Burma Environmental Working Group (BEWG) campaign

KESAN is playing a convening role in the Burma Environmental Working Group (BEWG). The Burma Environmental Working Group (BEWG) brings together Burma focused ethnic environmental and social organizations. Each member organization monitors Burma development policy and advocates for alternative development policies meeting their specific traditional and comprehensive understanding of local sustainability. BEWG provides a forum for member organizations to combine the successes, knowledge, expertise and voices of ethnic peoples in pursuit of not just local livelihoods, but sustainable and peaceful national, regional and international development policy. Members collaborate on research, reporting, advocacy campaigns, capacity-building initiatives and policy formulation.

In 2009, KESAN contributed one of BEWG reports, “Accessible Alternatives: Ethnic Communities’ which include case studies describe a variety of issues related to natural resource management in different parts of Burma. The report describes how communities have had their own systems of natural resource management that supported their lives and that also ensured that the resources were not depleted. But inevitably, how militarization and development projects in the area have destroyed the environment and made it impossible for the local people to continue their traditional ways of life.

In 2010, KESAN contributed another BEWG reports, "Burma's Environmental: People, Problems, Policies" which reviews the current state of environmental management in Burma (includes domestic and international policies and mechanisms, and the roles of local and international NGOs and UN agencies), as well as highlighting the key environmental problems and the impacts on local people and environment and, also provide analysis on conflict over natural resources in ethnic areas before and after the elections in 2010. (Click here to see the report)