Research & Article

Nature Based Solutions (NBS) are increasingly recognized by politicians, businesspeople, academics and donors as effective means to address climate change and biodiversity loss.  Although NBS is a new terminology, it refers to ways that local people have used and managed natural resources for many years.

In Myanmar, the traditional practice of shifting cultivation known as Taung Ya, under which farmers were allowed to cultivate crops in forested land while caring for the teak plantations, was well integrated with scientific forest management since the colonial days. The development of modern community forests dates back to the 1970s. These forests contribute to the supply of timber while also helping with mitigation and adaptation of climate change.