Community forestry

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Description: "To prosper, people who depend on forests must use, manage and benefit from those forests. They must also be secure in the knowledge that they will be able to carry on doing so for the foreseeable future. The majority of forestlands in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region are owned by central governments. However, many local communities and Indigenous Peoples live in and around these lands. They use, manage and rely on them but have no formal rights to do so. Prindex, the Global Property Rights Index, collects robust data on perceptions of land and property rights. A 2018 Prindex survey in Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand and Viet Nam found that up to 62.3 million of people aged 18 and older felt insecure about their tenure rights.1 Even communities with some formal recognition of their right to use, manage and benefit from forestlands can feel insecure as those lands come under increasing pressure. Tenure arrangements throughout the world are complex and often contentious. Government officials, civil society, donors and rural communities recognize the need to increase tenure security in ASEAN. However, they have a limited understanding of how to do it. This report provides an entry point for state and non-state actors who face tenure issues as part of their work on social forestry. Social forestry is also known as community forestry, participatory forestry and village forestry. For consistency, this report uses the term social forestry. The main objectives of the report are to: ■ Provide an introduction and framework to customary and statutory tenure arrangements in ASEAN to help non-specialists understand and navigate their way around tenure issues ■ Identify the opportunities and challenges for customary and statutory arrangements that can help ensure people have secure tenure ■ Identify synergies and potential ways forward, recognizing the future pathways of social forestry through the programs of ASEAN Member States This report includes the following key conclusions and recommendations: Understanding the importance of tenure and addressing challenges: Secure tenure underlies numerous environmental and development goals. Tenure insecurity has been identified as one of the most significant barriers to achieving successful social forestry.2 Crucially, tenure insecurity is impeding progress on tackling the climate crisis. Therefore, strong and clear rights for local people that results in tenure security need to be prioritized throughout the region. This report provides an understanding of tenure arrangements and addresses common challenges faced by stakeholders in understanding tenure arrangements. It is a first step to unraveling the complexity and diversity of tenure arrangements across ASEAN. Further work is needed to fully break down barriers to discourse and make progress on improving tenure security to facilitate social forestry. For example, the diversity and technical nature of terminology in tenure arrangements is a significant challenge. To tackle tenure issues effectively, there must be both a common language to discuss them and a better understanding of forest tenure itself. ASEAN has an opportunity to help Member States work towards this through further research and partnership.....Preparing for a dynamic future: ASEAN faces unprecedented challenges from climate, biodiversity and land degradation crises. This means that social forestry needs to play a central role in the region over the next 10 years. Achieving secure tenure is a foundation for this.3 Conflict over tenure throughout Southeast Asia is escalating. Rapid economic growth in the region has reduced poverty but has also increased inequality and left marginalized communities even more vulnerable. This growth has also put more pressure on governments to expand development, which strains tenure arrangements and changes traditional community dynamics. Flexible, adaptable and multifunctional solutions to tenure issues are needed to cope with the challenges that lie ahead. They are also needed for meeting the changing needs and desires of communities in forestlands..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: ASEAN Working Group on Social Forestry, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, This project is funded by the European Union and Voices for Mekong forests
2021-03-00
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 800.53 KB (66 pages)
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Description: "Political and economic reconfigurations can have large and unpredictable effects on a country's deforestation dynamics. Four major transitions—war to peace, authoritarianism to democracy, centralized to decentralized political authority, and economic deregulation may have profound environmental consequences. For example, Indonesia's transition from “centralist authoritarianism to decentralized patronage politics” (Sindre 2014) is associated with increased deforestation (Stibig et al. 2014), and the Soviet Union's dissolution amplified environmental problems in Central Asia (Freedman & Neuzil 2015). The appropriation of forest resources to establish and maintain political patronage networks following democratization in Kenya and the establishment of peace in Cambodia led to accelerated deforestation (Le Billon 2000; Klopp 2012). Myanmar is undergoing all 4 transition types, and other countries are likely to undergo equivalent transitions in the future (e.g., Colombia, Cuba). Anticipating the likely environmental