Ridge to Reef Conservation Project, Myanmar

The Ridge to Reef project was launched to protect 1.4 million hectares of biodiverse land and marine areas in Myanmar’s Tanintharyi Region, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented by UNDP. The project aimed to establish new Protected Areas across a third of the region. While the conservation goal was widely supported, Indigenous Karen communities raised serious concerns about the project’s top-down approach to conservation, which excluded them from decision-making and threatened their rights.

The project was to be implemented in a post-conflict area without comprehensive consultation and risked undermining peace agreements. Community concerns included violations of the right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), restrictions on the return of internally displaced people, and the failure to respect Indigenous governance and conservation practices. 

In July 2018, the Conservation Alliance Tanawthari (CAT), a coalition of Karen community organizations, submitted a complaint to the GEF on behalf of 612 Indigenous community members. The complaint was later forwarded to UNDP’s Social and Environmental Compliance Unit (SECU). 

The complainants called for an immediate suspension of the Ridge to Reef project, alleging that the project violated their right to FPIC, risked blocking the return of refugees and internally displaced people, and failed to align with governance structures under the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement. CAT called for the project’s suspension until a comprehensive FPIC process was completed and guarantees were in place for the safe and voluntary return of displaced communities.

The Ridge to Reef case illustrates the risks of conservation efforts that exclude Indigenous communities, especially in post-conflict regions. It highlights the importance of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), conflict-sensitive planning, and the role of accountability mechanisms in preventing environmental and human rights harm.