International Conference on Salween-Thanlwin-Nu Studies

The Salween-Thanlwin-Nu (STN) Studies Group will hold the First International Conference on STN Studies titled “State of Knowledge: Environmental Change, Livelihoods and Development” on 14-15 November 2014 at Chiang Mai University. The conference will provide an opportunity for scholars, policy makers, community groups and civil society from Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, China and internationally to exchange information and to learn from one another about critical environmental change, livelihoods and development issues in the Salween River Basin.

Shared between China, Myanmar, and Thailand, a range of cultural, biological, and socio-economic values are generated by the Salween River and its adjacent basin ecosystems; the river supports the livelihoods for more than six million people. At the same time, there are nowadays a range of proposals for investment into the river basin, including plans for 20 large hydropower dams, which is being largely undertaken without comprehensive basin-wide assessment that considers the cumulative impacts on ecosystem and existing local livelihoods.

The purposes of the conference are:

• To address the lack of knowledge about the Salween at a basin-wide level by bringing together researchers from a range of disciplines and backgrounds to present work specifically within the framework of “Salween-Thanlwin-Nu Studies.”
• To provide a forum where a wide range of environmental, social, cultural and development issues related to the Salween River can be discussed amongst scholars, policy makers, community groups and civil society. This conference will also launch the Salween-Thanlwin-Nu Studies Group, which aims to be a regional network of scholars, policy makers, community groups and civil society working on issues related to the Salween River.

This conference will also launch the Salween-Thanlwin-Nu Studies Group, which aims to be a regional network of scholars, policy makers, community groups and civil society working on issues related to the Salween River.