effects of political–economic transitions can inform proactive policy measures that minimize the risk of negative environmental outcomes. Abrupt transitions (e.g., coups d’états) preclude prior assessments. The gradual nature of Myanmar's transitions, however, provides opportunity for proactive debate and analysis (Webb et al. 2012, 2014; Lim et al. 2017). From 1962 to 2011, Myanmar had a highly centralized, authoritarian state and a command‐and‐control economy relatively isolated from global markets. From 2011 to 2015, there was some political and economic liberalization, followed by openly contested elections in 2015 and further reforms which led to the lifting of U.S. economic sanctions. An end to the civil war, which began in 1948, is a possibility following the 2015 Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement between the government and major combatants. Myanmar's remaining forested area—over 29 million ha, approximately 44% of its total land area and the largest in mainland Southeast Asia (FAO 2015)—is in the globally important and highly threatened Indo‐Burma biodiversity hotspot (CEPF 2012; Hughes 2017). Successfully forecasting the effects of Myanmar's governmental and economic transitions on its forests is therefore key to development of new, integrated policy recommendations. Such recommendations will have greater legitimacy if derived from a transparent and formalized approach that yields expert consensus on priority issues. Horizon scanning harnesses the collective knowledge of experts to define emerging environmental and policy issues (Sutherland et al. 2011). However, it has not been applied in countries undergoing political and economic transitions. We analyzed emerging threats to forests in Myanmar with a horizon‐scanning approach to identify the most important issues likely to affect forests in Myanmar over 10 years (2016–2026). We conducted a national‐level synthesis of top priorities for research, policy, and interventions to conserve Myanmar's globally important forests and biodiversity while the country undergoes transition. Our findings are globally relevant because they provide a case study for transitions in other nations. Finally, we sought to demonstrate a novel and expanded application of horizon scanning for the conservation and development community..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Society for Conservation Biology (Washington, D.C.)
2017-10-14
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 202.99 KB
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Topic: Conservation, Elephants, forest reserves, Myanmar Forest Department, Poaching
Topic: Conservation, Elephants, forest reserves, Myanmar Forest Department, Poaching
Description: "Local authorities found a wild elephant poached and skinned in Myittaya Forest Reserve in Ngapudaw Township, Irrawaddy Region on Sunday. “The elephant might have died two days ago,” Police Lieutenant Colonel Tun Shwe, spokesperson for the Irrawaddy Region Police Force, told The Irrawaddy. “We found injuries on its neck and ears, and half of its body was skinned.” Local residents of Htantabin Village found the dead elephant in the forest reserve around 5 miles west of their village and informed forestry police, local police and village administrators about the elephant. The female elephant was over 2 m tall and 2 m long. She was approximately 23 years old. She is the second elephant to be poached in 2019 in Ngapudaw Township. The first elephant was poached in February. “We are doing our best to keep wild elephants safe in our region and we are sorry that an elephant was killed despite our efforts,” said U Kyaw Myint Tun, administrator for Tin Chaung Village-Tract. “The authorities should adopt a systematic plan for elephant conservation rather than a reactive approach.” U Kyaw Myint Tun has won an award from State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for his efforts to conserve elephants..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy"
2019-09-12
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Our actions for forest and wildlife conservation and protection also have positive impacts on the world, which is affected by the circumstances of climate change and global warming.” To mark the International Day of the World?s Indigenous Peoples, the Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN) and the Kawthoolei Forestry Department (KFD) of the Karen National Union (KNU) releases a new documentary film about the Kheshorter Forest, an exceptional example of Indigenous forest conservation in Karen State, Burma. The Kheshorter Forest is a pristine ecological, social and spiritual sanctuary for Indigenous Karen communities that has existed for many generations. The forest is located in western Mutraw (Papun) District and eastern Klerlweehtoo (Nyaunglaybin) District of Kawthoolei in Burma. The Kheshorter forest is under the collective governance, protection, and management of 15 villages and covers a total area of 14,606 acres. Much of this is primary mountainous forest and is home to numerous rare and endangered species, including tigers and Hoolock Gibbons. This area also holds immense mythical and historical significance for the local Karen Indigenous people. The 26 - minute documentary explores Indigenous Karen people?s knowledge, wisdom, and practices of sustainable conservation of their forest and natural resources that they have depended on for their cultural identity, health, livelihoods, and overall well-being for generations..."...For a list of videos click on the kesan.asia link and then on the Videos button.
