SMEC, the Australian company carrying out the environmental and social impact assessment (EIA/SIA) for Shan State’s Tasang Dam will be unable to produce a meaningful EIA/SIA because it has allowed relations with locals to deteriorate irreversibly. The planned 282 meter high Tasang Dam in Mong Ton Township on the Upper Salween River will not only be the largest of seven dams planned for the Salween River in Burma…it will also be the highest dam in Southeast Asia…When SMEC, also known as the Snowy Mountain Engineering Corporation, initially tried to engage with locals who would be affected by the dam project they behaved in inappropriate and insensitive ways, locals said. The company then aggravated its poor relations with locals by repeatedly refusing or being unable to engage with locals, non-governmental organisations and community based organisations about the project…[Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited SMEC to respond; response provided]