the ecosystem and the free flowing river, kill the surrounding forests and destroy the lives of thousands of people.

    The report also predicts further extreme impacts to the environment. These include greenhouse gas emissions, changes in flow and sedimentation, and perhaps most significantly, the cumulative effects of building and operating several cascading dams. While many parties have studied their own dam proposals on the Salween, no one has ever examined the effects of all the proposed dams together. Militarization of the area is also increasing, and has already resulted in the loss of one severely endangered Sumatran Rhinoceros. KESAN promotes further research into this highly endangered ecosystem, and urges a halt to dam construction until impacts can be understood and alleviated.

     KESAN will release this report at 10:00 AM on Sept. 26th at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand, Maneeya Center, 518/5 Ploenchit Road Pathumwan, Bangkok. Copies of the report will be available then, or can be ordered from KESAN.  It is also available in .pdf format on the Salween Watch website, www.salweenwatch.org.

For more information,
contact Ko Shwe, mobile phone 08 2191 2672, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it