"From its forested borderlands in the east, to vast mangrove forests and hundreds of island ecosystems in the Andaman Sea to the west, Tanintharyi Region is a bastion of nature and biodiversity. The region is home to one of the largest remaining expanses of intact low-elevation evergreen forest in Southeast Asia, a stronghold for endangered and endemic species including tigers, tapirs and pangolins. Indigenous communities have managed this landscape according to local knowledge and practices for generations, and have mobilised to protect it from the large-scale oil palm and mining projects that have expanded across the region. Inter-linking territories connect to form an indigenous-conserved landscape – one that presents an alternative to top-down conservation projects proposed by the government and international conservation organisations. “Our lands are threatened both by expanding agribusiness and mining projects on one side, and national parks and conservation on the other,” said Saw San Ngwe, a community leader and director of the Myeik-based Southern Youth Development Organization. “Our communities have been conserving this area for generations; it’s time for their efforts and initiatives to be recognised and supported.” Tanawthari Landscape of Life , a new report by Conservation Alliance Tanawthari, a coalition of Karen community-based groups working in the region, outlines the interconnected conservation initiatives of indigenous communities throughout the landscape. This “landscape of life” testifies to the joint efforts of communities to forge a new future that centres on the peaceful interconnections between indigenous communities and nature..."