Back to news
8 Apr 2016 | News

Landscape Journey in Myanmar

2 mins Read

70% Complete
Multidisciplinary Journey Participants in the village of Wa Sa Dum in Putao, Kachin. Photo: Bandana Shakya/ICIMOD

A multidisciplinary team was organised in the Mu Lar-Nam Ru watershed area of Putao district in Kachin, Myanmar late February 2016 to facilitate holistic landscape level planning and management in the site.

The trip was organised jointly by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Forest Department of the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry (FD/MOECAF) and Wildlife Conservation Society-Myanmar (WCS). The Mu Lar-Nam Ru watershed is a pilot site identified for integrated landscape planning and management within the auspices of the Landscape Initiative for the Far-Eastern Himalaya (Hi-LIFE), a regional transboundary landscape initiative implemented by ICIMOD and partners in the three countries — China, India, and Myanmar. Hi-LIFE, while it facilitates joint actions among countries through a regional cooperation framework, it also supports national level integrated conservation and development actions.

The innovative process, named Landscape Journey, offers a multidisciplinary team to connect with nature, culture, society, build a shared sustainable vision, and develop integrated and collective actions. The trip is a tool based on the simple principle that on-the-site observation and interdisciplinary interactions among multiple stakeholders in the early stages of programme planning ensures better partnerships and quick decision making. It adds value to a participatory approach adding inter-sectoral elements to it, and strengthens relationships and trust among different stakeholders.

Wa Sa Dum Village with Rawang household infrasturcture.
Photo: Bandana Shakya/ICIMOD

The Landscape Journey requires planning and execution in three phases: the pre-journey phase encompasses the identification of a site, participants, and the detailed planning of the journey; the journey phase is site observation and analysis of landscape elements; and the post-journey phase includes debriefs to consolidate visions and a collective way forward.

In Myanmar, there were 30 actors from different government departments, community members, non-governmental organisations, media and academic institutions, and international organisations. Participants visited villages together identifying a vision and actions. The collective vision for the pilot watershed identified by the participants was area natural resources are a national property and landscape assets must be conserved through community participation.

The need for a landscape level joint action plan for cluster villages was noted by both participants and the district administration.  Establishing a community information resource centre to raise awareness on the importance of landscape, to build a basic health centre, to build skills towards diversifying livelihoods were some of the immediate actions proposed for landscape elements in the Mu Lar- Nam-Ru watershed.

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

Related content

Continue exploring this topic

28 Sep 2015 News
Investigating Lemthang Tsho (Lake) outburst in Bhutan

Early in the evening on 28 June 2015, a yak herder ...

Trash on Everest. This #WorldEnvironmentDay, it’s time to clean up our act

Read in Chinese   Three actions to #BeatPlasticPollution this World Environment Day Nowhere, it seems, is ...

25 May 2015 News
ICIMOD to lead SAARC CCI’s climate-related activities

Participants from ICIMOD attended the 62nd Executive Committee and 20th General Assembly of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Chamber ...

13 Mar 2015 News
Web-related Training for NEPA Afghanistan

A training on web development and content management was organized for four representatives of the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA ...

13 Sep 2019 Cryosphere
Towards data-driven hydropower development in Nepal

Countries in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region have been endowed with immense hydropower generation potential, but the changing climate and ...

27 Mar 2015 News
SERVIR-Himalaya hosts SERVIR Hub Exchange Programme

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) hosted the SERVIR Hub Exchange Programme from 10–13 March 2015. During the ...

24 Nov 2017 Himalica
Mobile App Launched to Promote Spice Garden Tourism in Kangchenjunga Landscape, Nepal

Large cardamom is a high-value export commodity contributing to enhanced income of farmers in Taplejung. However, overdependence of farmers on ...

11 May 2016 KSL
Kailash Nepal Chapter Launches Brand ‘Kailash – Truly Sacred’

[caption id="attachment_8392" align="aligncenter"] Minister Industry, Som Prasad Pandey at Kailash brand LaunchPhoto: ...