Citizens ‘ organizations urge PM to address the issue.
PUBLISHED: 18 Apr 2025 at 03: 30
A group of civil society organizations and many scientists in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai have written to Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra urgently requesting state action to address the serious waste in the Kok and Sai river, which originate in Thailand from Myanmar’s Shan State.
The letter makes “alarming” amounts of heavy metal and sand pollution in rivers.
More than 1.2 million people in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai regions, who rely on the waterways for food and cultivation, are in grave danger of the waste, they warned.
The email lists 14 high-risk mine areas that the Pollution Control Department identified in 2023 and states that” The Kok and Sai streams have become extremely polluted due to illegal mining downstream in Myanmar.”
Five of those locations are close to Thai river. Satellite pictures show extensive property construction in inland areas.
Civil society organizations claim that there hasn’t been a coordinated effort to address transnational pollution despite the growing danger.
The World Health Organization ( WHO ) has warned that long-term cyanide exposure, detected in rivers at levels as low as 0.05 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, can have serious health effects.
Areas along the Kok and Sai river basins experienced catastrophic flash floods and landslides in September 2024, a disaster that was deemed to be unheard of in the area’s history.
Numerous families have lost their homes, goods, and jobs, but extensive restoration efforts have not been made. Residents are angry over the government’s silence with just a month left of the rainy season, the text claims.
It was a typical example of cross-border pollution, according to Suebsakun Kidnukorn, a professor at Mae Fah Luang University.
He claimed that while the pollution is found in Myanmar, Thai communities are also affected by the consequences. ” This is the time for climate politics. The primary minister must discuss this matter with Myanmar’s command and use local forums for dialogue.
He claimed that Thailand should put the issue on the local agenda now that the Malay prime minister is scheduled to meet Myanmar military innovator Min Aung Hlaing in Thailand tomorrow.
The telephone for quick motion was shared by Pianporn Deetes, director of the Southeast Asian Battle for International Rivers and secretary-general of the Hill Area and Community Development Foundation.
These rivers are” transnational.” Upstream Shan State’s silver mining is destroying communities and ecosystems in Thailand. The government may then take action to stop popular mining and land clearing.
Residents were advised early this month by the Environmental and Pollution Control Office to prevent direct contact with the water in both streams because lead and arsenic levels found to be significantly above health thresholds.
Public confidence is declining despite claims from the Provincial Waterworks Authority that treated tap water is still healthy, according to Ms. Pianporn.
The government says the waters is good, but she claims that we feel unsafe. ” We are being advised not to feel river water, but we still consume waters from it. There isn’t a clear path to solving the problem’s root, and in the meantime, these communities that depend on these streams are continuing to devastate.