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2018-10-01
Oxfam;
Tiger Worm Toilets (TWTs), sometimes known as Tiger Toilets or vermifilter toilets, contain composting worms inside the pit that process and digest the faeces in-situ, replacing the build-up of raw sludge with vermicompost. This removes the need for traditional desludging, as the vermicompost is simpler to remove and builds up at a slower rate. This can lead to a reduction of the long-term operating costs and removes the need for expensive desludging and sludge treatment infrastructure. A worm colony can live inside the toilet indefinitely so long as the correct environmental conditions are maintained.
2018-05-11
Oxfam;
People displaced by conflict (IDPs) in Myanmar's Kachin State want to return to their land, yet it is being appropriated unfairly. Legal or administrative procedures are undermining IDP rights, ignoring the exceptional circumstances of displacement. Restrictions on movement are making the situation worse. Action is required to resolve the lack of clarity over IDP land rights and to ensure equitable remedy is available where land has been unfairly acquired. This report is produced by The Durable Peace Programme (DPP), an EU-funded consortium of seven international and local organizations supporting peace, reconciliation, rehabilitation and development in Kachin State since 2015.
2017-01-31
Oxfam;
After years of international isolation, Myanmar is liberalizing its economy and seeking to attract foreign investment. But while foreign investment can play an important role in developing the country's agriculture sector, in the current environment of limited transparency and accountability, an increase in agribusiness investments poses serious risks to the livelihoods of small-scale farmers and others dependent on land.
This paper looks at the level and types of agribusiness investment in Myanmar. It outlines potential risks to communities posed by these investments, and explores state regulation of outbound investments as a way to promote responsible business practices in the sector. The paper makes recommendations to the Government of Myanmar and to investors on improving the scrutiny and monitoring of investments, tackling land rights abuses and ensuring that companies honour their responsibilities to respect human rights.
2017-01-25
Taylor & Francis Group;
The Mekong Basin Disease Surveillance (MBDS) network was formally established in 2001 through a Memorandum of Understanding signed by six Ministers of Health of the countries in the Greater Mekong sub-region: Cambodia, China (Yunnan and Guangxi), Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The main areas of focus of the network are to: i) improve cross-border infectious disease outbreak investigation and response by sharing surveillance data and best practices in disease recognition and reporting, and by jointly responding to outbreaks; ii) develop expertise in epidemiological surveillance across the countries; and iii) enhance communication between the countries. Comprised of senior health officials, epidemiologists, health practitioners, and other professionals, the MBDS has grown and matured over the years into an entity based on mutual trust that can be sustained into the future. Other regions have started emulating the network's pioneering work. In this paper, we describe the development of MBDS, the way in which it operates today, and some of its achievements. We present key challenges the network has faced and lessons its members have learned about how to develop sufficient trust for health and other professionals to alert each other to disease threats across national borders and thereby more effectively combat these threats.
2017-01-19
Oxfam GB;
This evaluation is presented as part of the Effectiveness Review Series 2015/16, randomly selected for review under the governance thematic area. This report documents the findings of a qualitative impact evaluation, carried out in March 2016. The evaluation used PIALA (Participatory Impact Assessment and Learning Approach) to assess the effectiveness of the 'Building equitable and resilient livelihoods in the Dry Zone' in Myanmar.
The project aimed to build strong and viable Membership Organisations (MOs) capable of organising community members, lobbying township departments and parliament, establishing business relationships with traders and suppliers, and developing civil society networks with local NGOs and MOs of other villages, in order to create sustainable livelihood opportunities and build resilience against climate-related hazards (e.g. drought and flooding). The underlying assumption was that, by building the capacity of these MOs, behavioural changes would be triggered in a set of key stakeholder relationships and mechanisms that would result in more sustainable livelihood opportunities and conditions. Successful MOs would then inspire and influence other communities to also develop MOs and motivate local governments to support them. The project was coordinated by Oxfam and implemented from May 2011 until end of May 2014 by the Network Activities Group (NAG) in Minbu and Oxfam in Thazi.
Read more about Oxfam's Effectiveness Reviews.