Source/publisher: KESAN
2017-08-10
Date of entry/update: 2018-11-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "... Community forests (CF) in northern Burma, particularly in Kachin State, have been sprouting up in villages since the mid-2000s, spearheaded by national NGOs. The recent watershed of CF establishment follows several contingent foundational factors: greater political stability and government control in cease-fire zones; enhanced NGO capacity, access, and effectiveness in these areas; and most prominently the recent threat of agribusiness. This paper will critically examine (inter-)national NGO‟s assistance to rural farmers in formalizing collective forestland in cease-fire zones as a resistance strategy to land dispossession from military/state-backed agribusiness concessions. My overall argument is that while CF represents a legally-sanctioned, bottom-up resistance against land dispossession ? a rare phenomenon in a country such as Burma ? an unintended consequence is producing forms of contested state authority and power in cease-fire zones. For instances of post-war zones with continued contentious ethnic politics and contested state authority, as is the case in northern Burma, rebuilding state-society resource relations and institutions present new political and resource use and access challenges. Data presented here is part of a broader research agenda conducted since the early-2000s on resource politics in northern Burma, with qualitative analysis for this paper based upon interviews with CF user groups, participant observation at CF workshops, interviews with Burmese NGOs, and secondary materials. This research project is a work-in-progress, and all errors are of course of my own unintentional making. CF represents a refashioned collective property regime. This novel land management strategy does not represent any sort of customary arrangement; in fact Kachin are upland swidden farmers, not strictly forest-dwelling communities. This scenario then causes conflict in that the CF joint- management plans mirror state land classification schemes that firmly delineate between „forest. and „agriculture. land uses, unlike traditional land management (much like for other rural communities) that does not clearly separate forest from agriculture. CF falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Forestry (MoF), which enables the increasingly weak MoF to stake an institutional claim against the increasingly powerful Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MoAI). In addition to symbolizing emerging state institutional struggles in cease-fire zones, newly established CF are also altering local resource use and access by villagers planting state-favored, high-value timber trees, such as infamous Burmese teak, in former swiddens ? an act that uncomfortably brings colonial-dictated resource use practices into the present. Furthermore, only CF user groups can access forest products, with outsiders (non-CF members, even within the village) formally blocked from access, including for shifting cultivation. By farmers and NGOs attempting to block the expansion of large-scale agricultural plantations, they instead cultivate state authority and institutions, in this case the Forestry Department, state-recognized land management categories, and new state-governed farmers. This case study highlights the importance of seriously considering how development interventions cultivate new forms of authority and power ?perceived as both legitimate and illegitimate by different actors ? in post-war zones when devising collective action strategies. These same interventions also inculcate new environmental practices in farmers, shaping them into NGO-state subjects that contrast with their customary practices. In this case, NGOs assisting farmers in establishing state-authorized collective property in the form of CF does not respect customary land use, facilitates bringing in a villager-perceived illegitimate state, and is increasing food insecurity. The positives though ? which may or may not outweigh the negatives ? include stemming the tide of land dispossession by private companies and providing a potential platform for political mobilizing at the village level. An alternative strategy could be to push for legal recognition of customary land management, such as upland swidden cultivation, could potentially block rubber expansion while concomitantly strengthening food security, customary land use regimes, and traditional village power bases to challenge state centralization in these politically contested cease-fire ethnic areas..."
Creator/author: Kevin Woods
Source/publisher: CAPRi
2010-07-01
Date of entry/update: 2016-04-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 397.57 KB
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Description: "... In Myanmar, people?s participation has been prioritized as an imperative of national forest policy in 1995 endorsed by the community forestry instructions (DFIs). Today, there are about 42,148 ha of community forestry (CF) management by 572 user groups (USGs). In CF management, the people are engaging three types of activities: (1) to preserve of improve the production system such as planting trees and promoting the growth of trees, (2) to use forest resources for subsistence needs, (3) to get cash by selling the timber harvested or furniture made by the timber. Initial participation by the people and their continuation of CF activities are considered to be indispensable for sustainable forest management. In practice, however, the improvement of forest management and protection are often threatened because of difficulties in continuing the activities even though initial participation was achieved. Providing secure property rights is among the major factors that contribute to continuing CF activities. Thus the objectives of the dissertation are (1) to find out the factors affecting initial participation of USG members in management actitities in Myanmar, (2) to assess the role of property rights in sustaining CF activities in the Philippines, and (3) to draw implications for Myanmar policy in terms of property rights issues from the case of the Philippines..."
