Assessment of the efficacy of Myanmar's shark reserves

A formal evaluation of the reserves efficacy was undertaken using an adapted version of the Philippines Marine Protected Area (MPA) Management Effectiveness Assessment Tool (MEAT). This report details the results and major findings of the evaluation

Report of the socio-economic baseline assessment dissemination meeting, Yangon, Myanmar, 28 January, 2015

The Data Dissemination Stakeholder Meeting was was a means of disseminating data from a socio-economic baseline study undertaken in 2014 (Schneider at al 2014). Implications included: the importance of heterogeneity of communities; population structure and migration trends; livelihoods diversity and vulnerability; and stakeholder mobilisation.

Socio-economic baseline assessment: Thayawthatangyi and Langan Islands, Myeik Archipelago, Myanmar

This report details the methodology and results of a 2014 socio-economic baseline assessment of 4 villages in the Myeik Archipelago, Myanmar undertaken as part of a programme to build local stakeholders capacity to use data to inform marine resource planning and managemnt

Report of the Workshop on Marine Protected Area Management in Myanmar, Myeik, Myanmar, 2-3 October, 2014

The objectives of the workshop included: an overview of the biophysical characteristics of the Myeik Archipelago; strengthen understanding of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) management to mitigate resource use conflicts; share lessons and experiences of MPA management from the Asia-Pacific region; and to identify a road map for developing MPA management in the Myeik Archipelago.

Report of the training on seagrass conservation and monitoring, Myanmar, 26 April -3 May, 2015

Trainers from the region contributed theory and practical training to trainees from government departments, universities and NGOs relevant to conservation of seagrasses and monitoring methods.

Report of the National Technical Workshop on the Conservation Strategy for the Myeik Archipelago, Dawei, Myanmar, 27 February, 2015

This was a follow up to the workshop held in October, 2014. This second workshop consolidated findings an and recommendations and highlighted the importance of cooperation between Department of Fisheries (DoF) and non-state actors.

Report of the technical exchange between Thailand and Myanmar fisheries scientists on hilsa

Collaboration between Thailand and Myanmar fisheries scientists with the goal of developing an artificial breeding program to promote a sustainable Hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) fishery. This report was prepared in Thai by Mr Suttichai Rittitum and translated into English and Burmese by the SEAFDEC Secretariat.

Seagrass conservation and monitoring in Myanmar: the biodiversity, distribution and coverage of seagrasses in the Tanintharyi and Rakhine

Surveys on seagrass taxonomy, distribution and extent were carried out in 14 locations within Myeik Archipelago and along the Rakhine Coast.

An Oriental land of the free, or, Life and mission work among the Laos of Siam, Burma, China and Indo-China / by John H. Freeman.

http://www.archive.org/details/anorientallandof00freeuoft

Dompter le dragon : l’économie politique de la drogue et le conflit armé en Birmanie

Les conflits armés dans des pays producteurs de drogues illicites, comme la Birmanie, sont parmi les plus longs du XXe et du XXIe siècles. Dans ces conflits, l’industrie de la drogue est souvent présentée comme la source de financement qui permet aux groupes insurgés de poursuivre leur combat contre le gouvernement central. Cependant, l’économie illicite birmane s’est développée pendant un conflit armé tout comme durant une période de stabilité accrue. Une analyse des régions shan, wa et kokang de l’État Shan démontre que les industries de la drogue ont prospéré à la fois durant le conflit armé et en l’absence de celui-ci lorsque des ententes entre élites existent autour du partage des rentes de cette économie.

