The Irrawaddy River had value to the British Empire.
Among the most well-known species in the river is the Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris), a euryhaline species of oceanic dolphin with a high and rounded forehead, lacking a beak
 As the Irrawaddy Delta is one of the world's major rice-growing areas, one of the most important goods transported is rice

