Villagers in the town of Okpho work in a plant nursery that was established with help from BANCA.

NGO workers who are involved in conservation efforts in Natmataung National Park in Chin State are reporting that the cooperation of local villagers is helping make the project a success.

The project was started in October 2004 by the domestically based Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association (BANCA), in cooperation with the Darwin Initiative and BirdLife International, both of which are headquartered in England.

“Our main focus is conservation, followed closely by community development, without which conservation is almost impossible,” said BANCA member U Aung Kyaw Nyunt. “Community development can help conserve the Natmataung area, which is one of the most important protected areas in Myanmar.”

He said the project included helping support locals and persuading them to cooperate in the conservation efforts.

“We start by distributing rice, corn and improved potato varieties to the villagers, and helping them build brick water tanks,” he said, adding that the association has taken these steps in six villages in the area so far.

U Aung Kyaw Nyunt said the project also included the establishment of nurseries where villagers can grow plants for food and for sale, and the formation of patrols to monitor the park against illegal extraction of forest products and poaching.

In return, the villagers must agree not to kill wild animals, pick wild orchids, expand cultivation into the Natmataung area or designated buffer zones, or collect tree resin used in the production of turpentine.

BANCA chairman U Uga said conservation of Natmataung National Park is particularly important because it is located within the watershed of many important rivers and big streams, and environmental conditions there will affect areas downstream.

Originally a forest reserve, the area was designated a national park in 1993 to increase its protected status. It is now the only heavily forested area in Chin State.

“Natmataung protects a montane evergreen ecosystem,” U Uga said. “If it is destroyed it will throw the natural balance of the area into chaos.”

“I think this is the first area in Myanmar where a national park has been protected under a program that focuses on cooperation between conservationists and local people,” he said.

BANCA secretary Daw Khin Ma Ma Thwin said the association has been careful to provide locals with food that will fulfil their needs.

“We didn’t just decide to give them corn – we asked them what they needed,” she said. “Land in Chin State is hard to cultivate, and their food often runs out in June or July, so we bring them supplies so they don’t have to resort to hunting or slash-and-burn agriculture.”

U Aung Kyaw Nyunt said he was happy with how the project was proceeding.
“So far, so good – the locals don’t want to go deep into the forest to hunt, so our project provides a golden opportunity for them,” he said. “They don’t have to spend as much time worrying about food, so they can take the initiative to cooperate in monitoring the area for illegal forest product smugglers and poachers.”

Natmataung National Park covers 279 square miles encompassing three townships: Kanpetlet, Matupi and Mindat.