Changes of traditional farming systems and their effects on land degradation and socio-economic conditions in the Inle Lake region, Myanmar

At many locations in Myanmar, ongoing changes in land use have negative environmental impacts and threaten natural ecosystems at local, regional and national scales. In particular, the watershed area of Inle Lake in eastern Myanmar is strongly affected by the environmental effects of deforestation and soil erosion caused by agricultural intensification and expansion of agricultural land, which are exacerbated by the increasing population pressure and the growing number of tourists. This thesis, therefore, focuses on land use changes in traditional farming systems and their effects on socio-economic and biophysical factors to improve our understanding of sustainable natural resource management of this wetland ecosystem. The main objectives of this research were to: (1) assess the noticeable land transformations in space and time, (2) identify the typical farming systems as well as the divergent livelihood strategies, and finally, (3) estimate soil erosion risk in the different agro-ecological zones surrounding the Inle Lake watershed area. GIS and remote sensing techniques allowed to identify the dynamic land use and land cover changes (LUCC) during the past 40 years based on historical Corona images (1968) and Landsat images (1989, 2000 and 2009). In this study, 12 land cover classes were identified and a supervised classification was used for the Landsat datasets, whereas a visual interpretation approach was conducted for the Corona images. Within the past 40 years, the main landscape transformation processes were deforestation (- 49%), urbanization (+ 203%), agricultural expansion (+ 34%) with a notably increase of floating gardens (+ 390%), land abandonment (+ 167%), and marshlands losses in wetland area (- 83%) and water bodies (- 16%). The main driving forces of LUCC appeared to be high population growth, urbanization and settlements, a lack of sustainable land use and environmental management policies, wide-spread rural poverty, an open market economy and changes in market prices and access. To identify the diverse livelihood strategies in the Inle Lake watershed area and the diversity of income generating activities, household surveys were conducted (total: 301 households) using a stratified random sampling design in three different agro-ecological zones: floating gardens (FG), lowland cultivation (LL) and upland cultivation (UP). A cluster and discriminant analysis revealed that livelihood strategies and socio-economic situations of local communities differed significantly in the different zones. For all three zones, different livelihood strategies were identified which differed mainly in the amount of on-farm and off-farm income, and the level of income diversification. The gross margin for each household from agricultural production in the floating garden, lowland and upland cultivation was US$ 2108, 892 and 619 ha-1 respectively. Among the typical farming systems in these zones, tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) plantation in the floating gardens yielded the highest net benefits, but caused negative environmental impacts given the overuse of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and spatial analysis within GIS were applied to estimate soil erosion risk in the different agricultural zones and for the main cropping systems of the study region. The results revealed that the average soil losses in year 1989, 2000 and 2009 amounted to 20, 10 and 26 t ha-1, respectively and barren land along the steep slopes had the highest soil erosion risk with 85% of the total soil losses in the study area. Yearly fluctuations were mainly caused by changes in the amount of annual precipitation and the dynamics of LUCC such as deforestation and agriculture extension with inappropriate land use and unsustainable cropping systems. Among the typical cropping systems, upland rainfed rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivation had the highest rate of soil erosion (20 t ha-1yr-1) followed by sebesten (Cordia dichotoma) and turmeric (Curcuma longa) plantation in the UP zone. This study indicated that the hotspot region of soil erosion risk were upland mountain areas, especially in the western part of the Inle lake. Soil conservation practices are thus urgently needed to control soil erosion and lake sedimentation and to conserve the wetland ecosystem. Most farmers have not yet implemented soil conservation measures to reduce soil erosion impacts such as land degradation, sedimentation and water pollution in Inle Lake, which is partly due to the low economic development and poverty in the region. Key challenges of agriculture in the hilly landscapes can be summarized as follows: fostering the sustainable land use of farming systems for the maintenance of ecosystem services and functions while improving the social and economic well-being of the population, integrated natural resources management policies and increasing the diversification of income opportunities to reduce pressure on forest and natural resources.

Análisis de las relaciones económicas entre Myanmar y China en las dinámicas de seguridad del sudeste asiático (ASEAN). Período 2007-2011

Análisis de las relaciones económicas entre Myanmar y China y su incidencia en las dinámicas de seguridad del bloque ASEAN, teniendo en cuenta que la Asociación será entendida como un "subcomplejo" de seguridad, según el enfoque teórico propuesto por Barry Buzan de los complejos regionales de seguridad.