MyClimate senior researcher presents at Southeast Asian public forum on People’s Climate Change

In anticipation of COP28, Thailand organized in Bangkok on November 11-12, 2023, a public policy and academic forum titled 'People’s COP.' During the event, MyClimate Senior Researcher Myat Thet Thitsar (DIIS) presented research findings on Myanmar as part of the panel discussion titled "Sharing Lessons Learned and Hopeful Wishes in Promoting Climate Actions in Southeast Asia." The panel also included participants from Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Cambodia.

Myat Thet addressed the climate change impacts in Myanmar and the challenges faced by local communities amid the current crisis in the country. She shed light on how local communities perceive climate change, attributing it to excessive and unregulated extractive activities by powerful entities, notably contributing to deforestation. These challenges have escalated since the military coup in 2021. Despite the cessation of climate change programs by the central military state and most international agencies, Myat Thet demonstrated that non-state actors, ethnic organizations, and civil society groups continue to engage in environmental and climate change initiatives in areas under people’s control. The recommendations for the way forward emphasized supporting these grassroots initiatives rather than directing climate change assistance through the military state.