Founded | 2004 |
---|---|
Type | Society charity |
Focus | Conservation, Biodiversity, Sustainable development |
Location | |
Area served | Burma |
Method | Research Environmental protection Environmental education |
Chairman | U Saw Tun Khaing |
Website | banca-env.org |
Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association (BANCA) is a Burmese non-governmental organisation established in the capital city Yangon. The society aims to conserve natural diversity and promote awareness. It remains the leading force in Burma for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. [1]
U Uga is the founder and the first chairperson of BANCA. He is one of the foresters in Myanmar. [2]
BANCA attempts to create opportunities for humans to live in harmony with nature, and to restore and maintain a healthy planet. The basic goals include conservation of nature, primarily biological diversity (genes, species, ecosystems) through actions based on surveys and research, partnership, network building, environmental education and public awareness, encouragement of stakeholder concept and improvement of rural livelihoods. To achieve the goals, BANCA recruits members from various research fields including ornithologists, primatologists, botanists, marine biologists, herpetologists, medical doctors, and academicians. [1]
BANCA has a long-term collaboration with international organisations such as BirdLife International, Ecoswiss, People Resources and Conservation Foundation and Fauna & Flora International; and also with major local organisations including Marine Science Association Myanmar (MSAM) and Rakhine Coastal Region Conservation Association (RCA). It has been in close partnership with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) of UK, with which it has completed 3 conservation projects, and 1 on-going (2012-2015). [3]
Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association (BANCA) is a non-profit, non-political, non-religious and an environmental NGO in Myanmar. Although BANCA was officially recognized by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Union of Myanmar on 18 June 2004, BANCA has been active since 2002. BANCA's registered charity number is 1883. BANCA strongly believes that conservation programs can be accomplished successfully only if it is backed up with community development. BANCA has 9 Board of Directors and 11 Executive Committee members. The latter is headed by a Chairperson. The backbone of BANCA is its competent ornithologists along with botanists, foresters, zoologists, social scientists, mammalogists, geologists, environmental scientists, marine biologists and herpetologists among others. Since its establishment in 2004, BANCA has been in close collaboration with international organizations like BirdLife International Indo-China Program, BirdLife International Asia Program (BLI), Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, UK (RSPB), Care Myanmar, Instuito Oikos (Italy), Flora and Fauna International (FFI), Arcona Cambridge, BBC Wildlife Funds, Darwin Initiative, Wildfowl Wetland Trust (WWT), World Wildlife Funds (WWF), Tropical Rainforest Foundation (TRP), Green Lotus, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and People Resource and Conservation Foundation (PRCF). BANCA also worked with Government Ministries like the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry (MOECAF), Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Rural Development (MLFRD), Myanmar. BANCA is also looking forward to seeing more close collaboration with other international scientific organizations and local environmental NGOs
BANCA has been in partnership with the BirdLife International in implementing the project called "Building Constituencies for Site Based Conservation in Myanmar", which aims at identifying networks of important bird areas in the Eastern Himalayas Endemic Bird Area and the Sundaic Lowlands Secondary Area. In addition the project aims to promote community-based approaches to the conservation of selected sites. [1]
BANCA is one of the leading conservation organization for the conservation of several threatened bird species such as Gurney's pitta Hydrornis gurneyi, Spoon-billed sandpiper Calidris pygmaea, Baer's pochard Aythya baeri, Vulture and Helmeted hornbill Rhinoplax vigil in Myanmar collaboration with local communities. [4]
BANCA supported Myanmar Forest Department for the designation of the Gulf of Mottama Ramsar site (161,030 ha) in 2017 [5] and The Nantha Island and Mayyu Estuaries Ramsar site (3,608 hectares) in 2020. [6]
In 2004 BANCA published an ornithology monograph Birds of Myanmar written by Kyaw Nyunt Lwin and Khin Ma Ma Thwin.
