Managing Myanmar’s natural resources

Managing Myanmar’s natural resources

by DIPD on February 10, 2017

Beginning 31 Januar, DIPD and the Natural Resource Governance Institute co-sponsored a two-day dialogue on federalism and natural resource management. Here 21 political parties from Mandalay region and Shan State convened to share views and policy options.

With the resumption of dialogue on the peace process, political parties are responsible for contributing to the development of policy agreements in a range of areas. One of the most crucial and challenging of these policy areas is natural resource management. How the government manages the revenue from these natural resources, including how it is shared between national and sub-national governments, will be instrumental in determining to what extent this revenue contributes to Myanmar’s development.

To support political parties, as one of the key stakeholders in the peace process, to make a useful contribution to the development of policy frameworks on natural resource management, DIPD and the Natural Resource Governance Institute co-sponsored a two-day dialogue on federalism and natural resource management with 39 leaders of 21 political parties from Mandalay Region and Shan State from 31 January-1 February. This dialogue helped parties better understand the current situation of natural resource management in Myanmar, global best practices in natural resource management, and policy options that would be relevant for Myanmar’s context.

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During dialogue between the political parties represented, party leaders were able to identify some important areas for reform, such as the need for greater transparency in natural resource management and revenue sharing, the value of sharing natural resource revenues with high-poverty or underserved communities, and how to consider offsetting the negative impact of mining in some communities. Parties also recognized that decentralization of natural resource management was not a panacea in terms of ensuring that the public benefits from natural resources, as demonstrated by the case of Indonesia. The parties agreed to consider more carefully how to divide responsibilities and benefits between national and sub-national governments so that the public benefits optimally from natural resources extracted.

“It should be defined clearly in the constitution how to allocate accountabilities and benefits between central and sub-national governments in natural resource”, reflected by Khun Satt Aung from Pao National Party.

DIPD and NRGI will continue to support parties at the national and sub-national level with technical advice and platforms for dialogue as they provide inputs to the union peace process on natural resource management issues. This support will be crucial in helping parties build consensus on policy positions that are evidence-based and inclusive in providing benefits to all of Myanmar’s citizens.

Group Exercise on the allocation of responsibilities and benefits between central and sub- national governments.

More information

Read more about DIPD’s work in Myanmar, where we are part of the EU-supported STEP Democracy Programme.

Contact DIPD Myanmar Country Coordinator, Khin Thazin Myint: ktzm@dipd.dk

Contact DIPD Senior Advisor, Hanne Lund Madsen: hlm@dipd.dk

From: Events, Myanmar, News and updates, Previous events