Burma's Irrawaddy River

KACHIN STATE, MYANMAR - DECEMBER 27: Residents from Kachin state bathe in the Irrawaddy River at sunset on December 27, 2013 in Kachin State, Myanmar. The Irrawaddy River is the lifeline of Burma, running through the center of the country. The River provides vital nutrients to wetlands and floodplain areas downstream, including the delta region which provides nearly 60 percent of Burma's rice. A massive Chinese hydropower project is under construction in the Irrawaddy river, despite fierce opposition from the Kachin Independence Organization, which broke a 17-year-ceasefire after warning that it would fight to block the project. In 2011, the hydroelectric dam project was suspended under the mandate of President U Thein Sein. The project, which involves building a 152-meter-tall hydroelectric dam at the confluence of the two rivers that form the Irrawaddy, is the brainchild of a giant Chinese state-owned firm, China Power International. (Photo by Diana Markosian/Getty Images)