Burma’s Indigenous Karen Communities Move to Protect Rivers, Forests

Topic: 

Climate change, environment, Karen

Sub-title: 

Communities in rural Karen State don’t refer to climate change by name, but they have experienced its negative impacts and are responding.

Description: 

"At the foot of Maw Law Ei Mountain, the highest peak in eastern Myanmar’s Karen State, increasing temperatures, drought and extreme weather events, such as flash-flooding, have become common. Members of the indigenous groups that make up the majority of the population here, talk about the significant changes they’ve seen in both the natural environment and the climate. “In the past, it was cooler because we had many big trees,” said Kyaw Blar, a villager from Ta Deh Koh village, one of the villages at the foot of Maw Law Ei mountain (pronounced Mulayit). “It’s all plain area now… it is hotter now.” Myanmar, also known as Burma, is among the countries most vulnerable to extreme weather events related to climate change. In 2019 Germanwatch, ranked Burma 3rd in its Global Climate Risk Index on the long-term climate change risk table, which analyses quantified impacts of extreme weather events both in terms of fatalities as well as economic losses that occurred in the 20-year period; from 1998-2017 (link here). Yet not many people in rural Karen State are aware of climate change’s direct causes or even use the term to refer to the changes they’re seeing. They are, however, among a growing number of vulnerable people forced to cope with the impacts of extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change..."

Source/publisher: 

"Karen News" (Myanmar)

Date of Publication: 

2019-11-13

Date of entry: 

2019-11-17

Grouping: 

  • Individual Documents

Category: 

Language: 

English

Resource Type: 

text

Text quality: 

    • Good