"Shan Mines an ‘Environmental Catastrophe for Thailand, SE Asia’", Asia Financial, 4 Aug 2026

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Pichamon Yeophantong, a member of the United Nations’ working group on business and human rights, who recently visited the north last week to assess developments, said the industrial pollution from the mines in Shan state had created a “humanitarian emergency”.

Speaking at the Foreign Correspondents Club in Bangkok, she said the crisis had created disastrous impacts on citizens in the Thai north, particularly on elderly, young and indigenous citizens.

“Populations are being forced to endure unsafe health situations,” she said, noting that the crisis was linked to the country’s ‘shadow economy’ and “threatens Thailand’s health and security systems”.

But the mining was also forcing people from Shan state to migrate into Thailand because of the health risks to local water systems.

Pichamon said impacts of the mining had been known since mid-2025, but there was a need for urgent cooperation from both Myanmar and China to counter the crisis, particularly as Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing will be in Bangkok late this week.

“This must be declared a disaster and transparency must be assured as well. It is a disaster at multiple levels – farmers, fishers and communities are collapsing because their food and water security is imperilled.”

“China must hold its own companies accountable.”

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