Reimagining Environmental Peacebuilding in Myanmar

Jack Jenkins Hill, University College of London (United Kingdom)

This presentation will explore the relationship between violent conflict and resource extraction, and how these are being addressed by diverse forms of environmental peacebuilding in post-coup Myanmar. Since the 2021 military coup, intensified conflict, economic collapse, and the fragmentation of state authority have driven a rapid expansion of unregulated mining, logging, and other extractive activities across the country. Resource extraction is now often informally governed by armed actors, including SAC commanders, ethnic resistance organizations, and local militias, with limited environmental oversight. These dynamics have accelerated deforestation, water pollution, biodiversity loss, livelihood insecurity, and local conflict, while climate change and extreme weather events have further deepened environmental vulnerability. At the same time, communities, civil society organizations, and, in some cases, resistance actors have developed emergent forms of environmental peacebuilding. These include the creation of Indigenous community conserved areas (ICCAs), collaborative approaches to natural resource governance, and localized responses to mining and climate change. This presentation will demonstrate how such environmental peacebuilding initiatives in Myanmar seek to foster cooperation, strengthen local governance, and build just environmental futures amidst ongoing conflict.