“The Irrawaddy River and its tributaries flow into the Andaman Sea through the Irrawaddy Delta. This ecoregion consists of mangroves and freshwater swamp forests. It is an extremely fertile area because of the river-borne silt deposited in the delta. The upper and central portions of the delta are almost entirely under cultivation, principally for rice.”

“In the late 19th century, the spot-billed pelican (Pelecanus philippensis) nested in huge numbers in south Myanmar. One colony on the Sittaung River plain to the east of the delta was described in November 1877 as covering 300 square kilometres and containing millions of birds. Immense colonies still bred in the area in 1910, but the birds had disappeared completely by 1939. As of 2010, no pelicans have been recorded.”

“As early as the 6th century, the Bamars were using the Irrawaddy to gain power in the region through trade and transport on the China – India route. By the 12th century, a well-developed network of canals made for flourishing rice cultivation. Later, British set up trading ports along its shores. Today, the Irrawaddy is still the country's most important commercial waterway.”