• Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has actively collaborated with Forest Department and UNESCO for the World Heritage Site nomination process for Hkakabo Razi Landscape. As the world heritage process is lengthy and complex, WCS has sympathized with indigenous peoples and local communities on their worries and concerns for the potential negative impacts on customary land tenure and tradition natural resource use practices.
• WCS has practiced Participatory Land Use and Resource Use Mapping tool since 2005 in buffer zone management of protected areas to mitigate the potential negative impacts on customary land tenure and tradition resource use practices of indigenous peoples and local communities.
• WCS has collaborated with all relevant departments, organizations and stakeholders to achieve "Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC)" of indigenous peoples and local communities for the World Heritage Site nomination process for Hkakabo Razi Landscape. In Forest Department's land settlement process which is a part of Hkakabo Razi National Park Southern Extension establishment, WCS has collaborated with Forest Department and all relevant departments and organizations and practiced Participatory Land Use and Resource Use Mapping tool to be able to document the customary land tenure and tradition natural resource use practices of indigenous peoples and local communities and to register thme as the "Rights and Privileges" in the land settlement procedure.
• In accordance with Forest Department's procedure, six teams which consisted of representatives from government departments, non-governmental organizations and local organizations have conducted discussions with local communities and documentations of traditional tenure, livelihoods, practices, rights and privileges of indigenous peoples and local communities in each village. This activity will be conducted up to third week of October 2017. The boundary of Hkakabo Razi Southern Extension will be demarcated with the agreement of local communities.
• Main objectives of management of protected areas including Hkakabo Razi National Park intend not only to achieve conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems, but also to distribute benefits from conservation to local communities. Particularly, to receive benefits from ecotourism development by indigenous peoples and local communities, WCS collaborated with local communities, relevant departments and organizations.
• In the World Heritage Site nomination process of Hkakabo Razi Landscape, ensuring no displacements, no inclusion of villages in the proposed extension and no restrictions on customary land tenure and traditional natural resource use practices of indigenous peoples and local communities, only critical biodiversity areas will be identified and conserved and managed with the participation of local communities. WCS will collaborate with all important stakeholders, indigenous peoples, local communities, government departments, organizations on the World Heritage Site nomination process of Hkakabo Razi Landscape for the wellbeing of indigenous peoples, local communities and Myanmar as a whole.