A case study by Karen Environmental & Social Action Network, July 2004

Burma is a very biologically and culturally diverse country. It is located within the "greenbelt" of the Equator and it is home to some of the world's most lush and diverse rainforests. Natural resources are abundant and include timber, minerals, precious stones, natural gas, petroleum and hydropower. A wide range of different ethnic groups live in Burma, including Burman, Karen, Shan, Kachin, Karenni, Mon, Wa, Rakhine and Chin. Over 30% of the population is made up of ethnic minorities.

The Karens
Ethnic groups living by traditional means are especially dependant on Burma's forests. In the southeast of Burma, Karen State which borders Thailand is home to the Karen people who traditionally lived peacefully, relying on the forests and the land to practise rotational cultivation and flatland paddy agriculture. The Karen are intimately connected with their land. In traditional Karen structures, traditional knowledge and culture are directly linked to the environment and using resources in a sustainable way. The Karen however, have suffered greatly for many generations. The civil war which has been taking place in many other ethnic areas as well, has troubled Karen State for over 50 years.

Mass migration
The conflicts within Burma are destroying the country's environment and the livelihoods of the ethnic people who depend on it. The war is causing mass migrations of people and they are being pushed off of their land and forced to abandon their traditional livelihoods. The displacement is induced by conflict, development and resource scarcity. People are forced to move to military controlled relocation sites, into the jungles or to other areas in Burma and Thailand. In Karen State alone there are an estimated 261,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) that have been forced to abandon their land and hide within the forests, while over 116, 800 Karen refugees are living in camps on the Thai side of the border (Global IDP Database, 2003; UNHCR, 2003).

Environmental consequences of IDPs
The major influx of people into the forests has caused a change in agricultural practices and consequently, these changes have caused massive deforestation and a loss of biological diversity. Traditional Karen agriculture relies on flatland paddy and rotational cultivation. The cultivation processes involve long, complex and deliberate systems using extensive forest management techniques. Flatland paddy farms are established on the plains near the rivers which they depend on for water. Farmers can use the same plots of land every year for many generations.

Nowadays, in many areas flatland paddy farming has been abandoned altogether due to increased militarization and close proximity to Burmese military bases. Additionally, the fields are often mined by the Burmese military in order to deter the farmers from returning to their land. The rotational cultivation system is a short cultivation and long fallowing system. With the traditional system, the farmers are able to remain sedentary, establishing permanent villages by rotating between fields in one area. There is no need to continually search for new land. IDPs are forced to repeatedly cultivate the same land without allowing the traditional fallow period of 7 years. This quickly exhausts the soil of its essential nutrients. The villagers are noticing decreased species richness, soil degradation, decreased water quality and quantity.

The ethnic people have traditionally used resources and managed their environment in a sustainable manner, protecting forests for generations. "The forest is our home and our surviving area. If there is no forest, Karen people would lose their dignity and their soul,"� said a Karen village elder. They live in and depend on the forests for agriculture, wild food, building materials, medicines, firewood, ritual religious practices, ceremonies and income. In one small village of Northern Karen State alone, villagers have an abundant food supply of more than 150 different kinds of edible forest products. Wild foods such as banana, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, honey, varieties of ginger, ferns, many tubers and root species are collected.

Now, traditional practices are in jeopardy and in many places are no longer possible. The farmers have to abandon their land and are forced to encroach more and more into areas of virgin forestland, exploiting and putting great pressures on the land. Food security is a major issue and the IDPs are having many difficulties feeding themselves and their families.

Civil war results in unsustainable management of resources
The communities are frightened for the future and of losing their valuable resources but with the ongoing civil war they do not know how to control the situation. When asked about forest development and management, the general opinion was that if there was no war and they were given the chance to practice traditional cultivation, the communities would use the forest in a sustainable way. They already have the knowledge and have been doing so for many generations. Political stability is of vital importance. If the community is not under continual threat of attack and disruption then they can live peacefully and sustainably. The instability of the village prevents the implementation of long term projects despite an awareness of the need for such things. The people are discouraged and have lost hope, feeling that nothing can be done until the end of war. This fatalistic view among the villagers makes it difficult to make changes. When asked about reforestation the villagers had little inspiration. If they are forced to leave their land then they feel that replanting resources is useless. For all villagers, protecting their lives is of most importance. Day-to-day survival is a larger concern than long term management of natural resources.

Many social and ecological problems have resulted from deforestation because of population pressures on the land and non-traditional practices of rotational cultivation. These unsustainable practices are a consequence of the longstanding civil war and as a result culture is being eroded and more and more pristine forests are being damaged. Food security is in jeopardy as the land is becoming severely exhausted. The ethnic groups are at a loss and do not know how to manage and control these unsustainable practices with the ongoing conflicts. There is needed support of grass-root initiatives and awareness-raising within local communities about general environmental knowledge and alternatives to managing the land sustainably under the current conditions.

References:
- Burmese Border Consortium. October 2003. Reclaiming the Right to Rice. Wanida Press, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
- Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People (CIDKP). 2000. Karen IDPs Report. Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Nopburee Press, Chiang Mai Thailand.
- Global IDP Database 2002 [viewed March 2004].
- Pan Kachin Development Society (PKDS) & Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN). 2004. Destruction and Degradation of the Burmese Frontier Forests: Listening to the People's Voices. Searchweb, Amsterdam.
- UNHCR. January 2004. Map of Myanmar-Thailand Border. UNHCR CCSDPT, Thailand [viewed September 2004].

Traditional practices in jeopardy