36 http://www.earthislandjournal.org
systems like traditional swidden
agriculture and forest management.
To that end, the park — which Karen
have proclaimed as a self-governed,
independently administered territory
within Myanmar — puts development
into Karen hands while conserving
the forest that generations have called
home.
It is a vision that is in line with
international trends towards increased
recognition of Indigenous peoples’
rights to conserve forests, safeguard
JQWLQ^MZ[Q\aÅOP\KTQUI\MKPIVOMIVL
enable locally driven development.
This approach rejects strict preserva-
tion as a Western model that has not
only failed to halt deforestation in most
of the tropics, but that has been used by
governments to dispossess Indigenous
groups, not least in Myanmar, through
“green land grabs.” Indeed, KESAN,
which helped conceive the park, is
keenly aware of many examples from
Latin America — in places like Mexico,
Guatemala, and Peru — where local
communities have taken control of
their forests and are achieving better
W]\KWUM[ \PIV XZM[MZ^M[ \PI\ IZM Wٺ
limits to communities.
But it remains far from clear that
the Salween Peace Park will become
another such example. The Myanmar
government does not recognize the
park. The military continues to operate
scores of camps in the area, in violation
WNIKMI[MÅZMIOZMMUMV\1VKQLMV[WN
violence have increased over the last
few years, including the 2018 murder
of the Karen environmental rights
defender Saw O Moo, who was a
leading advocate for the park.
Meanwhile, a rapidly changing
political environment in Myanmar
has opened the door to land grabbing
for investments in mining, large-
scale agriculture, and hydropower
development, much of it with
Chinese and Thai capital. As a result,
deforestation rates have skyrocketed in
many parts of Karen territory. Pressure
is starting to push into even the mostremote forest areas around the park,
aided by military road building.
As we travel upriver, I ask Mabu
what chance the park really stands
to succeed. “It is not a question of
_PM\PMZ\PMXMIKMXIZS_QTTJMWٻKQITTa
recognized by the government, or by
anybody else,” he says, gesturing to
the unbroken forest all around us. “In
the most important sense, our vision
has already been realized. Karen
communities here have spoken. We
have established the Salween Peace
Park. So we are already succeeding.”W
ITH A POPULATION OF
around 7 million, the Karen
are the second largest ethnic minority
in Myanmar, and one of the biggest
Indigenous groups in mainland
Southeast Asia. But they are by
no means homogenous. The term
“Karen” actually refers to a diverse
range of ethnicities including S’gaw,
Pwo, and Pa’O, whose languages are
often mutually unintelligible. Someare Buddhist, some are Christian, and
many still follow animist traditions.
Over time, many Karen, especially in
the lowlands and in the larger towns,
have assimilated to Burmese ways;
some no longer identify as Karen.
Tens of thousands of others who have
ÆML KWVÆQK\ \W <PIQTIVL IVL JMaWVL
have adopted new identities, names,
languages, and ways of living.
To the extent that there is a pan-
Karen ethnic identity, it has been
forged in response to external forces.
As the British moved to annex Burma
as a province of India in the nineteenth
century, they capitalized on old enmities
between the Burmese and other ethnic
groups — many of whom the Burmese
had long enslaved — arming the
Karen to support British colonization.
Colonial policy, while not kind to any
group, gave some priority to the Karen.
World War II and Burma’s
independence only deepened divisions.
Aung San, known as the father of
Burmese independence, saw the
Japanese occupation as an opportunity
to rid the country of the British and
initially sided with Japan. The Karen,
meanwhile, stayed loyal to the British.
For their loyalty, British military
leaders had promised the Karen
their own autonomous state once
independence was granted. But when
the war was over and negotiations
began around a Burmese state, Karen
delegations to London were met with a
cold shoulder. In 1948, a campaign of
ethnically motivated attacks on Karen
villages and the removal of Karen
from posts in the new government led
to the founding of the Karen National
Union (KNU) and its armed wing (the
KNLAIVL\W\PMIZUMLKWVÆQK\\PI\
continues to this day.
<PI\ KWVÆQK\ OZM_ QVKZMI[QVOTa
violent with the ascent of General Ne
Win and the military junta that wouldA rapidly changing political
environment in Myanmar hasopened the door to land grabbing.