ABSTRACT
As with so many aspects of Myanmar, the 2021 military coup sounded the death knell for any serious attempts at transparency and governance in the management of the country’s natural resources and environment. The decade of reforms between 2011 and 2021 introduced, for the first time, an element of democratic accountability in natural resources policy, including embryonic attempts to protect Myanmar’s natural heritage. But the coup returned Myanmar to its authoritarian past, resuming its spot as a poor laggard in environmental protection within Southeast Asia. Agriculture and natural resources are the most significant sectors of Myanmar’s economy. Natural resources dominate exports and provide the vast majority of its foreign exchange, whether official or unofficial. However, its diverse cultures, religions and ethnicities; a lack of governance capacity; and competing political economy imperatives have provided significant challenges to effective and, more importantly, equitable natural resource governance throughout the country. These challenges are exacerbated by endemic corruption, particularly in the natural resources sector. Although complemented by a surge in destructive development activities, the reformist government led by President Thein Sein introduced a range of new governance tools for natural resources, such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, which provided more access and engagement for civil society. Other reforms continued under the Aung San Suu Kyi government, but the coup undid much of this regulatory oversight, resulting in a return to the inept natural resource governance of the earlier military era. This chapter traces these significant natural resource governance shifts, including the role of civil society actors.
