A landscape of ocean and land-control grabbing in Northern Tanintharyi, Myanmar

TitleA landscape of ocean and land-control grabbing in Northern Tanintharyi, Myanmar
Annotated RecordAnnotated
Year of Publication2018
AuthorsBarbesgaard M
Pagination1-15
Place PublishedAmsterdam
Key themesDispossession-grabbing, Distribution, Environment, FDI
Abstract

After a spout of optimism surrounding Myanmar’s so-called democratic transition in the post-2010 period, more recent work by CSOs and academics have emphasized the rampant and violent processes of land and ocean grabbing that this transition is facilitating. Drawing on a case from Northern Tanintharyi in the Southeast of the country, this article attempts to historicize contemporary accounts of these grabbing processes. Developing a landscape-approach, it supports recent academic calls to move beyond the focus on a single resource or a single case and instead understand ‘grabs’ in relation to broader processes of agrarian-environmental transformations. Emphasis is placed on the ‘control-grabbing’ aspect of this ongoing transformation. The article shows how the control-grabbing of both ocean- and land-space facilitated the state’s appropriation of rent from productive capital in the fisheries and offshore gas sector, while bolstering state sovereignty over historically contested spaces. For villagers on the ground, this has had widespread ramifications, differentiated along lines of class and gender. Explaining and describing this longer-term agrarian-environmental transformation of the landscape helps to ground existing accounts of the managed nature of Myanmar’s current transition. In so doing, the article also questions the efficacy of prevailing policy proposals for how to solve the ensuing conflicts over and in the landscape.
URLhttps://www.tni.org/files/publication-downloads/workingpaper.pdf
Availability

Available for download
Countries

Myanmar
Document Type

Working Paper

Annotations

Overall relevance: 

This article examines how ocean and land control grabs have transformed the Northern Tanintharyi landscape. It adopts a landscape approach, aligning with academic calls to understand ‘grabs’ in the context of broader agrarian-environmental transformations, rather than isolated cases, thus connecting previously scattered sectoral struggles over surplus under capitalist development. A landscape approach entails examining the intersections between different types of resource grabs across time and space, and applying an historical, procedural and relational analysis that contextualizes resource grabs within broader political-economic dynamics. It requires tracing flows of capital, commodities and labor that implicate a diverse array of actors in processes of coastal and agrarian transformation. Emphasizing ‘control-grabbing,’ the article demonstrates how the state’s control over ocean and land spaces supports its appropriation of rent from the fisheries and offshore gas sectors while reinforcing state sovereignty over historically contested areas. These transformations have significant implications for local villagers, differentiated by class and gender. By explaining the long-term agrarian-environmental transformations, the article provides a grounded perspective on Myanmar’s managed transition and critiques the effectiveness of policy proposals to address resulting conflicts.

Key Themes: 
  • Land dispossession/land grabbing - Ocean and land grabbing processes in Northern Tanintharyi, driven by state authorities, corporations, and military interests, have severely disrupted traditional livelihoods, particularly fishing in Daminseik village. The construction of the Yadana gas pipeline led to decreasing fish stocks, reduced fishing areas due to offshore fleets, and the implementation of a new labor hiring system, significantly altering the village’s social and economic structures. Inland villages like Oh Pin Kwin faced forced labor, land confiscations, and new compensation systems, transforming traditional property regimes and livelihood opportunities. These changes, intertwined with offshore dynamics, prompted small-scale fishers to either migrate out or buy land, reflecting broader socio-economic and environmental shifts caused by militarization and resource exploitation.
  • Land distribution: concentration/dispersion, landlessness - Open door policies welcoming foreign investment facilitated large-scale extraction in natural resource-based industries such as fisheries, offshore gas, mining and agriculture. The resulting socio-economic changes have created disparities between different groups within the village, such as boat owners and workers, those left landless and those able to purchase land, and have influenced their respective strategies for survival and adaptation. The unequal distribution of resources and the resultant socio-economic stratification highlight the broader theme of how powerful entities can manipulate resource control to their advantage, often at the expense of local populations.
  • Land and the environment: pollution, deforestation, climate change, conservation zoning - Environmental conditions in Tanintharyi have shifted significantly, impacting traditional fishing practices. The construction of the Yadana gas pipeline and the presence of larger offshore fleets restricted access to traditional fishing grounds and resulted in a significant decline in fish landings. These changes reveal challenges in achieving sustainable ocean management. Marine Spatial Planning aims to balance resource extraction and conservation, and resolve existing conflicts through multi-stakeholder dialogues. However, issues of power imbalances, state control, and capital accumulation by a select few ‘cronies’, hinder its implementation. Additionally, labor dynamics have evolved, with skilled migration and new hiring practices introducing class and gender hierarchies. These interconnected factors emphasize the complex relationship between environmental, economic, and social elements affecting the region’s sustainability.
  • FDI and land access: economic land concessions, contract farming, short term and long term renting - Opening up the country to foreign investment in resource extraction has been a means for Myanmar’s successive military governments to raise much needed foreign exchange, and simultaneously consolidate its power, functioning as a counter-insurgency strategy by undercutting the financial base of Ethnic Armed Organizations. The article provides two clear examples. The first are laws and regulations passed under the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) permitting Thai vessels to fish in Myanmar waters. Opening up waters off the coast of Mon and Tanintharyi to the Thai fishing industry enabled the military regime to secure rent flows from the fleet of Thai vessels. SLORC was then able gain full territorial control of coastal areas, which enabled Myanmar’s domestic offshore fleets to develop to the point where the fishery sector became a key contributor to Myanmar’s GDP. The second and most significant foreign investments are in oil and gas projects. Total Oil (France), PTT (Thailand) and Unocal (USA) collaborated with state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) for an off shore gas pipeline known as the Yadana Project, producing billions of dollars of income for the regime. Rents gained from the export of natural gas from the Yadana and later adjoined Yetagun blocs, were crucial for the regime’s survival.
Research basis: 

Data in this paper is based on fieldwork conducted in several phases between October 2016 and January 2018. The research involved interviews with various stakeholders, including international NGOs, donors, regional state officials, and former members of Ethnic Armed Groups, totaling 20 interviews in Dawei and Yangon. The study also conducted 60 semi-structured household interviews across three villages in Northern Tanintharyi, focusing on the villages' differing historical and geographical contexts related to ocean and land control. These villages were selected based on initial scoping interviews with key informants. (Provided by Wai Yan Tun, Ei Ei Mon, and Thinn Ei Ei Htun)