Creator/author: Ei Ei Swe Hlaing
Source/publisher: University of Tokyo
2010-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2016-04-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 2.36 MB
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Description: "... Pyoe Pin is a programme aimed at strengthening civil society in Myanmar. The programme is supported by DFID, the British Department for International Cooperation and implemented through the British council in partnership with local NGOs. Community Forestry (CF) is a key element of the programme, as it is seen as pathway to increasing the participation of civil society in influencing policy and practice with regards to communities. access and sustainable use of forestry land. CF can also improve forestry conservation and enhance the livelihoods of communities. CF has been a national development tool since 1995, when the Ministry of Forestry issued instructions for the issuing of Community Forest certificates. In Kachin state in northern Myanmar bordering China, Pyoe Pin has been working with two local NGOs (ECODEV and Shalom Foundation), who are in turn engaging with forest villages, to increase their awareness of appropriate forest usage and management, through assisting these communities to apply for community forest certificates. These certificates provide community rights to forest products and tenure for 30 years. Working through 120 villages, 54 Forest User Groups (FUGs) consisting of about 40,000 people have been created, who are replanting degraded forest areas, and also balancing their livelihood needs with greater understanding of sustainability. So far, 31,445 acres have been prepared for CF, but aside from 3000 of these acres, the rest has not yet been granted the lease, largely a result of lack of institutional support for this process as government prioritizes commercial allocations of land over community allocations for CF. As yet, CF has not shown significant direct economic impacts, but it is hoped that income from forest products, produced by and for the communities engaged, will have an impact on the incomes of the communities and households involved. One of the challenges has been how to increase the commercial viability and impact of CF by bringing greater alignment between commercial and community priorities. Some parts of the CF Instruction have hindered the maximization of economic benefits that can be gained by CF as they limit community rights to harvesting and selling at minimal levels. In addition, both private sector and Government have not considered CF as a potential partner for sourcing raw materials. But the environment is ripe for undertaking analysis and piloting of alternative models. There is a new Minister of Forestry, formerly head of Myanmar Timber Enterprise, who has experience in extensive forest-based commercial ventures. In addition, a recent national CF workshop was the first of the kind to bring experts from around the region to discuss findings from a national-level appraisal of CF in Myanmar since inception 15 years ago. In this context, Pyoe Pin envisages to develop a pilot project that will seek to demonstrate: 1. the value of CF as a real national development tool for the poorest communities, and to increase institutional support for its realization. 2. CF can be a commercially viable business partner for private sector 3. that it is important that communities who apply for CF status should be supported with the expedient granting of leases 4. that CF Instructions need to be revised to allow communities to commercialize their CF Towards these objectives, Pyoe Pin started to identify CF products that could have the greatest market potential and feasibility of being taken up by community forestry, which can then supply the products to larger domestic and possibly even international markets. An initial brainstorming session with foresters from NGOs and research institutes and businessmen from the Timber Market Association in December 2010 identified a preliminary shortlist of forest products. This selection was mainly based on secondary sources of information on market potential to help narrow down a more appropriate list for additional value-chain analysis..."
Creator/author: Foppes, J., Moe Aung, Paing Soe
Source/publisher: Pyoe Pin
2011-09-00
Date of entry/update: 2016-04-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.26 MB
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Description: "... We here examine several options for independent certification of community forests with a view to legal timber harvest. A number of certification standards and types have been developed world-wide, with the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC; www.pefc.org) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC; info.fsc.org) being the most widely recognised standards for Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) and Chain of Custody (CoC) certification. This report considers the suitability of both systems in the context of nationally recognised community forest management in Myanmar, through the conduct of a rapid field assessment of the constraints and opportunities in two forest user group networks in Tanintharyi region and Kachin State. Certification concepts and our initial findings were presented in a roundtable meeting in Yangon in August hosted jointly with EcoDev and the Myanmar Timber Merchants Association, and attended by RECOFTC, Myanmar Forest Certification Committee, IUCN and other stakeholders. The presentations are reproduced in Annex 1 and 2. Our rapid field evaluation shows that, in the case study sites, an external review by an accredited timber certifier ? either Forest Stewardship Council or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification ? would currently cost more than the benefits it will bring to the to smallholders. The main constraints are that; a) managed areas are currently too small (
Creator/author: Bjoern Wode, Robert Oberndorf, Mark E Grindley
Source/publisher: Myanmar Conservation and Development Program (MCDP)
2014-10-00
Date of entry/update: 2016-04-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 8.83 MB
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Description: ..."This Working Paper examines options for improved sustainability and economic viability for community forest in Myanmar (See also Wode et al 2014). It was prepared under an EU-FAO Regional FLEGT Programme project implemented by Fauna & Flora International that is exploring opportunities and constraints for commercial timber production from community forests. The paper is written in the form of a draft ?Guide for Forest Management? that could be applied by Forest User Groups who have been handed over natural forest resources for sustainable long-term management and protection under a Community Forest (CF) certificate and with a CF management plan available. It is not a substitute for government regulations or departmental guidance, and is intended to promote discussion on sustainable forest management in the context of legal CF in Myanmar"...
