Marking the World Environment Day, ethnic Christians in northern Burma planted hundreds of saplings in church compounds and its surroundings, local church sources said.
This morning in Myitkyina Township the capital of Kachin State, saplings were planted in the Baptist church compound and its periphery in Jan Mai Kawng, Du Kahtawng and Tatkone quarters, church members told KNG.
Eyewitnesses said, Environment Day was also marked by planting saplings in other churches in different denominations in the township.
Local Baptist followers in Myitkyina said they started the Environment Day tree growing programme in Jaw Bum, the Centenary Mountain of Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), 10 miles north of the township on May 31 under the auspices of Myitkyina District Baptist Convention (MDBC).
Meanwhile, over 20 Kachin University students and youth in Myitkyina today started a two-day tree plantation programme to mark the World Environment Day in the Centenary Mountain, Mr. Zau Bawk, the organizer told KNG today.
"We would like to show the people how to love and preserve the environment before natural disasters visit Kachin State like Cyclone Nargis in Irrawaddy Delta and China's Sichuan earthquake," Mr. Zau Bawk said.
He added, about 80 per cent of natural forest cover in Kachin State has been lost due to heavy logging. The extreme cold and hot temperatures in Kachin State reveals the weather is changing rapidly.
Mr. Awng Wa, chairman of the Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG) said flooding from dams of the seven hydropower projects under construction in Mali Hka (Irrawaddy River) and N'mai Hka (N'mai River) in Kachin State threatens thousands of people because Kachin State is on the same earthquake fault line with China's Yunnan Province.
The hydropower projects are being jointly set up by the Ministry of Electric Power (2) of the Burma's ruling junta and China's China Power Investment Corporation (CPI) since 2006.
The KDNG circulated a report on militarization and gold mining in Hukawng Valley called the "Valley of Darkness" and Irrawaddy River dam report called "Damming the Irrawaddy" in 2007.
Today, Mr. Awng Wa urged China and Burma's ruling junta to stop the seven dam projects, mindless logging, unrestricted gold and jade mining in Kachin State.
