Ethnicity as a Factor Influencing Sustainable Forest Resource Management: A Case Study of a Village in Taunggyi District in Myanmar’s Shan State

Abstract

We investigated the impact of ethnicity on the adaptability of forest resource management in Myanmar. Within Myanmar’s ethnically diverse population, extensive economically motivated internal migration has led to the forming new villages comprising people of different ethnicities. Conditions and problems encountered in these newly formed villages may differ from those in ancestral villages where customary rights prevail. We assessed the livelihood systems and cooperative behaviours of different ethnic groups within a study village. Our findings were as follows: 1) households’ ethnicities influenced their levels of dependence on different livelihood sources, namely Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and field crops, and 2) cooperation among the villagers of different ethnicity was weak. To achieve successful and sustainable natural resource management in such region, the characteristics of different ethnic groups should be taken into account in community forest management plan.