Abstract
Natural resources in the Shan State of Myanmar provide the base for livelihoods among rural populations, providing food, shelter, and medicine to regions where markets, clinics, and schools are scarce. Local wisdom talks about the three governments in the Shan State: The central Myanmar government, the Burmese military, and the local ethnic armed organizations (EAOs). These fragmented sovereignties directly impact not only local communities’ access to natural resources, but also the research methods used to understand this. Using two villages from along the Thanlwin River in the Shan State and the collaborative methods from this research project as case studies, this chapter unpacks rights-based, disciplinary and structural, and relational mechanisms of access to enforce control over natural resources; at times, to the advantage or disadvantage of local communities and the research process. By understanding the mechanisms of access behind fragmented sovereignties it becomes possible to better design research and to analyze the feasibility and impacts of policy implementations on the lives of local people.
Highlights
Research on resource use has at its core focused on what shapes people’s access to natural resources, highlighting key issues ranging from conflict, state territorializion, market forces to social difference (Rocheleau/Edmunds 1997; Ribot 1998; Peluso 1996; Schroeder 1999)
This research finds that as these state and semi-autonomous institutions exercise their authority, the informal and formal governance mechanisms and the increase in environmental degradation from extraction activities increases the vulnerability of local communities and reduces their ability to benefit from natural resources
For North Village and South Village, we found that their access to natural resources are essential for their lives and livelihood
Summary
Research on resource use has at its core focused on what shapes people’s access to natural resources, highlighting key issues ranging from conflict, state territorializion, market forces to social difference (Rocheleau/Edmunds 1997; Ribot 1998; Peluso 1996; Schroeder 1999). Due to a history of conflict and present conflicts, the forests along the Thanlwin River, in Shan State, remains largely inaccessible to outsiders This restricted access to researchers has made it difficult to investigate the impacts of decisions over natural resource access and use. I ask: in what ways does the changing political and governance conditions in Myanmar influence access to natural resources, concerning material objects like forest and river resources, and forms of knowledge production? Lamb (eds.), Knowing the Salween River: Resource Politics of a Contested Transboundary River, The Anthropocene: Politik—Economics—
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
