"In Burmese, Yadana refers to objects of religious veneration and, by extension, to people and objects of great worth.[1] The construction and maintenance of the Yadana Pipeline has forever changed that. For the thousands of people adversely affected by this multi-national energy project, the word has a very different meaning. Yadana is now synonymous with forced labor and severe human rights violations.[2] Another Yadana, sadly, is in the making. In January 2004, with the approval of the Burmese government, a consortium of South Korean and Indian companies announced plans to develop a massive natural gas field in the Gulf of Bengal, off the coast of western Burma. This new project, known as Shwe, which means ?gold” in Burmese, is still in its early planning stages. In EarthRights International?s (ERI) view, an alarming number of similarities already exist between the Yadana Pipeline and the proposed Shwe Pipeline. If nothing is done, it appears likely that history will repeat itself. Forced labor and human rights abuses are still an ongoing problem throughout Burma, and it can be assumed that these violations will continue at any major development project site. At this point, little information on the proposed Shwe Project is publicly available. To help counter this problem ERI is now collaborating with a growing number of groups in the tri-state border region (Burma-Bangladesh-India) where the transnational pipeline is likely to be constructed. Together, the groups are working to raise local, regional and international awareness concerning the social and environmental impacts the massive Shwe Project is likely to have regionally. The Project is expected to cost between one and three billion U.S. dollars to build.[3] Future reports based on careful fact-finding are planned, as is an international campaign should the energy consortium move forward with the project..." N.B. map in pdf version.