Anti-dam campaigners have pointed out that dam projects do not benefit people but harm the natural environment and cause human rights violation.

The military junta has already drawn up projects to build 21 huge dams in Burma to be constructed by companies from Thailand, China and India. These dam projects will only earn revenue for the Burmese junta but will not benefit the masses. As a consequence of these projects, human rights violations will be rampant in the project sites, said the Burma River Network (BRN).

Ko Aung Nge, a spokesperson of the BRN, said that "the major aim of the dam projects was to earn money for the military junta. Our people have to face many difficulties once the dams are built. Army battalions will follow to set up bases in the areas after the dams are constructed.  Human rights violations will follow as a result."

There is no public participation in decision making, no transparency in energy planning, and no alternative considerations for building the dams. On March 14 the International River Day, anti-dam campaigners urged neighbouring countries and international investors to put a halt to dam construction in Burma.

The dam projects will generate an estimated 35,000 mega watts of power. Experts estimate that the dam projects will cost US$ 35 million.

All dams will be built on Burma's major rivers the Salween, Irrawaddy, Chindwin, Sittaung in the upper reaches of the rivers.

"There will be indirect impact on the whole of Burma. Dams will be full of water. Paddy fields will be destroyed. People will be relocated. There will be mounting unemployment. Direct impacts will include human rights violations and forced labour," said Ko Aung Nge.

Due to the dams, there will be deforestation; plantations and fields will be flooded; green pastures will disappear; and there will be global warming, said an officer-in-charge of a forest organization.

There will be environmental destruction where woods and bamboo groves will be under water. There will be increase in flooded areas after the dams are completed. Green house gases will be released from many green plants and mud that are under water. The green house gases can cause global warming.

Dams threaten international recognized biodiversities and its enriched areas. Nobody can collect enough information about the destruction of the environment in these areas.