ICBMS3 Roundtable: Knowing the Salween

Session 3 of ICBMS3 “Knowing the Salween: Reflections on Activism, Resource Politics and Peace” will be a roundtable discussion convened by Carl Middleton (CSDS, Chulalongkorn University) and Vanessa Lamb (University of Melbourne) on Friday, 5 March 13:00-14:30 Myanmar time / 13:30-15:00 Thailand time.

The Salween River basin, shared by Myanmar/Burma, Thailand and China, is dynamic system and a site of long-standing contests over territories, resources, and governance. More recently, it is also increasingly recognised as a site for peace and collaborative water governance. This panel will provide inter-disciplinary perspectives by civil society and academic researchers on the unfolding dynamics on the Salween River in and from Myanmar and in a regional context. We will discuss the politics, activism, and policies linked to intensifying resource extraction, hydropower dam construction as well as conservation and development schemes, and how this is unfolding within a complex terrain of local, national and transnational governance and activist networks. Panellists were all contributors and researchers linked to the 2019 collaborative book, “Knowing the Salween River: Resource Politics of a Contested Transboundary River”, which was also the first book dedicated to understanding this complex river system.

Speakers:
April Kyu Kyu, Researcher, SaNaR (Save the Natural Resource)
Saw John Bright
Pianporn Deetes, Thailand and Myanmar Campaigns Director, International Rivers
Alec Scott, Independent Researcher

Discussants:
Professor Saw Win, Senior Research Associate, Center for Social Development Studies, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University

Co-Chairs:
Vanessa Lamb, Senior Lecturer, School of Geography, University of Melbourne
Carl Middleton, Director, Center for Social Development Studies, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University