{"id":5979,"date":"2025-05-06T06:53:08","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T00:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/?p=5979"},"modified":"2025-05-06T06:53:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T00:23:08","slug":"irreparable-environmental-damage-from-resource-exploitation-amid-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/2025\/05\/irreparable-environmental-damage-from-resource-exploitation-amid-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Irreparable Environmental Damage from Resource Exploitation Amid War"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5980\" src=\"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"344\" srcset=\"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image.png 640w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-300x161.png 300w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-560x301.png 560w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-260x140.png 260w, https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image-160x86.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Myanmar Spring Chronicle \u2013 May 4 Overview&#8221;<\/strong>, published by <em>MoeMaKa<\/em> on May 5, 2025:<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Irreparable Environmental Damage from Resource Exploitation Amid War<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Over the past few years, Myanmar has transitioned from resistance defense to full-fledged armed offensives against the military junta. Alongside this intensifying conflict, the <strong>unchecked extraction of natural resources<\/strong> has increasingly led to <strong>environmental destruction<\/strong> across conflict zones.<\/p>\n<p>Both the <strong>junta and resistance forces<\/strong>\u2014including ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) and PDFs\u2014<strong>rely heavily on resource-based revenue<\/strong> to finance operations. Armed groups that control specific territories often <strong>tax local natural resource extraction<\/strong>, <strong>collect tolls on goods transport<\/strong>, and <strong>levy charges on civilians<\/strong> to fund logistics, weaponry, and personnel costs.<\/p>\n<p>This phenomenon is not unique to Myanmar. Around the world, <strong>natural resources and armed conflict<\/strong> often overlap. In Myanmar\u2019s case, while conflict did not initially arise over specific resources, the <strong>need to control resource revenue<\/strong> has become a deeply entangled consequence of prolonged war.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Conflict Zones and Resource Hotspots<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Regions with <strong>high-value resources<\/strong> are now key military targets:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Hpakant<\/strong> (for jade)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Chipwi and eastern Kachin State<\/strong> (rare earths)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Thabeikkyin and Singu<\/strong> (gold mining)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>River regions in <strong>Sagaing<\/strong> and <strong>Ayeyarwady<\/strong> (alluvial gold extraction)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Pakokku, Myaing, and Pauk<\/strong> (onshore oil)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Rakhine State<\/strong> (offshore oil and deep-sea port potential)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Tanintharyi Region<\/strong> (widespread mineral deposits)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Exploitation and Environmental Cost<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Armed groups actively fight to <strong>gain or maintain control<\/strong> of these areas. In recent months, military activity has intensified in areas with:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Gold panning and dredging<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Jade extraction and rare earth processing<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Deforestation for timber exports to China<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As factions compete for control, the <strong>over-extraction of resources<\/strong> has caused severe environmental damage:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Pollution of rivers and water sources<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Deforestation and loss of biodiversity<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Disruption of farming communities<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These areas are now facing an <strong>uncertain future<\/strong>, both economically and ecologically.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Junta\u2019s Offensive for Resource Control<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The military has launched <strong>airstrikes and ground assaults<\/strong> to prevent EAOs and PDFs from collecting revenue from resource-rich areas. Recent examples include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>Ongoing offensives to <strong>retake Hpakant<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Attacks on gold-mining zones in <strong>Sagaing<\/strong> and <strong>Mandalay Regions<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There\u2019s growing concern that <strong>some resources may be permanently depleted<\/strong>, while environmental impacts on <strong>communities, rivers, and agriculture<\/strong> are already being felt.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Long-Term Consequences<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p><strong>River route changes<\/strong> have increased <strong>flooding risk<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Soil erosion and crop loss<\/strong> threaten food security<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Deforestation<\/strong> is leading to higher temperatures and extreme weather<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In recent reports:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>Gold mining in <strong>Bhamo Township<\/strong> is causing concern<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Alluvial gold dredging<\/strong> near <strong>Thapanseik Dam (Sagaing)<\/strong> is threatening dam inflow, raising alarm among local farmers<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Unanswered Questions of Accountability<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>These urgent questions remain:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>Is all revenue from resource extraction truly going toward the revolution?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Are groups extracting only what is necessary\u2014or beyond sustainable levels?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Are local authorities and armed factions exploiting this moment for power and profit?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In times of war, <strong>funding the struggle often takes precedence<\/strong> over environmental care. However, the <strong>long-term destruction caused by unmanaged resource exploitation<\/strong> will leave irreversible scars\u2014not just on the land, but on the people who depend on it.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>The Responsibility to Act<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Environmental degradation like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Jade and gold over-mining<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Rare earth contamination<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Illegal deforestation<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8230;must be addressed\u2014not buried under the label of \u201cwartime necessity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Both <strong>political and armed resistance groups<\/strong> must take <strong>ownership of their environmental impact<\/strong>, not only for today\u2019s survival, but for Myanmar\u2019s <strong>post-war future<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>If ignored, these damages will outlast the war itself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Myanmar Spring Chronicle \u2013 May 4 Overview&#8221;, published by MoeMaKa on May 5, 2025: Irreparable Environmental Damage from Resource Exploitation Amid War Over the past few years, Myanmar has transitioned from resistance defense to full-fledged armed offensives against the military&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-p\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/2025\/05\/irreparable-environmental-damage-from-resource-exploitation-amid-war\/\">Read more &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5980,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9,58],"tags":[100],"class_list":["post-5979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current","category-features","tag-myanmar-spring-revolution"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/image.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3RDLm-1yr","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5979"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5979\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5981,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5979\/revisions\/5981"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moemaka.net\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}