Creator/author: Bjoern Wode
Source/publisher: Myanmar Conservation and Development Program (MCDP)
2014-10-00
Date of entry/update: 2016-04-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 4.53 MB
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Description: "... The National Community Forestry Instruction (1995) provides communities the opportunity for 30 year licenses to manage state forests lands for natural forest protection, mixed agro-forestry and timber production systems. The Forestry Master Plan (2001) envisions around 920,000 ha to be handed to local Forest User Groups (FUGs) by 2030, about 1.36% of the total land area. A recent review of community forestry (CF) conducted in 2011 identified a range of constraints to allowing individual CFs to ?fulfil their potential”, and to scaling up the handover of CF to better meet the 2001 Forestry Master Plan targets. The review focused mostly on the institutional and technical impediments but also clearly identified the need for the scope of CF to shift from ?subsistence to enterprise” and integrate ?timber harvesting on a significantly larger scale”. Since 2008, FFI Myanmar and its partners have been actively supporting the establishment of CF as a tool for watershed protection, protected area buffer zone establishment and livelihood development. To date FFI has assisted over 50 communities with CF establishment, provided small grants and technical assistance to a further 30 CF groups, and conducted CF training for state and regional level civil society groups. FFI?s current strategic plan includes: i) The continued development of CF models to become self-funding, and ii) Evidence-based advocacy to streamline the CF application procedure. The long-term sustainability of CF in Myanmar may not be clear for some years, as even the oldest commercial CF trees are only 15 years old, but CF seems to offer considerable potential to provide a supply of timber and therefore generate substantial revenues for local communities. The current reforms in the Myanmar forest sector and the EU FLEGT initiative are providing an unprecedented opportunity to clarify community rights over CF timber and by doing so to promote the expansion and sustainability of CF. This report was prepared under an FFI project supported by the FAO/EU FLEGT Support Programme, which promotes the implementation of the FLEGT Action Plan by improving forest governance, providing technical assistance, and building capacity through funding projects in eligible countries..."
Source/publisher: Myanmar Conservation and Development Program (MCDP)
2014-10-00
Date of entry/update: 2016-04-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.93 MB
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Description: "... This paper attempts to analyse the key aspects of reforms required to ?democratise? Myanmar?s timber trade, and the political?economic interests contributing or obstructing reform. The main aim of this paper is to assess the prospects for reform of Myanmar?s timber sector in light of theemerging FLEGT process, and to apply a political ecological analysis to the ways in which the political?economic power balance will determine the outcomes. We use aspects of political?ecological analysis to understand the nature and dynamics of the contested reform process: firstly structural explanations for the ways in which different groups gain access to resources — in this case forests and timber, andwho gains and loses through these processes; and secondly, a critical analysis of how polices relate to the exercise of power and practices on the ground. (Springate-Baginski and Blaikie, 2007: 10). Methodologically, the often opaque and generally illicit nature of Myanmar?s present timber trade makes primary data collection extremely difficult, even hazardous. There is also limited government data, and what there is, is systematically misleading (EIA, 2014). Therefore for this overview paper we necessarily rely on secondary sources and anonymous interviews (conducted in Spring 2013), along with the personal experience of the authors. To help clarify the complex and fluid contemporary situation this first section sets out the overall political and historical context of Myanmar?s timber trade..."
