Defending Customary Territory: A Collective Conservation Initiative of the Daai Indigenous Peoples

Defending Customary Territory: A Collective Conservation Initiative of the Daai Indigenous Peoples

Written on 04 December 2025. Posted in News

Indigenous Peoples' rights to land, territories and resources is not legally recognized in Myanmar (Christian Erni, et al., 2019).^[1] Rather, the customary lands of Indigenous Peoples are at the disposal of the government (VFV Land Law 2012, and 2018), allowing the state to use and demarcate the land as they wish, turning it into conservation areas and granting right-to-use concessions to companies for resource extraction and monocrop agriculture, for example. This situation often triggers conflict between the state and Indigenous communities, which has been the case with the Daai Indigenous Peoples' territory.

The Daai, so far, have been able to maintain the evergreen, mountain forest, which has been governed, managed, and passed down through generations, under their customary system. However, the land is constantly under threat. Despite the threats and lack of legal recognition, Daai Indigenous communities from Kanpetlet and Minidat, who share the mountainous forest, have been able to successfully defend the forest from a state proposal for demarcating the territory as a Public Protected Forest.

This article will articulate how the Daai Peoples' collective conservation emerged and how they defended their customary territory against the proposed designation. The research is based on the author's personal experiences and interviews with community leaders from Daai villages in Kanpetlet township, southern Chin state, Myanmar, some of which were carried out before the 2021 coup and in 2025.

Background

Daai Indigenous Peoples reside in four different townships in Chin State - Kanpetlet, Mindat, Paletwa, and Matupi townships^[2] - with a total estimated population of 40-50,000.^[3] Daai land is hilly and people primarily depend on rotational farming, which is deeply rooted in Daai culture, for their livelihood^[4], as well as collecting forest resources. These practices demonstrate their very close connection to the land, forest and biodiversity, which are not just sources of survival but also of their identity. Their relationship with land, territory and resources is guided by customary land management systems and customary regulations.

Since the end of the 1980's, these traditional practices started to change as families in these areas were encouraged to focus on providing formal education for their children. This meant families needed to find ways to provide more money to pay for this education. At the time, the only income-generated opportunity was the sale of livestock, but soon the collection of orchids for the Chinese market became a new income source for families in many villages. This practice, however, involved the cutting of trees to cultivate the flowers. Another source of income was the sale of fish to larger cities. Again, here, damaging techniques of dynamite fishing were used to catch fish, not just by Indigenous people but by outsiders as well.^[5]

These unchecked actions over many decades have significantly reduced the availability of different orchid species and decimated fish populations in the Mone River, bringing some dangerously close extinction. Realizing this worsening condition, community leaders and youth began devising and implementing village-level conservation initiatives, such as villagers in Khayaing villagers, who stopped collecting orchids, banned the use of dynamite for fishing, and prohibited outsiders from fishing their rivers since 2010.

Leaders and community members in Cho Yaing village implemented the same measures as those in Khayaing^[6]. As a result, fish populations increased and have been able to be maintained and orchid species flourished. Additionally, to preserve wildlife species, leaders and community members in Pyawh village banned the hunting of specific wild animals.^[7] Through these actions, however, community leaders realized their limitations in enforcing the regulations for outsiders and surrounding villages, and the need for collective action became crucial. Therefore, leaders and villagers began mobilizing themselves in 2015 into a collective conservation initiative.^[8]

Beginning of the Collective Conservation Initiative

The collective conservation initiative was not just a tactic to respond to the aforementioned issues. It also stood in response to infrastructure development projects that had begun since 2011, including the building of roads that cut through pristine, intact forest to connect villages, which were conducted without any environmental impact assessments. As such, the initiative had a set of higher goals: to strengthen the assertion of the Daai's customary rights against the existing legal framework of Myanmar, and to serve as a strategy to bring people together.^[9]

The evergreen forest stretches across more than 20,000 hectares that include Daai villages from the Kanpetlet to Mindat townships. Generations of Daai have worked to preserve the forest that has been their traditional home, the home of its wildlife, and their source of water and food, conserved according to their customary regulations. Though the forest remains in relatively good condition, the initiative strived to bring many villages together to prevent the upcoming threats mentioned earlier and re-strengthen their customary practices in land and forest management, which began to wane in some areas. Part of this decrease in the implementation of customary practices has been due to the weak transmission of customary practices to younger generations, the intrusion of the concept of state ownership of land, and the commodification of natural resources.

