A preliminary report from the Arakan Rivers Network (ARN)...1. Executive Summary: "On April 2nd 2008 the Indian government signed an agreement with the Burmese military junta for the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project. The project will connect the landlocked area of Northeast India with the sea via Western Burma (Myanmar) and open up trade routes to Southeast Asia. Engineering plans show that widespread damage will be done to the coast of Arakan State, Western Burma, which is a key area for mangrove forests, shrimp farms and fishing.2 Similar damage will be done to the Kaladan River and surrounding paddy fields, cutting off much needed supplies of food, on which over a million local civilians depend. Furthermore, the proposed highway is to be built straight through the mountainous forests of Chin State, which are home to many endangered species. On top of this, large-scale militarisation has already been reported in the project area, which has led to forced labour on military infrastructure, forced relocation, extortion, physical and sexual abuse and an exodus of thousands of Arakanese families into India. There seems to have been no effort made by the junta or the Indian companies involved to protect the wellbeing of local civilians who already live in extreme poverty and have been given no choice about the project."