Background

In Myanmar, rapid development, illegal logging and other encroachments were degrading and destroying forests and marginalizing poor people and ethnic groups that could not prove ownership. RECOFTC’s work in Myanmar helped the change.

The project

With funding from the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Yangon, the Scaling UP Community Forestry in Myanmar (SUComFOR) project from 2014 to 2018 provided more than 5,000 training sessions in seven regions and states on securing land tenure, natural resource management, forest governance, gender equity, and social inclusion, and other topics for communities, government officials and civil society organizations. Sagaing Region has the highest community forestry (CF) area with 57,450 ha, followed by Magway Region and Shan State. During the four-year project, Myanmar transferred 19,000 hectares of forests to almost 100 villages across Myanmar. Members of more than 5,000 households received certificates of tenure.

About the organization

RECOFTC, founded in 1987, holds a unique and important place in the world of forestry specializing in capacity development and policy support for community forestry and devolved forest management. It formally established its Country Program in Myanmar in 2013.