In 2009 BANCA carried out biodiversity impact assessments for Htamanthi hydropower and multipurpose dam project and Myitsone hydropower project. [7] [8] [9]
The unusual snub-nosed monkey found in the Maw River area of northeastern Kachin state in northern Burma was studied in 2010 by a research team led by Swiss primatologist Thomas Geissman and Ngwe Lwin of BANCA. The monkey was identified in 2010 as a new species Rhinopithecus strykeri . The monkey is a critically threatened species. [10] It is known in local dialects of Lisu people as mey nwoah and Law Waw people as myuk na tok te, both of which mean "monkey with an upturned face". It is for this special facial structure that it is known to sneeze when it rains, which earns it a more popular epithet "the sneezing monkey". [11] The discovery was heralded as one of the Top 10 New Species 2012 by the International Institute for Species Exploration. [12] In 2012 it was also listed at no 9 of the Top 10 weirdest new species by the Chinese news portal, China.org.cn. [13] The team leader Ngwe Lwin and chairman Tony Htin Hla were also involved in the establishment of the phylogenetic relationship of the new monkey with other Asian monkeys. [14]
Gurney's pitta is a medium-sized passerine bird. It breeds in the Malay Peninsula, with populations mainly in Myanmar. The common name and Latin binomial commemorate the British banker and amateur ornithologist John Henry Gurney (1819-1890). Its diet consists of slugs, insects, and earthworms.
Snub-nosed monkeys are a group of Old World monkeys and make up the entirety of the genus Rhinopithecus. The genus is rare and not fully researched. Some taxonomists group snub-nosed monkeys together with the genus Pygathrix.
Indawgyi Lake is one of the largest inland lakes in Southeast Asia. It is located in Mohnyin Township in the Kachin State of Myanmar. The lake measures 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) east to west, and 24 kilometres (15 mi) north to south. There are over 20 villages around the lake. The predominant ethnic groups living in the surroundings of the lake are the Shan and the Kachin, who mainly practise agriculture. The lake is 546 feet (166 m) above sea level and is the main feature of the Indawgyi Lake Wildlife Sanctuary.
Fauna & Flora is an international nature conservation charity and non-governmental organization dedicated to protecting the planet's threatened wildlife and habitats. As the world’s first international conservation charity, Fauna & Flora has been shaping best practice in community-focused conservation for over 120 years. Today, the charity works closely with local conservation partners in almost 50 countries to protect habitats, revive the ocean, reduce extinctions, stop illegal wildlife trade, combat climate change and influence global policy and corporate sustainability.
The black-and-white snub-nosed monkey, also known as the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey, is a large black and white primate that lives only in the southern Chinese province of Yunnan, where it is known to the locals as the Yunnan golden hair monkey and the black-and-white snub-nosed monkey (黑白仰鼻猴). The common name, black snub-nosed monkey, is issued to Rhinopithecus strykeri, inhabiting the Northern Sino-Myanmar border. Coniferous and deciduous forests in the mountainous regions of Yunnan are the ideal terrain for these primates. It is threatened by habitat loss, and is considered an endangered species. With their unique adaptations to their environment, these monkeys thrive at extreme altitudes despite the below freezing temperatures and thin air. This primate's diet is mainly made up of the large amounts of lichens available in their region.
The gray snub-nosed monkey, also known as Brelich's snub-nosed monkey, Guizhou snub-nosed monkey, and Guizhou golden monkey, is a species of primate in the family Cercopithecidae. It is endemic to China, where it is known as the Guizhou golden hair monkey (黔金丝猴) or gray golden hair monkey (灰金丝猴). It is threatened by habitat loss. Of the three species of snub-nosed monkeys in China, the gray snub-nosed monkey is the most threatened, with a total population thought to number fewer than 400 individuals.
The golden snub-nosed monkey is an Old World monkey in the subfamily Colobinae. It is endemic to a small area in temperate, mountainous forests of central and Southwest China. They inhabit these mountainous forests of Southwestern China at elevations of 1,500–3,400 m (4,900–11,200 ft) above sea level. The Chinese name is Sichuan golden hair monkey (四川金丝猴). It is also widely referred to as the Sichuan snub-nosed monkey. Of the three species of snub-nosed monkeys in China, the golden snub-nosed monkey is the most widely distributed throughout China.