Therefore, apart from mitigating damaging practices against their forest, the initiative also involved awareness raising on Indigenous Peoples' rights and the effects of climate change, documenting customary land tenure and good practices, and developing community protocols for forest protection with consultation with the intent of gaining consensus among communities for its adoption. The process of developing and sensitizing communities to the new protocol was supported by two national Indigenous organizations: Promotion of Indigenous and Nature Together (POINT) and Chin Human Rights Organizations (CHRO). Twenty-one villages that share the evergreen forest participated and a draft community protocol (based on customary regulations) was drafted in 2017. In 2018, a workshop was organized in Shin Paung Village where communities were consulted on the draft community protocol, which led to the formation of the Daai Indigenous Network (DIN). Further, all representatives from the 21 villages agreed to the creation of the Daai Indigenous Conservation Area (DICA) and approved a protocol to regulate the DICA.

As mentioned previously, the initiative has also served to re-strengthen customary land and forest management systems, people's relationship with the land, and their identity as Indigenous Peoples. Thus, in 2019 and 2020, with the support of Siemenphu Foundation and POINT, consultations for the community protocol were organized in every village connected to the evergreen forest, and it was signed by all the communities in consensus. Though plans existed to launch the protocol publicly, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic halted those plans.

Rediscovery of Community Philosophies

The creation of the DICA deeply embodies self-reflection about indigeneity and re-learning community philosophies on the relationship between people and forest, land, and territory. The initiative is guided by the re-articulation of identity as "khaw mah m'dek mah" or "owners of the territory", and the understanding of "indigeneity" as autonomous people with a strong historical, cultural, and spiritual attachment to their territory.

"Since the time of our forefathers, we have had a saying: "ka kong yu:ng, ka sang ng'la", which means that land is identical with generations of peoples or the existence of an ethnic group. Without land, the generation of a certain group of people will end. Without land, there is no generation. To maintain the full identity of a certain group is to have ancestral territory, because our culture, language, knowledge, and way of life are deeply attached to the land and the forest inside."^[10]

As a key process in the creation of the collective initiative, community members re-learned Daai philosophies in relation to land, forest and biodiversity, which lay as the foundation of customary conservation practices. Among Daai communities in the case study area, customary land tenure is integrated with the sustainability of the land, forest, and wildlife.

"According to the ancestors, the term "khaw" or "land" constitutes land, water, and air. If "khaw" is depleted, human beings will encounter disaster. The evergreen forest is the source of rain. Therefore, they protected nature and did not exploit it."^[11]

This ancient and traditional philosophy concerning water is not the only core principle guiding how Daai co-exist with nature.

"Ancestors warned not to exploit the land for agriculture by saying "long nga tui nga pi koh si h'ling naak vai, khi sa bi koh pyan kyu nak ko laik vai" meaning that fish and wildlife should not be exploited and that one should not fish or hunt too often. We received what nature gave us. If our land is happy, then the land will be fertile and human beings will also be healthy."^[12]

Such philosophies were pivotal in developing the initiative. Revitalized, they were taken on by the youth, strengthening their stewardship of the nature that surrounded them and all the resources within.

Objection to the State-Proposed Public Protected Forest Designation

In mid-2020, the state proposed to designate the DICA as a Public Protected Forest (PPF). The designated area of over 21,000 hectares would directly affect 17 villages. The potential impacts of this designation would involve restrictions to conducting rotational farming, accessing the evergreen forest, collecting and harvesting non-timber forest products, such as rattan and timber for domestic use, and replacing customary land and forest management systems. These restrictions, as has been witnessed in other communities across the world, have a high potential of triggering conflict between and among communities and authorities, which would further undermine the ownership and stewardship of the communities created via the initiative. Therefore, the communities came together to collectively object the proposal.

According to governmental procedure, communities are given 90 days after the announcement of the proposal to submit claims to the forest settlement officer concerning the affected rights such a designation would have^[13]. However, the notification for the proposed PPF did not reach communities until one month after the proposal was announced. Further, the notification letter only reached a few, and not all, villages administrators of the communities that would be affected. Villagers were also informed that a petition or objection can only be done if all the villages inside of the proposed PPF participated and agreed to object.

There was limited time for consultation with all villages and to come up with an agreement on whether the proposal would be accepted by all, and travel to the villages was severely impacted by bad road conditions due to recent high rains. However, through the leadership of the DIN, village level consultations were able to be conducted over the course of 40-50 days and within the government-mandated time frame.

