Future Imaginaries: Grassroots Environmental Peace in Post-coup Myanmar
Johanna Garnett, University of New England - Armidale (Australia)
In northern Rakhine State, Myanmar, in a region of active conflict under an authoritarian regime, a grassroots youth organisation has developed a pedagogical program that is contributing to environmental peace. They are creating a space for new ecological voices and perspectives, and initiating and enabling, alternative, localised, community-led development models. The short-term goal of this project is addressing localised ecological violence, primarily within a permaculture framework, improving diversity and yield, and achieving food sovereignty and security. It is their long-term aim, however, that speaks to new understandings of environmental peace. Cognisant of their interconnectedness and interdependence these young farmers are not only reimagining their relationship with their natural environments, but their futures. This presentation is based on 12 years working with, and researching, this grassroots social movement. It argues for the role of localised environmental adult education (EAE) in environmental peace, and considers what we can learn from localised environmentalism such as this.