The Silent Forest

Featured on the BBC World Service:

At the other end of Thailand in the north-west, is the long border with Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. And here thousands of square miles of teak and bamboo forest have been largely preserved by seven decades of civil conflict. The local Karen people live in refugee camps just inside Thailand, but also remain in their thousands in the Myanmar forest living as they have always done, while fighting for an independent homeland. A recent peace deal means that for the first time it may be possible for logging to begin, dams to be built, open cast gold mining to expand, roads and a deep water port to be built. The Karen are trying to create a vast ‘peace park’ to preserve their astonishing natural habitat from these same forces that have destroyed so much forest in the previous countries we have visited….

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Featured on ABC Australia:

There is a region of forest in South East Asia that remains more or less intact. Perversely it’s been protected from logging, poaching and development by seven decades of civil conflict.

The local Karen people live in refugee camps just inside Thailand, but also remain in their thousands in the Myanmar forest living as they have always done, while fighting for an independent homeland. A recent peace deal means that for the first time it may be possible for logging to begin, dams to be built, open cast gold mining to expand, roads and a deep water port to be built.

The Karen are trying to create a vast ‘peace park’ to preserve their astonishing natural habitat from these same forces that have destroyed so much forest in the previous countries we have visited in this four part series….

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