Main page content

The urgent need to prepare for climate displacement in Myanmar: Establishing a Myanmar National Climate Land Bank

A new report released in May by Displacement Solutions and Yangon-based Ecodev urges the government of Myanmar to immediately establish a Myanmar National Climate Land Bank (MNCLB) to prepare the country and its people for massive climate displacement.

This innovative report provides a summary of the findings from two preliminary case studies of communities considered potentially vulnerable to the impacts of extreme weather events and climate change in the Ayeyarwaddy Delta and Mon State of Myanmar. The results offer insights into how some of the dynamics of a MNCLB could work in Myanmar and other countries in practical terms to build community resilience and provide a foundation for a proactive national climate change adaptation strategy which protects everyone affected in a manner consistent with their fundamental human rights.

DS Director Scott Leckie said that "Other than Bangladesh, Myanmar is clearly one of the world's countries most affected by climate change and looming climate displacement, but at present the government is woefully unprepared for a crisis that will surely displace millions from their current homes and lands. A Myanmar National Climate Land Bank provides a way out of this crisis by developing a government institution to prepare for and manage climate displacement through nationwide land set-aside programmes targeting the needs of the most vulnerable".

 

[This description originally appeared on reliefweb.int]