All the villages inside the proposed PPF area agreed to reject the designation and an objection letter was signed by 1,300 villagers from the 17 potentially affected villages, including all the village administrators. The letter was sent by DIN leaders at the end of September 2020 to Kanpetlet Township Forest Department and district level authorities. One month later, on 9 October, the villagers and leaders received a positive response from the forestry department informing them that the project had been cancelled due to their objection.

According to DIN leaders and community leaders, there were four main factors that led to the success of the objection:

1. having a strong local network;
2. the development of DICA collective conservation initiative);
3. prior community mobilization experience; and
4. having strong support from civil society organizations.

These factors led to the strong participation of all affected communities, quicker consultations in a limited time, and the culmination of a strong collective voice that reached authorities.

"If we did not have a network and conservation schemes, we would not have been able to oppose it [the proposed PPF] successfully. They [authorities] agreed to our objection because we are also trying to conserve the forest in a sustainable way by ourselves. The forest department knows what we are doing for conservation at the community level. Conservation initiatives and collective movement resulted in strong participation of effected communities."^[14]

Conclusion

The creation of the DICA is rooted in conservation initiatives at the village level, and was a response to larger external challenges, such as infrastructure developments and their impact on nature, as well as the lack of legal recognition of Indigenous Peoples' customary land tenure.

Indigenous Peoples are often marginalized and vulnerable to state projects and investments, including conservation and "green" initiatives. This is coupled with a lack of recognition as Indigenous and their customary practices and claims to land and territory.

Therefore, as a success story, this conservation initiative becomes a space to reflect and learn about Indigenous Peoples as the original stewards of the land and territory, implementing tried and tested ancient customary good practices, and understanding the numerous challenges communities can face in protecting their land and identity. Most importantly, this story exemplifies the successes of mobilizing and creating a collective movement that can utilize state policies, building awareness on the issues of state conservation, land governance and associated policies and laws, as well as on strengthening identity and re-invigorating inter-generational knowledge sharing. It also serves as a reminder of the strength of collective movements and the importance of community empowerment in negotiating customary land rights.

However, as noted earlier, due to the pandemic the protocol to establish the DICA was not able to be launched and celebrated publicly. Further the protocol was also not fully implemented as planned due to the military coup that began in February 2021 and the subsequent widespread armed resistance. The will is still there to implement the protocol whenever the political and security situation allows.

This article was kindly written, researched and submitted to IWGIA by Ling Houng, who is a member of the Daai Indigenous Peoples, a sub-tribe of the Chin Peoples in Myanmar. Since 2015, they have been working to strengthen customary land and forest management systems among Indigenous communities in Myanmar. They are currently serving as a Mekong Project Officer with the Samdhana Institute.

All research and views are those of the author.

Photo: Part of the Daai Indigenous Conserved Area provided by the author.

References

^[1] Christiani Erni, et al., 2019, Yangon. Indigenous Rights to Customary Land in Myanmar: Current Status and move forward.

[2] Dama, Lalchhan. "Daai History." https://www.academia.edu/39738392/Daai_History (Accessed on 21 July 2025).

[3] Atlas of Humanity. "Myanmar, Daai Tribe." https://www.atlasofhumanity.com/daai (Accessed on 21 July 2025)

[4] Dama, Lalchhan. "Daai History." https://www.academia.edu/39738392/Daai_History (Accessed on 21 July 2025).

^[5] Interview conducted with a Pan Taung villager on 23 August 2025.

^[6] Field note, community leader, 2019

^[7] Field note, community leader, 2019.

^[8] Interview conducted with the Secretary of the Daii Indigenous Network (DIN) on 31 October 2021.

^[9] Interview conducted with the Vice-Secretary of the Daai Indigenous Network (DIN) on 10 October 2021.

^[10] Interview conducted with the Secetary of the Daai Indigenous Network (DIN) on 10 October 2021.

^[11] Field note: community member, 2020.

^[12] Interview conducted with the Secetary of the Daai Indigenous Network (DIN) on 31 October 2021.

[13] Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, Forest Department. Government of Myanmar. SOP. https://www.forestdepartment.gov.mm/sop_update (Accessed on 23 July 2025).

^[14] Interview conducted with the Secretary of the Daai Indigenous Network (DIN) on 31 October 2021.

Tags: Land rights