The Yuam River ( is a river in northwestern Thailand, part of the

Salween , ''Mae Nam Salawin'' ( , name_etymology = , image = Sweet_View_of_Salween_River_in_Tang_Yan_Township,_Shan_State,_Myanmar.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Salween River in Shan State, Myanmar , map ...

watershed. It originates in the mountains of the

Thanon Thong Chai Range The Thanon Thong Chai Range ( th, ทิวเขาถนนธงชัย, , formerly Thanon Range; Burmese ''Tanen Taunggyi'') is a mountain range in northern Thailand. Its tallest peak is Doi Inthanon, the highest point in Thailand. Most ...

, Khun Yuam District,

Mae Hong Son Province Mae Hong Son province ( Burmese: မဲဟောင်ဆောင်; th, แม่ฮ่องสอน, ; Northern Thai: ; Shan: ; formerly called ''Mae Rong Son''), also spelled ''Maehongson'', ''Mae Hong Sorn'' or ''Maehongsorn'', is one of ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. The river flows in a north–south direction and then in Sop Moei District it bends westwards and then northwestwards, forming a stretch of the Thai/ Burmese border shortly before it joins the left bank of the

Moei River The Moei River (, , , my, သောင်ရင်းမြစ်; ) is a tributary of the Salween River. Unlike most rivers in Thailand, the Moei River flows north in a northwest direction. It originates in Phop Phra District, Tak Province, flow ...

, shortly before its confluence with the Salween. The

Ngao River The Ngao River ( th, แม่น้ำงาว, , ) is a river of Thailand with its source in the Phi Pan Nam Range. It is a tributary of the Yom River, part of the Chao Phraya River basin. This river should not be confused with the Ngao River t ...

, which unlike most rivers in Thailand flows northwards, is one of the Yuam's main tributaries.

Environment

The Thai government, to solve persistent water shortages in the central region, have proposed a 70.7 billion

baht The baht (; th, บาท, ; currency sign, sign: ฿; ISO 4217, code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). The issuance of currency is the responsibility of the Bank of Thailand. Society for Worldw ...

plan to divert some 1.8 billion m³ of water annually from the Yuam River to the perennially-underfilled

Bhumibol Dam The Bhumibol Dam (''formerly known as the'' Yanhi Dam) is a concrete arch dam on the Ping River, a tributary of the Chao Phraya River, in Sam Ngao District of Tak Province, Thailand. It is about north of Bangkok and was built for the purposes of ...

. As part of the plan, the Royal Irrigation Department (RID), would build 69 metre high dam with a storage capacity of 68.7 million m³ constructed on 2,075

rai RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

of forest land, together with a pumping station on a separate 55 rai plot and a 61.5 kilometre-long tunnel passing through 14 villages. The inhabitants of the area—primarily Karen tribes people—largely oppose the project. In December 2019, the RID submitted a second

environmental impact assessment Environmental Impact assessment (EIA) is the assessment of the environmental consequences of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward with the proposed action. In this context, the term "environmental imp ...

(EIA) to the Office of the Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP). ONEP rejected the EIA for the second time due to concerns about forest destruction, tunnel rock waste, and compensation issues.

References

External links

Mai Ngao National ParkNam Ngao
Yuam Salween River {{Thailand-river-stub

Environment

See also

References

External links