The struggle for forest tenure in Myanmar: voices from the 2019 forest rules consultation

Abstract

This study furthers the literature on forest devolution in authoritarian states where colonial legacies of forest management favour government and commercial extraction over community-based forest tenure rights. The research analyses the 2019 nationwide consultation process for the implementation regulations (or Rules) of the Myanmar Forest Law. It examines the consultation process and how a crucial aspect of the feedback process stymied even a limited devolution of forest access rights to local communities. The study concludes that consultation processes in authoritarian states can result in forest devolution, but careful and strategic attention must be given to how such a process is both structured in wider policy engagement and how documented feedback is incorporated back into the regulatory framework.