Creator/author: Anthony Neil, Oliver Springate-Baginski, Aung Kyaw Thein, Win Myo Thu, Faith Doherty
Source/publisher: Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA)
2014-10-07
Date of entry/update: 2016-04-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 643.41 KB
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Description: "... Unleashing the potential of community forest (CF) enterprise in Myanmar is crucial for two main reasons. First, it will increase local incomes and government revenues, which will reduce poverty. Second, the financial incentive of such enterprises will encourage local people to manage and restore forests. Without enlisting the help of rural communities in these efforts it is likely that forest loss will continue and the contribution of forests to the rural economy will continue to decline. The rate of forest loss in Myanmar is among the highest in the world, running at 0.9 per cent per year between 2000 and 2010. The forest sector?s importance to the overall economy has declined in this time, from 0.6 per cent in 2006-2007 to 0.38 per cent in 2010-2011. Myanmar?s overall economy is now beginning to grow but at least 26 per cent of the population remain in poverty ? mostly in rural areas. Turning this around will require the development of new economic opportunities in rural areas, of which community forest enterprises are a critical part. A number of immediate steps are needed to develop community forest enterprise opportunities. Forest legislation should allow communities commercial-use rights for both timber and non-timber forest products (NTFPs). Government and civil society should work together to raise community awareness of these commercial enterprise opportunities, and a market-led approach to community forestry be pursued. The handover of local forests to Forest User Groups (FUGs) should be streamlined and accelerated. A working group of government extension staff and civil society groups should share experiences and expand capacity-building for FUGs in business management. Organisation between community FUGs should be encouraged, through local associations and regional and national federations. A reliable investment environment should be assured to facilitate enterprise development. Field research from four states presented in this report highlights particularly promising community forestry enterprise opportunities. Bamboos appear to be the highest-priority product for enterprise development in the Ayeyarwady Delta, with timber (and potentially timber poles) and charcoal taking the second and third positions respectively. In the Mandalay Region, bamboo has the highest potential for enterprise development, with timber and value-added bamboos taking the second and the third positions respectively. In Shan State, thatch appears to have the highest potential, followed by value-added bamboos and bamboo. Finally, in Kachin State, timber appears to be the best option, with medicinal plants and firewood coming in at second and third. Overall ? and despite some significant regional differences ? our analysis points to three major sectors for CF enterprise development: timber (including poles and posts), bamboo (including both unprocessed and processed products) and NTFPs ? particularly medicinal and ornamental plants. There are also many miscellaneous products with great potential for CF enterprises, such as charcoal, rattan, agarwood, thanaka, elephant foot yam, white viii www.iied.org yam and so on. These can be integrated successfully as agricultural crops along with forest trees in the CF areas. This analysis clearly challenges the current monopoly on timber production by government agencies and ?crony? companies. Progress towards the government?s Forest Master Plan target of 918,000 hectares of community forestry by 2030 is drastically behind, in part because local communities do not perceive clearly the economic opportunity outlined. But even this target (2.8 per cent of the total forest area in Myanmar) is extraordinarily unambitious. A much more reasonable ambition might be a government target of allocating 25 per cent of the total area of Myanmar forest to communities ? matching roughly the global average for forest controlled by local groups. Doing this by 2030 could make six million people forest user group members, which would make community forestry a genuine engine of rural economic growth. We outline some of the forest products upon which such community forestry enterprises might be based, and recommend regional clustering to improve scale efficiencies and competitiveness. A number of key challenges were found to underpin the slow development of community forest enterprises. The report explores each and proposes a solution. There is weak political commitment to community forestry, and this requires more vigorous mobilisation and awareness-raising of its economic potential. Forest officers tend to lack interest in community forestry enterprise, when in fact it should be mainstreamed into the Forest Department?s normal operation procedures under a dedicated department. Tenure and use rights to commercial land and its resources are insecure, requiring the enactment and implementation of a national land-use policy and plan that grants community forest user groups (CFUGs) commercial forest use rights. The shortage of investment requires more accessible bank loans, membership saving schemes, supplier-buyer partnerships, insurance schemes and a further simplification of export requirements. A widespread lack of business skills among communities requires more extensive training, workshops and exchange visits. The lack of technology requires concerted research and development by government and academic institutions. Weak community participation in turn requires better mobilisation and awareness-raising of financial opportunities. Business and financial-support services will need to be strengthened to bring about this transformation. But the market-led approach to community forestry fits perfectly with the government of Myanmar?s new emphasis on support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), spearheaded by the president. SMEs constitute the largest sector within Myanmar?s economy in terms of number, contribution to employment, output and investment ? playing a vital role in the country?s economic development. Community forestry enterprises could make a vital contribution to such development. But it will require concerted effort and a strong partnership between government and civil society groups to install a market-led approach to community forestry..."
