N'Mai River

The N'Mai River or May Kha River (Burmese: မေခမြစ်, Burmese pronunciation: [mè kʰa̰ mjɪʔ]; also called N'Mai Hka) is a river in northern Myanmar (Burma).

The N'Mai, runs parallel to the Mali River, and has its source in the Himalaya glaciers of Northern Myanmar at about 28° north latitude.^[1] It is not navigable because of strong currents. The N'mai River ends at its confluence (Myit-son) with the Mali River in Kachin State where the two rivers form the start of the Ayeyarwady River. The confluence is "one of the most significant cultural heritage sites for the Kachin people and an important landmark for all of Burma."^[2] Construction of the Myitsone Dam has begun at this confluence.

The British forester and ornithologist, Bertram E. Smythies studied the area in the 1940s.^[3] More recently, Kalaya Lu, Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Botany at Myitkyina University between 2002 and 2006, published a paper on plant diversity in the river watershed, concluding it consists of many different ecosystems, changing in elevation from 800 metres to more than 4,600 metres, and containing among the richest areas of Sino-Himalaya flora diversity in the world.^[1]

In 2007, the government of Myanmar signed an agreement with China Power Investment Corporation to construct a series of dams on the Ayeyarwady, Mali, and N’Mai rivers. Up to five dams were proposed for the N'Mai, one on the Mali and on at the confluence. This dam, the largest of the seven, would destroy the confluence.^[2] Construction started in 2008^[4] and a local protest about one of the dams at Chibwe met with government suppression.^[5]

See also

• Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows
• Northern Triangle temperate forests

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Kalaya Lu, "Abstract: Floradiversity of North-eastern Kachin Myanmar Section of Sino-himalaya (N'mai Hka-Than Lwin Water Division)", Myitkyina University, Faculty of Botanics, 2006. Accessed June 27, 2009.
2. ^ ^{a b} Burma Rivers Network, "Irrawaddy/N'Mai/Mali Dams, 2009"
3. ^ B. E. Smythies, "A Reconnaissance of the N'Mai Hka Drainage, Northern Burma", Ibis, Volume 91 Issue 4, Pages 627-648, Wiley.
4. ^ Shyamal Sarkar, Kachin hydropower projects to spell doom,Kachin News, January 31, 2008
5. ^ Burma News Network, "Christian leaders questioned over anti-dam campaign", July 29, 2008.

External links

• Earth Snapshot, Satellite image
• Area Map (China)