Guwahati, May 2: Burmese activists across the globe have claimed that the construction of Daewoo’s Shwe gas project, as well as CNPC’s Maday deep sea port and oil & gas pipeline have damaged the livelihoods of locals and environment in Kyauk Phu Township.
In a press statement issued to the media, the Shwe Gas Movement also claimed that ‘there has been ongoing forcible land confiscation, providing no compensation or a limited amount of compensation for the confiscated rice farms and lands’.
The organization also urged Burmese government at Nay Pie Taw ‘to establish and enforce laws to protect local people’s environment, livelihoods, culture and customs in line with international standards’.
“We, the local affected people, were not informed or consulted by the companies regarding the positive or negative impacts of the projects before the implementation of these projects until today. Furthermore, we were not informed of whether an EIA or SIA had been conducted before the implementation of the projects. Therefore, we have been deeply concerned about the possibility of the total destruction of our major livelihoods such as farming and fishing, as the projects have already negatively impacted our livelihoods,” said the statement.
Speaking to this writer from Thailand, the international coordinator of Shwe Gas Movement, Wong Aung disclosed that beginning from this year, Maday Sea Port will be filled with massive Chinese oil tankers transporting crude oil from the Middle East and Africa.
If any oil spill occurs from these tankers in the Maday and Kyauk Phyu coastal area, the major sources of our livelihoods including our sea, agricultural lands, rice farms and mangrove forests, will be destroyed. It is important to note that the mangrove forest in the Kyauk Phyu coastal area is the second largest in Burma, Wong Aung added.
