In Myanmar, the latest political developments and the expansion of COVID-19 are posing great challenges for the local people and the different organisations working there. During the current political crisis following the military coup in February 2021, Chances for Nature continues the support of civil initiatives such as the Gibbon Forest Coffee project.
Thankfully, the remote project area in the Arakan Mountains is not directly affected by the current safety problems and the activities to train coffee farmers in wildlife-friendly cultivation methods are continuing after a break directly after the coup. Our partners on site closely monitor the security situation and act prudently and adapted to the changing conditions.
With regard to the COVID-19 pandemic, township level meetings and workshops are organised in smaller groups. Despite the difficult situation, the field coordinator Aung Lin (Fauna & Flora International) is happy to report that the project is on track to meet its goals and objectives.
These activities have been implemented by the project team of our local partner Fauna & Flora International Myanmar during the political crisis and pandemic:
– Training on the coffee harvesting and post-harvesting processing methods
– Wildlife monitoring / camera trapping
– Meetings at 11 villages for the preparation of coffee agroforestry and supporting small grants for coffee seedling
– Coffee plantation mapping at 6 villages for the land use plans and agroforestry design
– Coffee seedling training to 9 villages
Due to the rainy season and heavy rain making roads difficult to access, the filed wildlife monitoring activities are scheduled to pause from July until September 2021. As a consequence of the political crisis, the development of the Mann Wildlife Sanctuary management plan with local communities will restart in 2022 in order to ensure a safer implementation.
Overall, we are making progress with our projects and hope for an early easing of the situation in the interests of the people of Myanmar.
A marbled cat triggering the camera trap 
An Asiatic Black Bear in the night
