Wildlife and biodiversity Research
Karen State is a recognized biodiversity hotspot. KESAN works with Kawthoolei Forestry Department (KFD), local Karen communities, and conservation organizations to identify, enumerate, study, manage and conserve the extraordinary biodiversity of this region.
This program has supported local Indigenous systems of religious and cultural beliefs, resource management practices, hunting taboos and traditional livelihoods that have protected the forest, and the wildlife that inhabit it. KESAN encourages collaborative biodiversity protection by striving to combine scientific expertise with the local Indigenous knowledge that remains strong among Karen communities, who have lived with and depended on the forest for generations.
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Strengthening Indigenous Biodiversity Research in the Salween Peace Park
From February 23rd to 28th, 2026, a biodiversity research training was conducted at the Kheshorter Community Forest Center in Paw Law Pu, Luthaw Township, located in the north‑western part of the Salween Peace Park. A total of 30 people joined the training, including members of the Women Research Team, officers from several departments of the…
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We don’t raise bees, bees raise us instead
For generations, in Karen lands referred as Kawthoolei, particularly, in the Salween Peace Park, harvesting honey from tall trees has been a way for the Karen people to generate income. However, local villagers cannot sell their honey at reasonable prices because the quality still can be improved. Traditionally, they use the squeezing method to extract…
Community mobilization to enhance wildlife and forest conservation in the Salween Basin
From January 20 to 27, 2025, the Karen Forestry Department (KFD), in collaboration with Mutraw border affair committee, Community Forest Rangers, and Karen National Police Force (KNPF), conducted a series of community meetings in 11 different locations along the Salween River, Thailand – the Salween Peace Park border, Mutraw district, Kawthoolei, Burma. During these events,…
