"In Myanmar, a five-year project to monitor the country’s forests led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is set to get underway. Its goal is to measure and observe the country’s forests to evaluate efforts to curb greenhouse gases and prevent forest degradation. According to the FAO, the project is unique due to its reliance on human rights and a conflict-sensitive approach to forest monitoring, a first in a country where the central government remains mired in intermittent clashes with ethnic armies, many of which reside in forested areas in Myanmar’s border regions. In response to the announcement, Dr. Nyi Nyi Kyaw, director-general of Myanmar’s Forest Department in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, welcomed the FAO’s approach and took a conciliatory tone toward the country’s various ethnic groups. “We are in urgent need of better and updated data about the state of all the forests in Myanmar. This data will help to better plan and evaluate sustainable forest use and conservation in our country together with all stakeholders, public and private, and also in the land areas of our ethnic brothers and sisters,” he said. The project is a welcome addition to regional efforts to push back against the ill effects of deforestation and global warming. Its focus on human rights and sensitivity to conflict-prone areas, however, will depend on the backing of local communities to prevent good intentions from inflaming further conflict..."