JOURNAL ARTICLE: “(Re)enclosure, structural violence and commoning in marine fisheries in the Gulf of Mottama, Myanmar”

Publication date: February 2025

Authors: Eaindra Theint Theint Thu and Carl Middleton

For further details of the article, visit the journal Journal of Rural Studies.

In this paper, we analyze the dynamics of enclosure and commoning of marine fisheries in the Gulf of Mottama (GOM) of Myanmar, forms of structural violence, and the implications for small-scale fishers' livelihoods. We draw on qualitative and quantitative findings on fisheries livelihoods and resource governance in the GOM collected in 2022, and primary and secondary document analysis. Since Myanmar's independence from Britain, until 2011 there was a progressive commodification and enclosure of marine fisheries. During the semi-civilian government period (2011–2021), the previous national fisheries laws that centralized authority and privileged elites with large commercial fishing boats were replaced with laws that decentralized fisheries governance and established fisheries co-management practices. These laws, together with technical and financial resources from the ‘GOM project’, redistributed – to a degree – power towards local fishing communities. Livelihoods were beginning to improve through commoning of the fisheries and recovery of fish stocks, even as legislative and governance shortcomings remained. The military coup in 2021, however, reversed these gains effectively ending co-management on-the-ground, leading to a re-enclosure of the commons and the reassertion of structural violence.

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Citation: Thu, E. T. T., & Middleton, C. (2025). (Re) enclosure, structural violence and commoning in marine fisheries in the Gulf of Mottama, Myanmar. Journal of Rural Studies, 114, 103550.

JOURNAL ARTICLE: “The Robustness of Common-Pool Resource Governance in the Gulf of Mottama Ramsar Wetland, Myanmar under Pre- and Post-Political Crisis Conditions”

Publication date: February 2025

Authors: Eaindra Theint Theint Thu and Carl Middleton

For further details of the article, visit the journal International Journal of Society and Natural Resources.

This study examines the role of communities, local institutions, conservation organizations and government agencies in the governance of large-scale common-pool resources (CPR) at the Gulf of Mottama Ramsar wetland, Myanmar before and one year after the 2021 coup d’état. The research employed a mixed method approach in two villages in the GOM on common alluvial land, waterbirds, and fisheries CPRs. The robustness of CPR governance is evaluated with Ostrom’s eight design principles. We found that pre-coup the formation of local user associations, livelihood incentive strategies, and co-management approaches were increasingly effective to conserve fisheries and waterbirds CPRs, while land conflicts over new common alluvial land persisted. One year following the coup, offshore fisheries especially faced challenges from illegal practices by outsiders, due to significantly weakened co-management practices and accountability of local authorities and large-scale commercial fishers to the fishing communities.

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Citation: Thu, E. T. T., & Middleton, C. (2024). The robustness of common-pool resource governance in the Gulf of Mottama Ramsar Wetland, Myanmar under pre-and post-political crisis conditions. Society & Natural Resources, 37(9), 1253-1272.

JOURNAL ARTICLE: “Shifting Practices and Experiences of Development Cooperation in Southeast Asia: Understanding Local Voice and Agency”

Publication date: March 30, 2024

Publication: Journal of International Development Studies

Authors: Carl Middleton and Soyeun Kim

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Over the past two decades, the landscape of development cooperation has profoundly shifted in Southeast Asia. Actors providing, receiving, influencing and affected by development cooperation have diversified. The role of Western donors that were particularly influential in the 1990s has diluted as new forms of development cooperation have emerged and associated finance grown in size, including South-South cooperation for example by China, climate funds, and philanthropic foundations. Seemingly, a ‘new age of choice’ exists for the governments of Southeast Asia. Yet donors are also pursuing their (national) interests through development cooperation often under conditions of intensified ‘donor competition’, which are navigated with varying degrees of success by recipient countries.

While these trends are relatively well documented in Southeast Asia, less attention has been paid to the perspectives and agency of local actors including civil society, impacted communities, and the diverse voices within governments. This includes the opportunities and challenges within the shifting development cooperation landscape. To explore these topics, on 27 March 2023 the Japan Society for International Development (JASID) organized a WriteShop in collaboration with the Center for Social Development Studies (CSDS) and M.A. and Ph.D. Program in International Development Studies (MAIDS-GRID), Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University. Nine working papers were presented that detailed cases from across Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand, and of these two papers are published in this current issue of the Journal of International Development Studies.

Citation: Middleton, C., & Kim, S. (2024). Shifting practices and experiences of development cooperation in Southeast Asia: Understanding local voice and agency. Journal of International Development Studies, 32(3), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.32204/jids.32.3_1

JOURNAL ARTICLE: “Urbanization and farmer adaptation in the Bangkok Suburban area”

Publication date: June 2023

Publication: Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences

Authors: Thanapan Laiprakobsup

Abstract: This article examines how urbanization contributes to the variation of farmers’ adaptation in Southeast Asia. The variation of farmers’ adaptation to urbanization results from urban expansion transforming local communities’ environment and social structure. The patterns of farmers’ adaptation can be categorized into the following: (1) reducing their production capacity; (2) establishing local groups to mobilize resources and manpower; and (3) changing their mode of production to other products and services. In addition, if urban expansion weakens local networks or participation from local communities, farmers hardly ever adapt themselves to new production modes or services. On the other hand, if urban expansion contributes to opportunities for farmers to collaborate with outside markets or external actors, the farmers can, to some extent, adapt their mode of production. The implication from this paper contributes to how policymakers can facilitate collaborative food governance system serving for specific needs of farmers, in particular peri-urban areas, and encourage positive environment between urban communities and farmers in peri-urban areas.

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Key words: Bangkok, collaboration, community, farmers’ adaptation, Suburban area

Citation: Laiprakobsup, T. (2023). Urbanization and farmer adaptation in the Bangkok suburban area. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, 44(2), 387–396. https://doi.org/10.34044/j.kjss.2023.44.2.08