Salween

Salween
River
Salween River Delta, October 1994
Countries	China, Burma, Thailand
Regions	Tibet, Yunnan
Length	2,815 km (1,749 mi)
Map of the Salween watershed

The river seen from the Thai village of Mae Sam Laep on the border between Myanmar and Thailand

The Salween River (Burmese: သံလွင်မြစ်; IPA: [θànlwìn myiʔ]; also spelled Salwine) rises in Tibet (Tibetan: རྒྱལ་མོ་རྔུལ་ཆུ།^[1]; Wylie: rGyl mo rNGul chu), after which it flows through Yunnan, where it is known as the Nu river (Chinese: 怒江; pinyin: Nù Jiāng), although either name can be used for the whole river.

Geography

The river is 2,815 km long. After leaving China it meanders through the Shan Highland of Burma (where it is known as the Thanlwin). For about 100 km it forms the border of Burma and Mae Hong Son province of Northwest Thailand (where it is known as the Salawin, Thai: สาละวิน); it then re-enters Burma on its way to emptying in the Andaman Sea by Mawlamyaing (Moulmien).

The Salween flows through a succession of nearly 1,000 m deep gorges for almost its entire course. Its valley widens only for the last 250 km of its length. This makes that for most of its route the river is of little commercial value. The Salween is navigable for only 89 kilometres from its mouth, and then only in the summer rainy season.

The Nu people (Chinese: 怒族; pinyin: nù zú), one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China, are named after this river.

Ecology

This river is home to over 7,000 species of plants and 80 rare or endangered animals and fish. Large tracts of the Yunnanese section of the river, and its watershed, are part of the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas, which, according to UNESCO, "may be the most biologically diverse temperate ecosystem in the world". It was designated a World Heritage Site in 2003.^[2]

Dams

The Salween is the longest undammed river in mainland Southeast Asia. Proposals to build several dams along it, mainly in Burma, are controversial.

On April 1, 2004, the Chinese premier halted the construction of 13 dams on the Nu (Salween) in Yunnan province.

In October, 2006, Chinese water resources minister Wang Shucheng indicated high-level disapproval of the plan to build a string of large dams on the Nu as it flows through the Three Parallel Rivers National Park in Yunnan province.

Mr. Wang said concerns related to the park - parts of which were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2003 - as well as "downstream national interests," made it impossible to continue with the original plan. However he added that the status quo of no dams on Southeast Asia's largest free-flowing river is not an option either. ^[3]

There is some controversy over the representation of local opinion in the media. Investigative journalist Liu Jianqiang found little support for the dam projects among locals, who feared they would not get adequate compensation.^[4]

The Thai and Burma governments are planning to build several dams. One is said to be larger than the widely controversial Three Gorges Dam. On April 5, 2006 the Thai and Burma governments signed a 6 billion USD agreement to build the Ta Sang dam.

Another Thai-Burma project is for the Hatgyi Dam. A feasibility survey was started in May 2006, but was abandoned until sometime in 2007, due to a military offensive by the State Peace and Development Council against Karen people in the area. The dam's builder, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, had hoped to have the feasibility study completed by April 2006, with construction to start in November 2007.

Tributaries

• Moei River (Thailand)
• Pai River (Thailand)

Protected Areas

The Salween river flows through the following protected areas:

• Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas
• Salawin National Park (Thailand)^[5]

Further reading

• Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas at whc.unesco.org
• Three Parallel Rivers Protected Area at www.eoearth.org
• Nature Conservancy: Gongshan Nature Reserve The Nature Conservancy
• Rivers Watch East and Southeast Asia
• NuJiang River Project
• International Rivers
• Salween River - A Global 200 Ecoregion
• Hydrometeorological Approach to the Upper Salween River (USRB) - copyright by Christophe Lienert, Geographical Institute of the University of Berne and Kunming Institute of Botany
• China Rivers Project
• Last Descents River Expeditions
• A history of first raft and kayak descents of the Salween in Tibet and Yunnan, China.
• Wang Yongchen

References

• Phoel, Cynthia M., "Bargaining Power", in Oxfam Exchange, Fall 2004.
• Phoel, Cynthia M., Defending Rivers and Earthrights in Burma on the site of Oxfam America
• Salween River Watch NGO
• First Descent of the Nu River (Salween) Headwaters
• China Huadian Corp to lead Nu River (upper Salween) hydropower plan
• Epoch Times: Proposed Nu River Hydroelectric Dam Causes Controversy
• Epoch Times: China to Halt Nu River Project
• Damming the Angry River
• New York Times: Seeking a Public Voice on China's 'Angry River'
• Dam Building Threatens China's 'Grand Canyon'
• Dam Opposition Swells
• The Nu Guard: A Chinese environmental journalist takes on a torrent of ecological issues.
• (AP) Nujiang dam project tests environmental policy
• Dam Projects and Environmental Sustainability
• Thai groups battle new China dam
• Missing Voices on the Nu River Dam Project
• Vast dam proposal is a test for China
• Wolf, Ismail (June 5, 2006). "EGAT Halt Myanmar Dam Survey, International Herald Tribune/ThaiDay.
• "Fog on the Nu River" Chinadialogue.
• "Nu River dam plans to be scaled back", Three Gorges Probe News Service.

Coordinates: 17°09′N 97°38′E / 17.15°N 97.633°E / 17.15; 97.633