Support to Earthrights International Alumni (2011)

Published
January 8, 2011

Three projects were selected for this round of funding:

Environmental Awareness Training for Preserving Natural Forests in Sea Song Village, Kayan Region, Burma – Kayan New Generation Youth (KNGY)

Objectives

To train project participants in environmental preservation and responsible farming practices
To teach project participants the effects of slash and burn farming and to provide alternative, environmental friendly, farming techniques
To provide participants with hands-on training for making fertilizers and pesticides and an opportunity to see the local effects of slash and burn farming

Activities (held over 3 days)

Brainstorming about the environmental impacts of water pollution, cutting down trees and using fertilizers
Watching movies about the environment and environmental damage and having post-movie discussions
Lectures about deforestation (including slash and burn farming, mining and logging), waste, natural disasters and other factors that negatively affect the environment
Explanation of the “Rio Declaration” and discussion about it
Evaluation by participants of what they learnt during the training course

Beneficiaries

170 persons from Sea Song Village participated in the training course and learnt about environmental preservation, responsible farming practices and how to make natural fertilizers.

6-Day Human Rights and Environmental Awareness Training – Chakaria School of Informal Education (CSIE)

Objectives

To provide a 6-day human rights and environmental awareness training course in Mae Sod on the Thai-Burma border in order to:

Create awareness about human rights violations committed by the SPDC in Burma
Create awareness about environmental damage caused by the SPDC
Teach people about their human rights and ways to protect them

Activities

Introductions and team-building activities
Explanation of the different types of governments
Explanation of the United Nations and the connection between the UN and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
Explanation of rights under the UDHR
Group activities (groups had to consider whether the conduct of their government violated the UDHR or not)
Discussion of the ICCPR and ICESCR in UDHR
Discussion of how to link human rights and environmental rights, using the example of the Shwe Gas Pipeline in Arakan State

Beneficiaries

There were 15 participants representing several organizations in Mae Sod (Arakan Worker Union (AWU), Arakan Labour Campaign (ALC), Arakan Network Group (ANG), Arakan Youth Network Group (AYNG)).

3-Month Environmental Awareness-Raising Project – Karenni Ever Green

Objectives

To train 6 people in facilitation skills
To provide environmental awareness education to 250 households in Karenni Refugee Camp 1
To encourage young people from the refugee community to have a greater interest in the environment by holding environmental art competitions
To raise environmental awareness about what KEG were doing in the camp by producing environment awareness posters

Activities

Waste management and forest conservation training for 6 selected trainees from Karenni Social Welfare and Development Center, the Karenni National Youth Organization and KEG.
Environmental awareness education for 250 households.
Environmental awareness posters will be created and displayed.
Two environmental art competitions will be held on official days for middle school, high school, and post-year 10 students along with speeches about how to protect and maintain natural resources.

Beneficiaries

6 people were trained to provide environment awareness education.
Environmental awareness education reached 258 households, to gain an understanding of ways to live more sustainably.
57 students participated in the environmental drawing competitions.
The people of Karenni Refugee Camp 1 benefited from a cleaner community as households were discouraged from throwing their rubbish in streams/streets. Also, people in the camp became more aware of environmental issues such as deforestation through the posters.

Results

Kayan New Generation Youth (KNGY)

By the end of the training, the participants were more knowledgeable on all of the topics listed in the objectives above. Participants engaged in discussions and asked many questions.

They learned how to make natural fertilizers using animal manure and natural pesticides using ash and limestone. The participants discussed the local effects of slash and burn farming that they see on a daily basis in their communities.

Chakaria School of Informal Education (CSIE)

The members of these organizations have not had a chance to attend this kind of training despite all the organizations. The people in Mae Sot, Bangladesh and also Arakan State are hard to keep in touch with in regards to human and environmental rights training. All the students had a moral obligation with roles and responsibility in their mind when they were trained.

Now, they know how to protect their rights from abuses and therefore understand the social, economic, and environmental impacts of this project and the human rights abuses in Arakan State related to the project.

Karenni Ever Green

All project activities and all objectives were achieved. 6 people were trained to be able to provide environment awareness education. Awareness education was done with 258 households. People now have the knowledge to sustainably live in and clean their communities.

40 students participated in the drawing competition but on competition day, only 16 students came to the competition because of summer holidays and some student went to camp outside and played. The second competition saw 17 students. The art competition’s title was “The Beauty of Natural Environment”. According to their art, it was possible to observe how much they knew about natural environment and why they were interested in the environment. Speeches were given to students about how to protect and maintain their natural resources after they finished drawing.