Karen people who live in Burma’s south-eastern Tanintharyi region are opposing a ridge to reef project planned by British conservation charity Fauna and Flora International and the UN’s development programme. The project aims to protect pristine forest in the area from threats like poachers, loggers and palm oil companies.
The Conservation Alliance of Tanawtharyi (Cat), a coalition of local environmental groups, says the project will displace Karen villagers from their ancestral lands, which they conserve using indigenous practices, and upset the 2012 ceasefire agreement between the rebel Karen National Union (KNU) and the Myanmar military.