U Khun Thaung Wai stands at the edge of a lake near Myine Kalay Ywar Lay village, Hpa-An, taking in the surroundings and thinking back to a short time ago when the water was brown and had schools of edible fish swimming in it. Today, the entire lake has a sickly green appearance and no one is willing to touch anything that has been caught in it. It only took two months for the ecosystem to disappear in front of U Khun Thaung Wai’s eyes. The big change came about this year after the introduction of coal burning at a cement factory in the area, replacing the former natural gas system. This requires great truckloads of coal to feed the factory fires and those trucks must pass through the local villages to reach their destination. As they go, loose coal shakes off the trucks onto the road into the spillways where it is either broken down by rains or grounded into a fine dust by time and traffic. There’s a lot of coal in the water system now. All the fish we trap are black. No one will eat it, U Khin Thaung Wai said. The coal powder reaches the water and appears to float as small balls which look solid but totally disintegrate when you touch them, he added. The cement factory is owned and run by the Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), a Tatmadaw conglomerate founded in the junta era. It was originally constructed on seized farmland in 1997. The death of the lake is the first and most visible sign of environmental destruction due to the coal trucks, which pass between the Phoe Sho Jetty and the factory day and night delivering their loads. The single road between the jetty and the factory takes these trucks through the centre of three villages, all of which are experiencing poisoning. Residents are concerned that their very livelihoods are threatened. Cattle and pig farmers are afraid to let their livestock drink from any natural water sources. The local fish, once a cheap and plentiful dietary supplement, must now be brought from further away. Even breathing near the road seems to carry risk, with some residents starting to complain of respiratory problems. At the moment there is a lull because the next shipment of coal has not arrived, but this only provides a respite from the noise and dirt of the trucks. The accumulative damage of the poisoning is causing residents to openly wonder if they need to abandon their villages to save their lives. Their words (the MEC) and their actions are entirely different, one local from Kyun Taw village said, it is difficult to imagine how we can continue living here. Presiding local monk U Eaindra Sara shared the same sentiment, stating Their trucks have no discipline and work carelessly. The coal is spilling out and poisoning the environment. According to the villagers, the factory has made guarantees in the past that roads would not be damaged by the passing of the trucks and also claimed that they would introduce protections against the spillage of coal. So far, nothing has been done. The world fears coal but in Myanmar, they will still use it. How bad is that? a resident from Hlarkar village rhetorised. The villagers have attempted to take political action, making it known to the government that 3,000 locals have signaled their commitment to seeing something done. They further want an environmental and social impact assessment carried out so that the factory will be forced to comply with the standards of an environmental certificate. CSO organisations working in Kayin state have also been championing the cause. It is not clear whether the government or the factory will take responsibility for the impact of the coal on health, the community and the environment but the villagers will become victims, absolutely, U Saw Thar Poe, officer in charge of the Kayen Rivers Watch organisation, said. The Myanmar Times made contact with the factory where U Soe Min Aye, an assistant, stated We will present the facts to the authorities at the factory step-by-step and then answer to the media. Kayin Chief Minister Daw Nan Khin Htwe Myint, Enviroment Minister U Saw Pyi Thar and members of the Kayin parliament in Hpa-An did not respond to an invitation to comment. At present, the villages are nervously awaiting the next coal ship to arrive and for the trucks to fire up their engines. If nothing can be done before that time, they are willing to start a protest. If it continues, all the monks in Kayin State and the villagers must stage a demonstration against the government and the factory, U Eaindra Sara said.