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The document discusses the Kamoethway Community Driven Model, which aims to (1) enhance local ecological knowledge, (2) conserve natural resources, and (3) ensure local control over resources. The model promotes collaboration and uses local knowledge-based research to assess forest resources and identify issues to solve through discussion. Villagers monitor forests and rivers, rehabilitate forests, and establish conservation areas and fish zones to maintain ecosystems and ensure food security. It creates a platform for forest communities to exercise various traditional knowledge and establishes that sustainable development depends on local participation and resource control.
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- 1. Growing Up Together With the Forest Kamoethway Community Driven Model
- 5. • To enhance local knowledge and wisdom • To conserve local natural resources • To ensure local people retain control over their natural resources • To promote collaboration among communities Enhancing public ecological knowledge through Local Knowledge- Based Research
- 6. The Local Knowledge-Based Research process is a way of informing community members that they have the rights to manage their local resources by themselves in sustainable way
- 7. To assess increase or decrease of forest resources To identify specific natural phenomenon To make a record of resources that are being destroyed To raise urgent issues and solve problems through public discussions towards a better forest management plan Monitoring forest and river ecosystems
- 9. In order to maintain and recover the remaining aquatic species and riverine ecosystem, villagers have established Fish Conservation Zones Establishing People’s Protected Conservation Areas (People’s parks)
- 11. Variety of products from rotational farm
- 12. Interdependency of farming technique
- 13. Members who possess knowledge on handicraft production Members who possess knowledge on forest trees Creates a platform for forest-dependent communities to exercise their knowledge and expertise
- 14. Members who possess knowledge on herbal medicinal plants Members who possess knowledge on wild forest vegetables
- 15. Members who possess knowledge on traditional rotational farming Members who possess knowledge on wildlife
- 20. TRIP-NET believes that sustainable development can be achieved only when local people have the right to participate in the development process, and control and manage their natural resources according to their traditions and culture.
- 21. ThankYou!
Editor's Notes
- TRIP NET is working at Tanintharyi region, it’s around the tail part on Myanmar map. As Tanintharyi is considered to be one of the few remaining biodiversity hotspots in Myanmar, TRIP NET is working together with Kamoethway community located in Tanintharyi region mainly focusing on sustainable conservation of natural resources.
- So, you can see the map of Kamoethway area. It is over 264 thousand acres and there are 12 villages with about 12 thousand populations. In 2014, local people set up community based organization called Rays of Kamoethway Indigenous People and Nature for the purpose of environmental conservation. For that purpose, they demarcated 9 conservation zones depends on the landscape and the resources. And they set up rules and regulation for each zone. So, they are like Wildlife sanctuary, watershed forest, herbal medicinal forest, cultural forest (is where they do rational farming), umbilical cord forest (here is like a spiritual forest, so when a baby is born his umbilical cord is put in a bamboo stalk and then hang it to their best choice tree and wish that the baby would grow strong like that tree, so nobody cut the tree with a hang bamboo of umbilical cord), and another zone is utilization forest (the IP could cut tree just for their household use), agroforestry, fish conservation zone, and cemetery. Out of these 9 zones, 6 zones are untouchable, no tree cutting, no firewood collection. But if some other groups or organizations want to visit and for research purpose, they can request RKIPN and then the trip can be arranged.
- These are the 5 interventions that kamoethway people are working on. TRIP NET works with local community organization (RKIPN) to create a platform for forest-dependent communities to exercise their knowledge and expertise. All the group members are from 12 villages, and there are 2 representatives from each village acting as negotiator between RKIPN and their villagers. They meet once a month discussing the situation of the resources in their area and finding resolutions for any out-breaks.
- Indigenous people live harmoniously with the nature as their live-style is interdependent with the forest so is our kamoethway community. They want to prove that they have better knowledge on their forest than the outsiders. For this reason, TRIP NET has worked on creating a space for the indigenous people to show up their knowledge. So, in 2014, we started to work on local knowledge based research activities, recording and documenting natural resources in our areas. It is important as this has produced a sense of self-confidence and ownership in controlling their natural resources. So, we have done local knowledge based research and well, indigenous people are the researchers.
- And, these are the results of their research, they have documented over hundreds of medicinal plants and edible plants species and around 100 of fish species so far. And now we are still working on documenting tree species and tried to publish second edition of fish research book.
- Monitoring activity is carried out once in 3 to 4 months to measure the healthiness of the forest, biodiversity, resource inventories and illegal logging. After forest monitoring, they discuss the forest condition and record their findings.
- For forest rehabilitation, they work on making fire break, attaching warning signs to the trees, and plantation.
- And where there’s a deep-water area, they establish fish conservation zones, and set up their own rules to prevent fishing. In each ceremony, they included religion perspective as they invited leaders of different religions to deliver spiritual speech focusing on sustainable conservation. We have seen that this created much stronger sense of responsibility and respect to the nature and also cooperation between communities.
- Our indigenous people's food source depends on the forest and river around them. Some said shifting cultivation is one of the factor of deforestation. However, the local people’s way of shifting cultivation is giving consideration to welfare of the nature. They have rules where to do farming and where’s not to touch. They do it one year and leave it for 8 years, they even have local term/word for each year.
- On their farm, they grow variety of vegetables and plants and they said that these are also for wildlife just to keep them out to destroy the paddy.
- You can see the flowers here, well this is some kind of decorating the farm but it’s also to attract the insect and birds from eating the grain.
- But then, how do we work on this several activities, we know that people have different expertise and interests. So, for the inclusion and participation of everyone, we have divided 6 working groups. One group who has interest and knowledge on forest tree, handicraft group, herbal medicinal group, forest vegetable group, rotational farm group, and wildlife group.
- In their own group, they implement their work activity such as documenting, monitoring, and production of non-timber forest products. They are now could create a strong community with close cooperation between each others. So these 12 villages don't stand by themselves but as a whole or as a single community.
- However, there are some challenges while working on conservation in Kamoethway. Although National cease-fired agreement was signed in 2012 between KNU and Myanmar government, local people are living in fear because they have experienced decades of arm-conflict. Just after NCA agreement, several mega-projects were great threats to their livelihood as there no transparency and protection by law is weak, and illegal logging is also one of the threats. And established national protected area is still in debate. And yes, all these make it hard for indigenous people to access forest resources.
- However, out of the challenges, we have learned that community members had developed a sense of ownership and confident in the knowledge they have on their forest and river. Through many conservation activity, we could catch the attention of the authority and gained opportunity to share the plan on community-driven forest management.
- So then in 2017, Kamoethway community could launch a research paper called “Growing up together with the forest” under the pilot project of Myanmar forest department and land core group; supported by MRLG. The purpose of doing this research is our objective is consistent with the project’s ultimate objective as we aim to support the achievement of Myanmar’s international commitment. And moreover, this is to respond to external project threating forest resources and another fact is to preserve indigenous knowledge and culture related to living interpedently with the forest. So that we can promote the natural heritage for future generation.
- From this research book, it showed that forest and human are interdependence, so indigenous people’s customary forest management must be recognized and they must be involved in drafting forest policy. And the effective and sustainable way of forest conservation is to empower the forest dependent community to take responsibility and accountability in managing their forest resources. To make it more concrete, government departments need to improve their cooperation.
- So lastly, TRIP NET believe that sustainable development can be achieved only when local people have the right to participate in the development process, and control and manage their natural resources according to their traditions and culture.