Subject: Watershed, Part I Message-Id: <199509090308.MAA28863@inetnif.niftyserve.or.jp> From: "=?ISO-2022-JP?B?GyRCQG46aiEhN3UbKEI=?= " FROM:NBH03114@niftyserve.or.jp Burmese Relief Center--Japan DATE:September 9, 1995 TIME: 11:55AM JST Excerpts from Vol 1 No. 1, of W A T E R S H E D **************************************************** from TERRA (Towards Ecological Recovery and Regional Alliance) Burma--Indochina --------------------------------------------------------- Watershed is published quarterly by: Towards Ecological = Recovery and Regional Alliance (TERRA) = = **Editorial/Subscriptions/Contributions Office: = TERRA, 409 Soi Rohitsuk, Pracharatbampen Road, = Huay-Khwang, Bangkok 10310, THAILAND = = Tel: (66 2) 691 0718-20; Fax: (66 2) 691 0714, = email: terraper@ksc.net.th = = ISSN 0859-1601 = --------------------------------------------------------- ("TERRA IS THE BEST SOURCE OF RELIABLE INFORMATION ON SALWEEN AND MOEI DAMS, and other ecological threats to Burma." Burmese Relief Centre-Japan) **Editorial: "Why Watershed?"** Watershed - In its simplest, scientific meaning, it is the drainage basin of a river, the area through which all waters flow from their highest source before draining naturally to the sea. Within the watersheds of the great Himalayan rivers, the Salween or the Mekong, for example, are the watersheds of thousands of smaller rivers, streams and lakes, each with their own particular character and history. In the broader ecological sense, the term watershed includes not only the land and the water but also the mountains and forest, the flood plains and valleys, as well as the communities of plants, animals and people who live there. These watersheds, large and small, have been ravaged by war in the past and still are today. But the battles that now pervade the region are more commonly conflicts over natural resources -- who has the rights to use, conserve, expropriate, destroy, buy and sell. Lowlanders blame high-landers for destroying the forests and water supplies for rice fields below, rural communities blame urban and industrial centres for draining and polluting their rivers, while many traditional systems of management and conservation are discarded with the expansion of export-oriented cash crops and agri-business schemes. To compound this situation, the watersheds of mainland Southeast Asia now contain some of the last unlogged tropical forests and undammed rivers in the world. Consequently, companies from all over the world are competing to exploit these resources. Other agencies insist these areas be roped off from human activity in the name of global biodiversity conservation. Whether the demand is for development or conservation, many communities in the region who have always lived with the forests and rivers are threatened with eviction. As a result of these pressures and conflict, some people are advocating a "watershed approach" to managing natural resources. This implies a way of looking at things as a whole, of seeing people and not just the trees but the forest, not just the river but all that creates and diminishes its flow. A watershed approach can be an alternative process of learning, of learning not by separating and isolating knowledge, but by awareness of the interaction and interdependency of people and nature, the blending (and clashing) of cultural, ecological, political and economic forces which constitute life ... and destruction. In this sense, the watershed is a unit of analysis or study known as political ecology. Far from being just an academic musing, a watershed approach is a practical way to examine, and begin the search for solutions to, real life problems faced by member communities of a watershed. At the heart of this approach is empathy, a respect for life downstream and in the mountain forests where water springs. All communities in the region have known this empathy at one time or another in their culture and history. Traditional systems of living were indeed based on respect for nature and neighbours. But these have often been disrupted by the ambitions of warring armies, colonial powers, and, more recently, by the agents of 20th-century industry. Today six nation states lie within the great watersheds of the Chao Phraya, Irrawaddy, Mekong, Red and Salween rivers, which collectively are home to a cultural and biological diver- sity unparalleled on earth. In ecological and cultural terms, the borders of these states were never more than arbitrary lines on a map drawn in distant capitals. But now, even in economic and political terms, the significance of these borders is fading as the region enters the era of economic globalization. With the exception of Burma, still shackled by military rule, Yunnan and the states of Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam are opening to the global economy, undergoing radical transformations, guided by institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and by a model of industrial development followed in Thailand for the past several decades. As such, the movement of money, people, natural resources and environmental degradation across borders is accelerating with the demands of the global market economy. Having exhausted much of its forests and water resources in the drive for economic