When he was young, Singkharn Ruenhom used to go fishing with his father along the Yuam River on Thailand’s northwestern border with Myanmar. When he became a father, he fished on the river with his sons.
But he is now worried that his grandchildren might not get to do the same.
Like Ruenhom, many in the communities across Mae Hong Son, Tak and Chiang Mai provinces are concerned about their homes and heritage. In September 2021, a project was approved to divert an average of 1,795 cubic metres of water annually to irrigate the central plains in these provinces.
“They did not tell us what impacts there would be,” said Ekachai Jamonjarudet, a resident of one of the villages affected by the project in Omkoi district, Chiang Mai. “They told us not to worry because they will compensate us or find new land for us.”
The project will be the first to dam this tributary of the Salween, one of the last free-flowing rivers left in the world. On Myanmar’s side of the border, the Salween faces a number of potential mainstream hydropower projects; Chinese companies are involved in the construction or development of most of them.
Read more:
https://www.eco-business.com/news/communities-kept-in-the-dark-about-thailands-yuam-river-diversion-impacts/