This report describes how human rights and environmental abuses continue to be a serious problem in eastern Pegu division, Burma – specifically, in Shwegyin township of Nyaunglebin District. The heavy militarization of the region, the indiscriminate granting of mining and logging concessions, and the construction of the Kyauk Naga Dam have led to forced labor, land confiscation, extortion, forced relocation, and the destruction of the natural environment. The human consequences of these practices, many of which violate customary and conventional international law, have been social unrest, increased financial hardship, and great personal suffering for the victims of human rights abuses. 

Mining presents serious obstacles to policy makers, activists, and affected communities interested in mitigating the industry’s negative impacts around the world. Of all the obstacles, perhaps the most serious one is the gap that exists between 1) what these three different groups know; 2) how they conceptualize and talk about their respective concerns; and 3) what resources each group is able to mobilize to take action. This gap, which is a significant obstacle to long-lasting and successful forms of collaboration, is rarely recognized for a simple reason: each partner assumes that everyone else defines the problems in much the same way and, as a result, desires the same solutions. These assumptions appear most forcefully around the question of gender.

This report by EarthRights International (ERI) and Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN) illustrates how trade in timber, gems, and gold is financing violent conflict, including widespread and gross human rights violations and environmental destruction, in Burma.