Myanmar Activists Disapprove of UN's Proposed Park

 

Farmer May Cho Win has been working on the same land for over 10 years.

When the 28-year-old heard that a conservation project would include her farmland, she wondered how she and her husband would support their children.

"Without our land we can't live," she told The Associated Press, speaking by phone from her one-room home. "If they come and do this project, we will have nothing to do — we'll be like dead people."

The $21 million project was the idea of the United Nations development program in Myanmar, the country also known as Burma. It would conserve¹ nearly 14,000 square kilometers of land, coastal² areas, and waters in the country's south.

The Global Environment Facility has offered financing to pay for the project. Other money would come from the Myanmar government, America's Smithsonian Institution, and other partners.

But Indigenous³ and land rights activists⁴ say the project will affect about 225 villages in the proposed park area. They note that many of the villagers depend on farming and fishing for their survival. The project has been delayed while the U.N. program's inspector⁵ general investigates their concerns.

Lack of community approval

With development and deforestation increasing worldwide, Indigenous activists and conservationists recognize the importance of protecting natural areas. They provide a living space for many animals and plants and valuable carbon storage for a warming planet.

Yet palm oil companies, seafood⁶ farming, mining and illegal logging operations have caused environmental damage in much of Southeast Asia. Between 2010 and 2015, U.N. officials say, Myanmar experienced the world's third-highest forest loss after Brazil and Indonesia.

But local activists say when the U.N. program designed the conservation project, it did little to consult with the local community. That violates a central right contained within the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The U.N. said there were many consultations⁷ with the community. But activists say that many villagers were not informed of the project until after it was approved.

"Both the project side and government sides didn't come and inform us about the project," said Saw Min Yin by phone.

Saw Min Yin is a village leader in the proposed project area. "We don't accept this project, because our traditional ways of life may disappear because of it," the 36-year-old said.

Indigenous activists also fear the project would deny some people the right to return home, meaning those forced to flee during years of conflict. Such a return is guaranteed under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Conservation Alliance Tanawthari is a coalition⁸ of Indigenous community organizations. It made an official complaint in September 2018 to the independent U.N. development program inspector general for investigation⁹.

The U.N. said project activities are currently "fully¹⁰ suspended," and the inspector general still has no estimated release date for findings.

U.N. officials rejected The AP's requests for interviews.

Questions over U.N.-supported projects

The Myanmar project is not the first time U.N.-Global Environment Facility conservation projects have been questioned.

In January 2020, a draft of a report by the U.N. development program found that the Baka people had been forced from their homeland in the Republic of Congo. They had lived in forests close to a national park that the U.N. program had financed with other partners. The draft report found the Baka had been beaten by park workers and that women tribe members had been sexually harassed¹².

Holly¹³ Jonas is with the ICCA Consortium, a group working for Indigenous rights. She told The AP there is a false belief that nature is better without people and that "we have to protect nature from people."

After learning of the U.N. project in Myanmar, land rights activists spent nearly a year talking with local communities. Their goal was to draft a separate proposal for the Indigenous people to conserve the land.

The proposal involved traditional community-led conservation efforts that have been used for generations. It includes land and forest supervision¹⁴ and traditional customs and actions that protect biodiversity.

"We consider ourselves like an animal of the forest. It's like we are tigers — when you take a tiger out of the forest, how will it live?" said Paul Sein Twa. He leads the Karen Environmental and Social Action Network. "We consider it part of our life and duty to protect our lands."

Evidence of the effectiveness of such community-led conservation already can be found in Myanmar. Earlier this year, a community-led conservation project in Karen State won the U.N. Equator Prize for environmentally safe development solutions.

For May Cho Win, the desire to keep protecting her forested land and to grow durian and cotton plants remains¹⁵ firm — U.N. project or not.

I'm Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

conservation – n. the protection of animals, plants, and natural resources

indigenous – adj. living or existing naturally in a particular region or environment

logging – n. cutting down trees for timber

consult – v. to talk about something with someone in order to make a decision

complaint – n. a statement that you are unhappy or not satisfied with something

interview – n. a meeting at which people talk to each other in order to ask questions and get information

draft – adj. not yet in final form

park – n. a large area of public land kept in its natural state to protect plants and animals

harass¹¹ – v. to annoy or bother someone in a constant or repeated way

biodiversity – n. the existence of many different kinds of plants and animals in an environment

1 conserve   

vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭

参考例句：

• He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
• Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力，你会用得着的！

2 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

3 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

4 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

6 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

7 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

11 harass   

vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰

参考例句：

• Our mission is to harass the landing of the main Japaness expeditionary force.我们的任务是骚乱日本远征军主力的登陆。
• They received the order to harass the enemy's rear.他们接到骚扰敌人后方的命令。

12 harassed   

adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He has complained of being harassed by the police. 他投诉受到警方侵扰。
• harassed mothers with their children 带着孩子的疲惫不堪的母亲们

13 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

14 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

15 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。