As Burma ‘opens up’, land grabs for large-scale rubber plantations may threaten the eviction of rural communities, food insecurity, loss of livelihood and increased poverty as well as cause irreversible environmental destruction.
An article in The Irrawaddy describes how other Southeast Asian nations, such as Cambodia and Laos, have suffered social and environmental harm as a result of rubber investors acquiring large swathes of land. Burma may now be the ‘final frontier’ for investors in the rush for the world’s remaining natural resources.
Around 85 per cent of rubber around the world is grown by smallholder farmers, planted alongside other crops such as banana, tea, coffee, cocoa, cassava and pineapple. Rubber grown in agroforestry systems provides an alternative income for farmers, and the diversity of crops provides them with food.
Investment interest in Burma and other countries in the Mekong for rubber is focused on monoculture production which is far more damaging to biodiversity and ecosystems than rubber agroforestry systems. Already the country has seen huge rubber plantations expand in recent years despite rubber already being grown successfully in Burma by smallholder farmers.
Investment in smallholder rubber farmers instead of monoculture plantations would bring lasting economic, social and environmental benefits. These farmers need secure land tenure and government support through extension services and access to technology to boost the productivity and quality of the rubber they produce.
Read the full story: The Global Rush for Rubber: Is Burma the ‘Final Frontier’?
