"The lack of transparency surrounding plans to construct dams on the Tanintharyi River in southern Myanmar, and the impact it will have on the livelihoods of the Karen – the area’s indigenous people – is set to add more tension to an area already filled with strife. While there are 18 Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) for dams on the Tanintharyi River – one of southern Myanmar’s largest free-flowing waterways – local communities have received no information on their location, size or status according to a report by three civil society groups last week; Candle Light Youth Group, Southern Youth and Tarkapaw Youth Group. The report titled ‘Blocking a Bloodline: Indigenous Communities along the Tanintharyi River Fear the Impact of Large-Scale Dams’ also notes that 32,008 people from 76 villages living directly along the river depend on it as a vital source of food, water, transportation and cultural expression – all of which are at risk due to plans to build a 1,040 megawatt (MW) hydropower project by Thai-owned Greater Mekong Sub-region Power Public Co Ltd (GMS)..."