"Given that the proposed Dawei Industrial Development project and associated road to Thailand have been approved and are likely to be built in the coming years, WWF has significant concerns about the potential impacts on the globally important biodiversity of the Tanintharyi Region, including tiger habitat, dense forests, species-rich rivers and marine resources, which are a critical resource for local communities. The Dawei Project cannot avoid impacting the environment and communities in the region, but WWF believes that those impacts must be minimized by careful planning and use of mitigation measures throughout the process, from design to development to completion and beyond. WWF calls on the governments of Thailand and Myanmar, as well as the project?s developers, to first carry out a comprehensive strategic environmental assessment, including social impacts, of the project, including the sea port, industrial zone and associated industries and the road between the Myanmar Special Economic Zone and Thailand. WWF also recommends that the results of the assessments, be used by technical experts, community representatives, and the project developers to design the project in a way that prioritizes the value of the region?s critical ecosystem services, biodiversity and community needs. Negative environmental impacts from the Dawei project should be monitored and mitigated before, during and after construction and fair compensation provided for those affected."