Rivers Network

As the first part of COP15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity convenes, decision makers must recognise that free-flowing rivers are essential to Indigenous understanding of reality and the preservation of biodiversity

The Salween river basin is more than twice the size of England, the 2nd largest river basin in southeast Asia and one of the last free-flowing international rivers in Asia.

The Salween River begins its journey at 4,000 meters above sea level, high on the Tibetan Plateau in the Himalayas. It runs through the mountains of Yunnan Province in China, passing through Shan and Karenni states in eastern Burma before forming the border between Burma and Thailand for about 120 kilometers. It continues south through Burma before reaching the Andaman Sea in the Gulf of Martaban at Mawlamyine, Mon State.