A two-day regional workshop for drafting a marine conservation policy in Myanmar was held at the Green Eyes hotel in Myeik Town of Taninthayi Region. It was jointly organized by the Forest Department and Fauna and Flora International (FFI).
“We just showed the draft policy for marine conservation to the related persons. The related departments and organizations and the local people will give their suggestions on the policy to make an agreement,” said U Pe Chit, Director of the Forest Department.
Participants at the workshop discussed exercising control over extraction, issuing licenses to enable access to natural resources, along with land use policy and management, processes to protect the local people, women’s role in the sector, equal access to work and resources, the process that will be implemented, Myanmar marine conservation policy, and the type of land needed for conservation efforts.
The workshop was held on 5 and 6 August and was attended by Hluttaw representatives, departmental officials, representatives from non-government organizations, and the local people.
“The Myeik archipelago is rich in natural resources. So, we need to conserve the resources for the sake of intergenerational justice. We need to think about how to conserve them. We are going to conserve the Marine Protected Area (MPA). In order to do so, we need to formulate a policy. Therefore, we have conducted this workshop to draft a policy, with the suggestions made by the related organizations and departments,” said U Zaw Loon, the Wetland and Marine Conservation Manager of FFI.
Efforts on marine conservation will be concentrated over an area covering 1,830.77 square kilometres in Don Island at Kyunsu Township, and 182.26 square kilometres in La Ngan Island at Bokpyin Township, Taninthayi Region. There are also plans to implement a Marine Nation Garden by conserving water, wildlife, and forest resources, according to the Forest Department.
There are over 800 islands in the Myeik Archipelago, which forms a part of the marine coast of Myanmar. Myeik Archipelago has coral reefs, sea grass, mangroves, and large clay mud, and serves as a habitat for aquatic animals.— Khine Htoo (Myeik IPRD) (Translated by Hay Mar)
