Myitsone Construction

The communities and ecosystems that depend on the Irrawaddy river system would have benefited from the dam and power plant. But the people of the region opposed the construction because Burma does not have any environmental protection laws. There was also much less study and planning for the Myitsone (versus the Three Gorges Project). The Irrawaddy Dam, in the event of an earthquake, could flood about 750 kilometers of forested area and cause irreversible damage to Burma's river system because the dam is located less than 100 kilometers from a major fault line. This could result in landslides and weaken the dam structure. If the dam were to break it would endanger the people of Myikyina, which is the largest city in Kachin State. Groups also oppose the dam because of environmental impacts and threats to the cultural sites that could materialize. The opinion of the author is against the project because their perception is to raise awareness of the threats to the Irrawaddy River. Also some of the possible risks, as a result of the construction, were displayed in a biased manner to influence people to vote down the continuing construction for the dam. The website authors were making an effort to convince their readers that the possible consequences of the dam weren't possible, but that they were definite.