2017-01-19
Oxfam;
As Myanmar navigates its rapid economic expansion triggered by the end of military rule in 2010, the development of special economic zones (SEZs) is a key element of the country's industrialization plan. SEZs aim to increase foreign investment and economic growth using special incentives, services and regulations. Their success is usually viewed in terms of economic impacts, overlooking wider social and environmental impacts.
This report draws on evidence from the South-East Asia region to explore the impacts of SEZs, with case studies from Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam. It shows that without transparency and accountable governance, or a clear strategy for local linkages, SEZs are more likely to result in harmful environmental and social impacts and fail to deliver expected benefits. As Myanmar proceeds with several SEZ developments, fundamentally transforming livelihoods, it has an opportunity to learn from experiences in the region, to mitigate the negative impacts and to take action to improve prospects for local communities.
2016-05-05
Oxfam;
Women are increasingly visible in politics around the world but there is still a yawning gap in their political representation compared with men. In Myanmar, gender inequality and women's rights are major challenges across economic, social and political spheres. Myanmar's historic election in November 2015 saw a big increase in the numbers of women candidates and women MPs elected to parliament: the new government has nearly three times the number of women MPs than the previous one. But with close to 10 percent of elected parliamentary seats held by women, Myanmar is still the worst performer in the region for representation of women in parliament.
This paper takes a snapshot of women's rights and political representation in Myanmar today, looks at the experience of countries around the world in increasing women's political representation, and examines the potential of a quota system for a country at a true turning point in its history.ÂÂ
2016-03-22
CARE;
A country's budget can be a powerful lever for social transformation. A budget is the tool a government has to help it translate national resources into allocations which meet the needs and aspirations of its population, and set the country on a path to sustainable and equitable development. If a budget does not account for the different needs of women and men, it is 'gender-blind' - i.e., it perpetuates inequality through biased spending. More often than not, national budgets favour men and the groups, institutions and systems that are led by men.
In Myanmar, the budgetary process is largely male-led; few women participate in formal decision making. Consequently, budgetary allocations that target women's practical and strategic gender needs remain low. This briefing paper - prepared by ActionAid, CARE, the Women's Organisations' Network (WON) and Oxfam - demonstrates just how important it is for Myanmar to adopt gender-responsive budgeting and provides recommendations to help achieve this.Â
2015-12-04
Oxfam International;
In Myanmar, the garment industry is booming thanks to an upsurge in investment by international brands, but garment workers are facing tough conditions. According to new research from Oxfam and labour rights groups in Myanmar, garment workers are working up to 11 hours a day, six days a week, but remain trapped in poverty. Following decades of economic isolation, political reforms have seen global retail heavyweights like GAP, H&M, Primark and Adidas starting to source from Myanmar factories. With the garment industry growing quickly, companies need to act now to ensure that workers making their products can access their fundamental rights and provide a decent living for themselves and their families.
This briefing paper presents the research findings and makes recommendations for international sourcing companies and factories to help them protect garment workers' rights.
2015-09-24
Oxfam International;
This discussion paper outlines some of the challenges and opportunities for public financial management (PFM) reform in contributing to deeper social accountability and legitimate governance in the context of Myanmar's wider decentralization and peace process. The paper poses a set of key questions for development actors to consider as they seek to support inclusive reform in Myanmar.
2015-05-01
InterNews;
Embracing Change: The Critical Role of Information, a research project by the Internews' Center for Innovation & Learning, supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, combines Internews' longstanding effort to highlight the important role ofinformation with Rockefeller's groundbreaking work on resilience. The project focuses on three major aspects:
- Building knowledge around the role of information in empowering communities to understand and adapt to different types of change: slow onset, long-term, and rapid onset / disruptive;
- Identifying strategies and techniques for strengthening information ecosystems to support behavioral adaptation to disruptive change; and
- Disseminating knowledge and principles to individuals, communities, the private sector, policymakers, and other partners so that they can incorporate healthy information ecosystems as a core element of their social resilience strategies.
2015-04-03
Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN);
This extensive report aims to provide a "state of the market" landscape analysis of the impact investing industry in six countries across South Asia -- Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Impact investments, as defined by the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), are investments that intentionally seek to generate social and/or environmental impact alongside a financial return. In addition, the report captures other activity that may be relevant for impact investors, such as investments at the base of the economic pyramid that may lack an explicit intention for positive impact.
