14 Mar Myanmar and Benin
Challenges for community-based conservation and sustainable livelihoods differ greatly, depending on factors such as the geographic, political, economic, and cultural context. Here, two cases are presented: Kamoethway in Myanmar and the transboundary biosphere reserve in Benin-Togo. These cases illustrate the varying set of challenges faced at the community level, and several important factors which must be considered by policymakers, conservation organizations, and land developers alike.
Key Themes:
Indigenous Issues, Livelihoods, Places & Spaces
Speakers:
Evelien Van Den Broek (Netherlands Committee of IUCN), Jan Kamstra (Netherlands Committee of IUCN), Frankie Abreu (TRIPNET), Koffi Gautier Amoussou (ECO BENIN)
Click titles to expand sections below:
Challenges of conservation during democratic transition in Myanmar
“Local Karen communities – known for their bond with nature – are trapped between top-down unsustainable development and top-down conservation. Until recently their territory was a war zone but is now facing a flood of investments and development projects: logging, monoculture plantations, mining, infrastructure etc. At the same time, international conservation organizations have arrived, identifying the same areas as high priority for conservation. Both the extractive and conservation industries have a troubled history of displacing indigenous peoples from their land.
The Karen people of the Kamoethway River Valley are asserting rights to control their resources and development, and showing that it is possible to conserve people and nature. Villages have established community-driven forest conservation based on traditional knowledge and historical practice. They have decided upon nine forest conservation categories (wildlife sanctuary, watershed forest, herbal medicine forest, cultural forest, umbilical cord forest, utilization forest, agroforestry area, fish conservation zone, cemetery) each with their own objectives and rules and local regulations.”
-Frankie Abreu, May 2018.
Mono Transboundary Biosphere Reserve – communities at the heart of conservation
“What began in the late nineties with a small community-based initiative protecting a population of threatened hippos in the Mono River on the border of Benin and Togo, has after twenty years resulted in the creation of the Mono Transboundary Biosphere Reserve. A unique feature of this transboundary biosphere reserve is that is mainly made up of community protected areas. This poses challenges for the management of the reserve. Most of the community protected conservation areas and the core conservation areas – often sacred groves – can be considered too small to guarantee long term biodiversity conservation benefits. Connectivity between the different core areas is therefore key. How to do this in a densely populated area with nearly 2 million people that heavily depend on the area’s natural resources? Moreover, the reserve is situated between the rapidly expanding harbor cities of Lomé and Cotonou – centers of strong economic and urban growth. What lessons can be shared on how to deal with these outside pressures that not only concern additional environmental pressures but also have strong social and cultural impact?”
-Jan Kamstra, May 2018