development, Thailand's demands are now driving the policies and pace of resource extraction in neighbouring Burma, Lao PDR, and Cambodia. Power plants and industrial operations, supplying markets in Japan, Europe, Thailand or Asia's economic tigers, are being shifted to Yunnan or the Mekong Delta where raw materials and labour are cheaper and plentiful. The ultimate goal, of course, is higher profits and a temporary competitive edge in the global marketplace. Thailand's experience indicates that rural communities, espe- cially those outside the cultural and economic mainstream, face a double threat from this kind of development. First, development demands extraction and expropriation of natural resources upon which communities depend. Forests are logged, labelled 'degraded', and then offered up to private companies for industrial tree farms. The destruction of fisheries becomes a "trade-off" or "acceptable environmental cost" of hydroelectric development. Not only does this process deprive people of the resources needed for survival but alienates these people from the knowledge and traditional practices that once helped sustain their communities and culture. Meanwhile, development experts, armed with indicators of poverty and economic growth, interpret communities as igno- rant and backward, destroyers of the environment, and in des- perate need of development, basic tools, and training in how to succeed in the modern world. In this region, where the pace of environmental destruction and investment in development is staggering, development as currently defined by government-industry alliances should be questioned. To do that, Watershed begins with a thought provoking feature on development and its definitions. Not everyone will agree with this feature or have the same world view as its author, but it is imperative that people engage in open and democratic discussion about critical ecological and development trends in this region. Because Watershed is produced in English, we wish to apolo- gize for its exclusivity. However, we hope to reach many people who are either working with communities or shaping policies and projects affecting communities and watersheds. Finally, there is another meaning of watershed - a turning point in the course of events that signals a break with present trends and the beginning of something new. Such a watershed is needed both in thinking and in practice. In this spirit, Watershed is offered as a hopeful forum to encourage critical thinking and discovery of paths, new and old, which can lead to sustainable development in this region. ****************************************************************** The editors welcome letters and comments from readers. Please send letters to: The Editor, Watershed, TERRA, 409 Soi Rohitsuk, Pracharatbampen Rd, Huay Kwang, 103 1 0 Bangkok, Thailand. ------------------------------------------------------------------ **INFO on Contributions & Subscriptions** The editors welcome contributions from people within the region and internationally. Please send articles, letters, or newspieces to the editorial office. Contributions can be handwritten or typed, in the Lao, Khmer, Vietnamese, Thai, French or English language; word-processed contributions can be on 3.5 or 5.25 inch disk, in text file format. Subscriptions rates for NGOs are: US$10 within Asia, US$15 for Aust/Europe and US$20 for N. America. Institution and business subscriptions somewhat higher. Any NGOs or community groups who would like to request a subsidy for their subscription, please contact TERRA. Please send an International Money Order only, to 'TERRA'. Prices are based on 3 issues per year. ____________________________________________________________________ ABOUT TERRA: TERRA is the sister Organization of project for Ecological Recovery (PER), registered together as the Foundation for Ecological Recovery. PER, established in 1986, works to support local communities within Thailand in protecting rivers, forests, land, and livelihoods. In 1991, TERRA was established to focus on issues concerning the natural environment and local communities within the region. TERRA works to support the network of NGOs and people's organizations in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam, encouraging exchange and alliance-building, and drawing on the experience with development and environment issues in Thailand. TERRA's Objectives: To identify root causes of the ecological crisis and raise public awareness about its threat to the communities, cultures and societies in the region; To support initiatives or existing regimes of local communities, systems of knowledge, and cultures which manage and protect the natural environment upon which local people depend; To strengthen the capacity of local organizations to address ecological issues within their own political context; To support research and analysis which can illustrate and strengthen use and management of the natural environment by local communities and cultures; To build public participation and influence in policy and decision making processes affecting the natural environment and local people; To advance a strategic, holistic and participatory approach to environment and development issues, the ecological crisis, and strategies for recovery.