River Protector Myint Zaw Receives Goldman Environmental Prize

Myint Zaw receives the 2015 Goldman Environmental Prize (image courtesy the Goldman Environmental Prize)

"On some nights, with the river sparkling under the moonlight or starlight, about six or seven women from our village would gather on a little bridge overlooking the water. If it was a moonless night, I could still see the red glow from the cheroots they were puffing," recalled Myint Zaw.

At the time, Myint Zaw was in still high school, an eight grader in Thar Paung, a small town in the Irrawaddy Delta. His vivid memory came from the dark days following Burma's 1988 uprising. In the subsequent government crackdown, thousands were arrested, some for organizing protests, others for simply marching along. Many of those arrested from Myint Zaw's local area ended up in a prison in nearby Pathein, four hours away from Thar Paung.

"Only much later did I come to understand what these matriarchs were doing," he explained. "Back then, when the government released people from the prison, they didn't do it in broad daylight; they let them out under the cover of the night and put them on a boat heading our way. The women on the bridge were family members, hoping to catch a glimpse of their loved ones on the boat."

That, Myint Zaw said, marked his political awakening. "I came to understand then that we were not free, that our people were full of misery and anguish," he said. The realization ultimately turned him into an environmental activist, determined to safeguard the Irrawaddy River.

This week, Myint Zaw is faraway from the streams and rivers of Burma. A sun-burned figure with thick marshland hair, he sat in the lobby of The Fairmont in San Francisco, quietly regarding the fog outside. Around him, pinstriped businessmen and Prada-clutched guests fluttered by, oblivious to the fact that the unassuming, soft-spoken man sitting a few feet away from them once stood up to a group of tyrannical Asian generals to save a river.

Myint Zaw is one of the six 2015 Goldman Environmental Prize recipients. The award, established by a foundation set up by San Francisco natives Richard and Rhoda H. Goldman, recognizes "grassroots environmental heroes from the world" who use "sustained and significant efforts to protect and enhance the natural environment, often at great personal risk."

The Destiny of the Irrawaddy
In Myint Zaw's case, that personal risk involved some close encounters with Burma's notorious Military Intelligence division. "I was interrogated," he said, downplaying the seriousness of the incident with a laugh. "I spent a day and a night in a detention center somewhere near Rangoon. I was blindfolded so I couldn't tell where exactly they took me."

Myint Zaw incurred the wrath of the regime because he campaigned against the Myitsone Dam, a project to harness the mighty Irrawaddy to provide electricity to China's Yunan province. A joint undertaking between the former military regime and the Chinese government, Myitsone became a dirty word among Burma's farmers. If the dam were completed as planned, the operators would control of the Irrawaddy's ebbs and flows, leaving the farming communities at their mercy.

It was the tireless, persistent campaigning of Myint Zaw and his colleagues that turned the public's tide against the project. In late 2011, the country's newly elected quasi-civilian government announced the suspension of the project.

Myint Zaw travels along the Irrawaddy to spread environmental education (image courtesy the Goldman Environmental Prize)

New Projects, New Dangers
In 2010, Burma's military regime decided to transform itself into a civilian government. In an election that many considered to be seriously flawed, President Thein Sein's government came to power. The new administration's initial reform measures -- including the release of hundreds of political prisoners and relaxation of press restrictions -- were welcomed by the international community.

But the rush of optimism is now tempered by concerns, as the country is rocked by sectarian riots, the rise of religious hardliners, and new arrests of journalists. Last month, the Police used batons to break up a student demonstration in Letpadan, in an example of the authorities' tendency to revert to the old ways of maintaining order.

"When we see these new oppressions, it's no longer clear which direction they [the government] are heading," said Myint Zaw. "They may be on the road to reform, but are some of them dragging their feet? Or are these [conflicts] parts of their strategy to preserve the old power mechanism? We can't easily tell."

The rush of foreign investment is a cause for concern for an activist like Myint Zaw. "Our authorities have a habit of mistreating the working class, the ordinary folks," he said. "For sure, businesses have to look out for their own profit margins. Some might sincerely want to help our country; some might say that just to garner goodwill among the people. But if they plan to operate here for the long haul, they shouldn't work against the people's interest."

Even though the Myitsone Dam has been halted, and the Irrawaddy flows in its own course, a new cloud hangs over Burma, especially over Sagaing Region. The Letpadaung Copper Mine project, run by a subsidiary of the Chinese arms manufacturer Norinco, has become a symbol of foreign businesses that threaten the country's agricultural communities. Eager to stamp out the controversy, the authorities used teargas, water cannons, and something else that caused severe chemical burns to the victims to break up the protesters.

"When our own leadership acts with greed and self-interest, outside forces have the opportunity to profit from a project like this," observed. "Who's responsible? Our own authorities that permitted the situation have some responsibility. The outside forces have a share too. So too are the organizations that could have intervened and stopped it, but didn't."

In 2013, Myint Zaw was profiled in the 24th Annual Conde Nast Traveler Environmental Awards. The Goldman award comes with $175,000, funds that Myint Zaw said he would use to establish environmental training centers and art exhibits in his homeland.

This evening, Monday April 20, Myint Zaw put on a taik pon, a traditional Burmese jacket, and walked up to the podium of the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House to accept the Goldman award. The ceremony was attended by about 3,000 people. But a far greater audience -- the estimated 18,000 Burmese people from nearly 50 villages who would have been displaced if the Myitsone project had been allowed to finish -- is also watching him from back home. Poor internet access in rural Burma may prevent them from streaming the event live, but, one way or another, they're bound to hear about the honor received by the Irrawaddy's protector.

When he took the stage, Myint Zaw said, "In the coming years, listen to the Irrawaddy, listen to the river's song. Let the Burmese government know the world is watching out for the Irrawaddy."