Abstract
The environmental challenges facing Myanmar have been exacerbated by political instability, particularly since the military coup in 2021. This study examines public perceptions of environmental issues during this political crisis, focusing on awareness of key environmental concerns such as air and water quality, land use, and climate change. A survey was conducted, with the majority of respondents aged between 30 and 39, largely consisting of graduates and professionals across diverse ethnic groups. Results indicate that over 91% of respondents are aware of environmental degradation during the crisis, with air and water quality concerns being the most prominent. While over half of the respondents identified vehicles and waste burning as major contributors to air pollution, water quality was perceived as unreliable by the majority, reflecting the country’s growing water scarcity issues. The study also revealed that government efforts to mitigate these issues were largely deemed insufficient. Furthermore, awareness of climate change impacts was high, with flooding and drought being the most commonly reported concerns. Despite the challenges, a significant portion of the population expressed interest in participating in environmental conservation, though security and political instability were major barriers to involvement. This research highlights the urgent need for stronger environmental policies and public engagement to address the ongoing environmental crisis in Myanmar, particularly during periods of political unrest.
Introduction
Environment is the key free-source and natural capital (Agheli & Taghvaee, 2022) for theexistence of living organisms on this planet. For both the subsistence and economy ofhuman beings, the environmental sources such as forests, water sources, biodiversity, etc.,are being utilized without paying attention to sustainability (WCED, 1987). These neglected actions not only threaten the good health of the environment but also escalate the publicconcerns on the availability of the sources from the environment for their living (Agheli &Taghvaee, 2022; Mahadevan et al., 2024). In 2002, the “Johannesburg Summit”
underscored the vital role of public involvement in fostering sustainable development, emphasizing the interconnectedness of environmental concerns with socio-economic well-being, critical for achieving a balanced quality of life (White & Hunter, 2009), found out that there were local people’s awareness and concerns on the relation between the environmental issues and their socioeconomic conditions in coastal Ghana. However, the awareness and concerns on environmental issues and socio-economic conditions during the political conflict period is less explored. The profound impacts on the environment such as biodiversity loss, sea level rise, increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters caused by global warming, were warned to be tackled by IPCC (2018).
While global concerns about environmental quality and the regulation of remedial measures, including their respective policy implications, remain paramount, the political state of a country also becomes a crucial consideration. Specific treaty and customary International Humanitarian Law and additional protocol to 1949 Geneva Convention, and Rio Declaration on Environment (UNEP) prohibited to damage the environment after experiencing the environmental impacts under war and armed conflicts (The International Committee of the Red Cross [ICRC] Humanitarian Law & Policy, 2021). Thus, the quality of
the environment is directly correlated with the role of political stability (Agheli & Taghvaee, 2022; Kirikkaleli & Osmanlı, 2023). Moreover, the increasing population as the consumers of the environmental resources and their perceptions and individual changed behavior for environmental quality (Perera et al., 2022; Maduku, 2024) are also critical for future generations. Unsustainable utilization practices have jeopardized environmental health and raised public concerns regarding resource availability (White & Hunter, 2009).
Currently, natural resources in Myanmar are over-exploited, becoming more notable since the 2021 Military coup as a usual misconducted action of the Military Regime. The 2021 report from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation under the Republic of the Union of Myanmar National Unity Government highlights the considerable depletion of natural resources under military regimes, providing a detailed account of environmental challenges amid political transitions (MONREC-NUG, 2021). Under the intense armed conflicts and these political transitions, environmental conservation actions and policy enforcement are undoubtedly in question. To support effective environmental management, it’s essential to understand people’s perspectives and concerns regarding environmental quality and related issues. This research aims to gather valuable insights into public views on the current state of the environment in Myanmar and these insights will inform strategies to promote people participation for addressing environmental issues in Myanmar.
