... Protected areas (PAs) are important tools for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. PAs safeguard ecosystems and their services, such as water provision, food production, carbon sequestration and climate regulation, thus improving people’s livelihoods. They preserve the integrity of spiritual and cultural values placed by indigenous people on wild areas and offer opportunities of inspiration, study and recreation.

Access to land for smallholder farmers is a critical foundation for food security in Myanmar's uplands. Land tenure guarantees seem to be eroding and access to land becoming more difficult in some upland areas. If this trend continues it may have negative impacts for food security and undermine environmental and economic sustainability. This briefing paper explores the relationship between land tenure and food security, as well as key institutional and other factors that influence land access and tenure for smallholder farmers in the uplands today.

Pinpet Mountain under imminent threat
as iron project speeds ahead....
"Excavation of Burma’s second largest iron deposit located
in southern Shan State is imminent as bulldozers begin
preparatory clearing on the iconic Pinpet Mountain, home
to 7,000 people. The 300 residents in Pang Ngo village are
in immediate danger from falling rocks and landslides as
machines uproot trees, clear brush and remove top soil on
the west side of the mountain. Farm fi elds at the foot of the
mountain may be covered with toxic waste soils once the