NLD Gets Prepped for Extreme Weather

By Yen Saning 13 January 2016

RANGOON — The National League for Democracy (NLD) has urged its township-level committees to begin preparations for extreme weather and water shortages, according to a statement by the party’s Environmental Conservation Committee.

The statement, released on Tuesday and signed by the committee chairman, encouraged local measures to prepare for extreme scenarios that could be caused by climate change or the current El Niño weather pattern.

The notice said that “experts” warned of severe impacts of the oscillation, advising that there “could be water shortages due to an unusually short monsoon, leading to “extreme dryness.”

The NLD, which will assume power next month after its landslide win in the November general election, plans to host a conference on environmental issues in Rangoon on Jan. 14.

Saw Moe Myint, and NLD MP-elect from Karen State and an advisor on the environmental committee, told The Irrawaddy that the party has invited an array of experts to inform and advise the committee on environmental and conservation issues at the conference.

Urgent concerns such as the effects of mining in Kachin State’s jade-rich Hpakant will also be on the agenda, said Saw Moe Myint, who is also a mining expert. Soil erosion, clean air and water will also be discussed.

The NLD is still formulating a more detailed environmental policy framed on the principles outlined in the party manifesto late last year, he said.