Resource information
Myanmar may soon face a land conflict epidemic as a result of the growing influx of investments and
the consequent demand for land, unless laws and policies that adequately address land rights issues
are urgently adopted and implemented.
The Myotha Industrial Park typifies Myanmar’s current economic development model, which seeks
to incentivize investment in areas designated as “least developed.” The Myotha Industrial Park,
developed by the Burmese company Mandalay Myotha Industrial Development (MMID) in Ngazun
Township, Mandalay Region, is a glaring example of how Myanmar’s rural communities suffer harmful
consequences and receive little or no redress as a result of large-scale industrial projects.
In the Myotha Industrial Park area, a combination of a flawed legal framework, unscrupulous authorities,
and irresponsible investors produced a perfect storm in which more than 1,000 families from 14 villages
lost their land – their sole source of livelihood – to make way for the project’s development...
