Our work Projects Strengthening community-led governance in Karen Indigenous conserved territories

Strengthening community-led governance in Karen Indigenous conserved territories

Ongoing

From: 03/02/2025

To: 31/07/2030

Partners: Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN)

Stakeholders: The project will directly benefit 30,000 people, including 10,000 girls and women in 80 villages. An additional 202,000 individuals across 736 villages will indirectly benefit.

Through this Tenure Facility–funded project, KESAN is strengthening governance systems, self-determination, territorial management, and conservation in Indigenous Karen territories. This work includes land mapping, territorial demarcation, governance capacity building, and implementation of sustainable landscape-planning and agroecology practices.

Within the first three years, the project aims to advance the formal recognition of 100,000 hectares of customary land—an area roughly the size of Berlin. In addition, Indigenous custodians will receive support to enhance the conservation of forests and biodiversity over 1.2 million hectares—an area eight times bigger than London. Finally, KESAN envisions increasing women’s participation in Indigenous annual assemblies by 36%.

To read a brief overview of Burma, click here.

For a timeline of land and forest rights in Burma, click here.

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Project overview

The 2021 military coup in Burma exacerbated one of the world’s longest ongoing armed conflicts. As a result, in Indigenous Karen-populated areas, more than one million people have been forcibly displaced. The armed conflict has also aggravated poverty and the degradation of ecosystems in Indigenous forests.

These issues are not new in the country. For decades, Karen Indigenous Peoples have experienced protracted militarisation, discriminatory land laws, and extractive industries’ presence on their lands. Today, they are facing a new layer of threats related to climate change, with a rise in extreme weather phenomena including floods, wildfires, droughts, and habitat loss.

Despite the challenging situation, Karen Indigenous Peoples are steadfastly safeguarding their ancestral lands, demonstrating remarkable resilience. Karen communities in upland forests have mobilised participatory forms of governance to promote cultural heritage, environmental conservation, and sustainable livelihoods.

To continue this work, KESAN is implementing the project “Strengthening Community-Led Governance in Karen Indigenous Conserved Territories” with Tenure Facility support. The project will strengthen governance systems, self-determination, territorial management, and conservation in Indigenous Karen collective lands.

Within the first three years, the project aims to advance the formal recognition of 100,000 hectares of customary land (an area roughly the size of Berlin), enhance biodiversity conservation over 1.2 million hectares (an area eight times bigger than London), and increase women’s participation in Indigenous annual assemblies by 36%.

Project activities include:

Conduct participatory mapping and demarcation processes in Karen territories
Submit claims for Karen customary lands to be recognised by the Karen National Union
Build communities’ capacities for gender equality and territorial governance
Implement workshops about land, sustainable forest, and agricultural management policies