Sustaining Local Livelihoods and Biodiversity Amidst a Challenging Context in Myanmar

In 2015, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, in collaboration with the elected Myanmar government of the time, began a project that combined improving local livelihoods with support for the conservation of the rich biodiversity of the Gulf of Mottama.

The project was conceived to last ten years, during which time it would facilitate the establishment and implementation of a participatory institutional framework for managing the Gulf. The framework would involve all key stakeholders — local fishers, farmers and others living along the coast, representatives of the fishing industry, nature conservation organizations, responsible government departments, and government administrations. The aim was to ensure that the Gulf’s rich flora and fauna would be managed in a sustainable, equitable manner according to a community agreed plan. In recognition of the risks experienced by coastal peoples, especially in the face of climate change, planning included provisions for disaster risk management. The development of alternative livelihoods to remove pressure from the natural resources was also foreseen.  

The overall implementation of the Gulf of Mottama Project (GoMP) was mandated to Helvetas in consortium with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the local NGO Network Activities Group (NAG). With the closing of the project this year, we look back at its development and achievements.

What is special about the Gulf of Mottama

The Gulf of Mottama is a huge expanse of shallow, silt-filled waters fed by three large rivers: the Salween, the Sittaung and the Yangon. These waters provide a habitat for a wide variety of fish species and sustain a fishing industry that, at least until recently, daily exported tons of fish to China. Twice every 24 hours, the tides expose vast mud flats along the coast. These provide a feeding ground for flocks of migrating shorebirds, amongst which can be seen, at the right time of the year, a few individuals of the critically endangered spoon-billed sandpiper. These small birds are of special importance to ornithologists worldwide. The mud flats are also a home for mud crabs and shellfish which, along with shorebirds, are caught and eaten by local people, especially the poorest among them.

There is a cyclical pattern to the tidal currents of the Gulf that recurs now every 8-10 years, with land being eroded on one side of the coastline and deposited on the other. Deposited land dries and becomes suitable for farming; meanwhile, farmlands on the opposite side of the Gulf disappear into the waters, forcing the villages closest to the sea to relocate. Older people living around the Gulf speak of relocating their homes and villages several times within their lifetime.

Pressure on the natural resources of the Gulf of Mottama has grown rapidly in recent years. In part this has been due to an increase in the human population, and also in part due to growing commercial interest in fishing, driven by unscrupulous business interests that deploy illegal, fine-meshed nets. Climate change is also having a negative influence; extreme events (cyclones, unexpected heavy rains, tidal surges, droughts) are more frequent while slower changes in rainfall patterns and temperatures are also causing concern.

Key achievements up to 2020

The project began working at the community level, specifically, in 30 villages spread around the east and west coast of the Gulf, falling under Mon State and Bago Region, respectively. Within each village, the project facilitated the establishment of a Village Development Committee (VDC) headed by elected representatives. The VDC served as the entry point for project interventions, and was organized into different sub-groups (farmers, fishers, and those wishing to develop alternative livelihoods, including local conservation groups). Together, they developed a Village Action Plan.

The project provided seed money for a revolving fund, foreseen as a means for poorer households to obtain small sums of affordable credit for sustainable livelihood activities. These included agricultural improvements, livestock raising and establishing small enterprises unrelated to the land (beauty salons, motorbike repair, tailoring and the like). Arrangements were also made with a microfinance institution for obtaining slightly larger loans. As part of the village planning, community-based disaster risk management plans were drawn up.

As the project progressed, another 30 villages were included into activities, following the same VDC model. The fishers and farmers established their own institutions for channeling support and advice — the Fisheries Development Association (FDA) in 2017 and the Coastal Farmers’ Development Association (CFDA) in 2018. At the same time, the project worked closely with the relevant government administrations and departments (especially agriculture and fisheries). One particularly successful collaboration was a concerted campaign against illegal fishing, involving surveillance by local fishers backed by the authorities.

Within nine months, the beneficial impact on fish populations was evident, and in 2019, a record catch was recorded — convincing all concerned of the benefit of banning fine-meshed nets. Another important milestone was the designation of part of the Gulf of Mottama as a Ramsar wetland site in 2017; the project subsequently facilitated its extension in 2020 to cover a total 161,041 hectares. Shorebird hunting was reported to have virtually ceased.

By 2020, 60 VDCs were established, functioning, and at varied stages of planning. A comprehensive Coastal Natural Resources Management Plan had been developed through a participatory process and was at an advanced stage of finalization. The livelihoods of local fishers and farmers were improving, thanks to project interventions. Various village-level improvements as prioritized in Village Action Plans had been undertaken; drinking water received special attention.

A totally changed context

When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in early 2020, it provoked an immediate crisis in the fishing industry. The closure of the Chinese border and disruption of the supply chain destroyed the main market and the livelihoods of many small fishers. Although there was much medical concern about the impact of the Covid virus on human health, this was initially relatively minor; it was when the delta variant arrived in 2021 that many deaths occurred.

By this time, the country was in a full-scale crisis following the change in power to the military government in February 2021. This precipitated a massive economic downturn and an exodus of young people who either migrated to neighboring Thailand or took up arms against or for the military. Within the villages, political views became highly polarized, and the social cohesion that had been nurtured through the VDCs was weakened or in some cases destroyed.

Working at the development-humanitarian-conflict nexus

An immediate logistical hurdle from 2020 onwards has been greatly reduced access to the project area — initially due to Covid movement restrictions, and subsequently due to security constraints. While emphasizing staff safety, the project nevertheless continued to operate as feasible, recognizing the huge need of local people impoverished through multiple crises. Any direct collaboration with the military government was and remains impossible. Key to the conflict-sensitive nexus approach adopted were the following aspects:

• Working through the non-government institutions supported through the project, most notably the VDCs, CFDA and FDA, and building their capacities as far as possible. All VDCs were assessed for their functionality and selected for continued collaboration only if they were assessed as robust and still representative of their population.
• Cash for work became the main channel of humanitarian support. This has focused on small-scale infrastructure repairs (especially roads, water channels and ponds) that are vital for village existence.
• Rapid response to immediate emergencies was an important part of retaining local trust. The first was the provision of equipment and hygiene training during the pandemic; cash transfer was also organized to 1,500 poor families. A more recent disaster was unexpected flooding in 2023, which destroyed the young paddy crop. The project responded with new seed supplies.
• Greater emphasis on water supplies, given the high priority afforded to this by villagers.
• Continued support for community-led biodiversity conservation through educational workshops, support for local conservation groups for monitoring, zonal fishing grounds and, where possible, community mangrove forests. These activities maintain community awareness of the important biological heritage of the Gulf of Mottama.

While the circumstances in which the project worked over the last 3-4 years have been very challenging, the above activities are proof that adaptation is possible. According to the GoMP Project Manager Than Htike Aung, who is locally born and raised and knows the communities well, “An important legacy of the project is the greater community consciousness of the need for the sustainable and wise use of coastal natural resources. I’m proud of how we successfully fostered the growth of local leaders, empowering them to advocate for and to support their communities effectively, even in a very difficult situation.”

More information about the activities, achievements and lessons learned through the Gulf of Mottama Project can be found here in eight Briefing Papers.

About the Authors

Jane Carter is Senior Adviser, Natural Resource Governance for Helvetas in Switzerland. She has been advising the Gulf of Mottama Project since 2021.

Than Htike Aung is the Project Manager for the Gulf of Mottama Project, based in Mawlamyine, Myanmar.

Rakesh Munankami is the Chief Technical Adviser for the Gulf of Mottama Project, based in Yangon, Myanmar.