Myanmar’s Toxic Legacy of Large Dams

Mar 14, 2017 | Beth Walker
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In September spectacular drone footage revealed the beauty of the waterfalls, rapids, ancient temples and islets of the Nam Pang River, a tributary of the Salween in northern Myanmar’s Shan state known as Kun hing, or “thousand islands.”

The footage was part of a campaign documentary, “Drowning a Thousand Islands”, made by local activists to show the impact of the planned Mong Ton dam. If built, it will be the tallest dam in South-east Asia and flood villages and pristine landscape which were, until recently, cut off from the outside world due to decades of civil war.