Creator/author: Kyaw Tint, Oliver Springate-Baginski, Duncan Macqueen, Mehm Ko Ko Gyi
2014-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2016-04-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 2.64 MB
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Description: "... This piece of community initiated action research reveals a number of lessons we can learn. The authors try to reflect the challenges of and opportunities for community based natural resources management in a seemingly forgotten Karen controlled area of southern Myanmar. The paper examines a number of case studies including the construction of a local water supply system, the establishment of fish conservation zones and community-driven forest conservation. An evolutionary development of community based networks such as CSLD (Community Sustainable Livelihood and Development), IRIP-NET (Tenasserim River and Indigenous People Network) and RKIP (Rays of Kamoethway Indigenous People and Nature) and their collaborative action to address emerging Natural Resources Management issues in their land are well illustrated in the paper..."
Source/publisher: Tenasserim River & Indigenous People Networks (TRIP NET), Rays of Kamoethway Indigenous People and Nature (RKIPN)
2016-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2016-04-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 3.13 MB
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Description: "... This study was intended to find out the benefits of forests, especially for non-wood forest products (NWFPs), to forestdependent local people and the relation to their socio-economic status. Sampling (169 respondents) was chosen to be an equal distribution of household?s economic status. The survey was conducted face to face with structural interviews using both open-and closed-ended questions. The results showed that bamboo and bamboo shoot were considered as the most collected NWFPs in the Bago Yoma region. The average consumptions of NWFPs were 302.50  90.12 viss to 501.27  120.65 viss. Furthermore, the research revealed that the collection of NWFPs showed negative correlation with income availability and livestock possession. The study aims to help provide the necessary information for sustainable forest management..."
Creator/author: Inkyin Khaine, Su Young Woo, Hoduck Kang
Source/publisher: Forest Science and Technology
2014-04-07
Date of entry/update: 2016-04-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 168.64 KB
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Description: ABSTRACT: Burma (Myanmar) is currently emerging from almost half a century of severe military dictatorship. In a country comprising over 50% forested landscapes, the status of forest governance and forest rights are central to the democratisation process. Oliver will present findings from a recent study on community forestry in Burma, and seek to clarify some of the issues, opportunities and challenges in the country. A key challenge remains the reconciliation of environmental protection with local food security for the uplands, where their attempted territorialisation under colonial and post colonial forestry administrations continues to threaten the prevalent taungya forest fallows cultivation systems.....THE PROBLEMS: *One of Southeast Asia?s and the World?s poorest countries (UNDP 2007/2010). *poverty headcount: 32% across the ~59 m population *10% below the UNDP?s food poverty line. *Rural poverty is significantly higher than urban poverty (36% / 22%) *In Chin State, (upland North), 73% are poor, and 40% fall below the food poverty line. *moderately underweight children 34% nationally, 60% in Rakhine State *BUT data v. poor... Causes: *Faltering agricultural production & lack of alternate livelihood opp.s from industry *Conflict *State command economy – forced procurement – disastrous *Lack of service provision, market support, credit etc. *Tenure insecurity – state controlled land *Common Property Resource decline *Environmental degradation *Increasing land appropriation for crony agribusinesses & Chinese opportunists... 1. Does Community forestry work? 2. Is Tenure security at the Forest Agriculture Interface as Community forestry part of the solution? Or a further problem?
Creator/author: Oliver Springate-Baginski, UEA
Source/publisher: Oxford Centre for Tropical Forests
2012-02-17
Date of entry/update: 2012-05-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 2.59 MB
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Description: "The Karen State of Kawthoolei has been heavily dependent on teak extraction to fund the Karen National Union struggle against the Burmese military junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). Raymond Bryant explores the social and economic structure of Kawthoolei, and the way in which resource extraction was more than simply a source of revenue � it was also an integral part of the assertion of Karen sovereignty..."
Creator/author: Raymond Bryant
Source/publisher: "Watershed" Vol.3 No.1 July - October 1997
1997-10-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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