Community Forest in Conflict Zone

This paper examines the changes and challenges faced by traditional forest management systems under the changing political and socio-economic conditions in the post conflict areas along the Myanmar/China Border administered by the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO). This research investigates the development and current state of the forest management practices of Forest-Dependent Communities in the Sin Lum Mountain range of Bhamo District, Kachin State. The research focuses on the livelihood challenges these communities face in the political and socio-economic environment since the 1994 ceasefire agreement between the Burmese Junta and the KIO. This paper discusses the different approaches and projects introduced to Forest dwellers by different stakeholders under the name of development during this period. The study found that Challenges faced by local communities arising from a) exchanging natural resources for rapid development, b) Cross-border trade under the expansion of market driven economy, c) top-down urbanization plan, d) the change to modern agriculture, e) the influence of private sector, and f) local people’s limited access to the forest resources.