
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.