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![Text Box: Buhsarkee road were ordered to move to the concentration camp at Kawthinder.
Most of them were afraid to go because they had seen and heard about bad experiences in the concentration camps done by SPDC soldiers. They preferred to flee into the deep forest. There are now six thousand IDP's in the deep jungle of Toungoo district who degrade the old growth forest by shifting cultivation more and more every year (Estimate of the Federation of Trade Unions of Kaw Thoo Lei (FTUK)). But, even though they destroy the forest, a villager of Seidowko reflects that they “do not get good crops from their farms because there are many kinds of pests in the old growth forest that destroy the crops”.
Another problem is the landmines that SPDC as well as KNU troops lay in the forests near abandoned villages. This upholds many villagers to return to their farms and gardens in their own village.
In the hot season, the SPDC burns the terrain along their roads for security at least three times during the season. The fire spreads to the forest and destroys orchards and rotational farms near the truck road areas. Some villagers in Playhsarloh said that when the SPDC set up a camp near their village, they burned the bushes around the camp and the fire spread through the forest. The fire burned the topsoil of the forest and burned their orchard gardens. Moreover, the villagers noticed that erosion of the stream occurred in the rainy season after the burnings. The fires also destroy many bird nests.
Many villagers of Toungoo district have faced confiscation of their land. The SPDC has confiscated land for mono-plantations, for building their camps, and for construction of a dam. Land confiscation destroys local people's traditional livelihoods and forces many people to become daily workers. According to KESAN interviews, every year the livelihoods of people in the reserve forests are getting harder and harder since logging has destroyed the forests, and the villagers' lands have been confiscated for mono-plantations by the military government.
In Tonbo reserve forest of Toungoo district, the military government gave out logging concessions. After the logging the villagers in the forest created orchard gardens. Later the military government confiscated the gardens and planted teak and other mono-plantations.
Many villagers lost their farmland with the building of SPDC military camps in Beryinaw, near Thandaung Gyi town, and Kawthinder. The SPDC also seized land for building dams. When the SPDC built the Perthi dam from 1993-97, two villages were relocated and their land was destroyed. “After the SPDC seized my land, I became a daily worker and I got 250 Kyat a day. I didn't get enough money to feed my family. Rural development projects that are done by the SPDC also include land confiscation so many people are afraid of these projects. Every year, my livelihood is harder to obtain, so in 2000 I went to be a logger at Merhamyen, Moywa Township. But timber fell on my shoulder, and I had to go to the nearby hospital” said a villager in Tonbo reserve forest. Currently the SPDC plans to build a new dam on Thaukyegat stream above Paletwa SPDC camp. The dam area is now in process of being cleared. If the dam is constructed, six villages will lose their gardens and the villagers are very worried.
People's concerns and possible solutions
A youth leader from Tantibin Township said that if they wait until Burma gets democracy and the military government changes, the forests will be gone and there will be no forest for the coming generations. He recognized that something needs to be done now to save the forests. The villagers said that they need empowerment from political groups to conserve their forest. One of the elder people in Playhsarloh who participated in the forest campaign recommended that “What the KESAN trainer talked about forest conservation is fit to our community and the young people in my village need to learn about this issue.” Another person in Klerlah village said: “Thulei Kawwei magazine [published by KESAN] reminds us how the elder people used the forest with care. It is very useful for the young people to read this to get more knowledge for a positive way of living in harmony with the environment. In Burma the SPDC government censures outside information.”
KESAN held an environmental workshop in Tantibin Township. The participants in this workshop said that the environmental knowledge and forest conservation ideas are not new knowledge. “The](image116.gif)