The Tonkin snub-nosed monkey or Dollman's snub-nosed monkey is a slender-bodied arboreal Old World monkey, endemic to northern Vietnam. It has black and white fur, a pink nose and lips, and blue patches around the eyes. It is found at elevations from 200 to 1,200 m on fragmentary patches of forest on craggy limestone areas. First described in 1912, the monkey was rediscovered in 1989 but is exceedingly rare. Out of the five snub-nosed monkey species in the world, the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey is the rarest. In 2008, fewer than 250 individuals were thought to exist, and the species was the subject of intense conservation effort. The main threats faced by these monkeys are habitat loss and hunting, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated the species as "critically endangered".
Hkakaborazi National Park is a national park in northern Myanmar with an area of 1,472 sq mi (3,810 km2). It was established in 1998. It surrounds Hkakabo Razi, the highest mountain in the country.
Indawgyi Lake Wildlife Sanctuary is a biosphere reserve in Myanmar, covering 814.99 km2 (314.67 sq mi). It ranges in elevation from 105–1,400 m (344–4,593 ft) encompassing the surroundings of Indawgyi Lake in Mohnyin Township, Kachin State. It was gazetted in 2004, is recognized as an Important Bird Area and as one of the ASEAN Heritage Parks. An area of 478.84 km2 (184.88 sq mi) comprising the lake and the surrounding lowland is a Ramsar site since February 2016.
The Myitsone Dam is a large dam and hydroelectric power development project which was planned to be built in northern Myanmar. The proposed construction site is at the confluence of the Mali and N’mai rivers and the source of the Irawaddy River. As of 2017 the project is suspended, but China has been lobbying to revive the dam.
The Myanmar snub-nosed monkey or Burmese snub-nosed monkey or black snub-nosed monkey is a critically endangered species of colobine monkey discovered in 2010 in northern Burma (Myanmar). It was formally described as a novel species of primate in 2011 based on its fur, beard and tail. Two groups of the species were discovered in China in 2011 and 2015, respectively.
Jon Lloyd Stryker is an American architect, philanthropist, and billionaire heir to the Stryker Corporation medical technology company fortune.
The Lampi Island Marine National Park is a marine national park in Myanmar covering 79.09 sq mi (204.8 km2). It was established in 1996. It encompasses Lanbi Island and several smaller islands in the Mergui Archipelago, comprising coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves, sand dunes and tropical evergreen forest up to an elevation of 1,493 ft (455 m). The national park is an Important Bird Area and one of the ASEAN Heritage Parks. The characteristics of the Marine National Park are the tropical evergreen rainforest, the vast coral reef systems that protect a wide range of aquatic ecosystems, and significant biodiversity in this area. Access is restricted to daytime visits.
People Resources and Conservation Foundation (PRCF) is an international non-governmental organization that helps local people in developing countries protect their natural environment. Its headquarters are in the United States but its conservation fieldwork is carried out in a number of Southeast Asian countries. PRCF has joined collaborative research projects on new animal species in Southeast Asia, such as the Myanmar/Burmese snub-nosed monkey. The organization also sets up programs to help native cultures retain their cultural identity through projects such as basket and fabric weaving.
The Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve (GNNR) is a protected area comprising the Gaoligong Mountains and the nearby Nu Jiang Reserve in the western Yunnan Province of China, near the international border with Burma. It covers a vast stretch of the junction of Baoshan City, Tengchong, and Lushui County, towards the west side of Nu (Salween) River.
Naw Ohn Hla is a Karen democracy activist, politician, human rights defender, environmental rights and land rights activist for decades. She has been active in campaigning against the Letpadaung mining project in northern Myanmar. Naw Ohn Hla is the general secretary of United Nationalities Democracy Party (UNDP).
Pyin-O-Lwin Bird Sanctuary is a protected area in Myanmar's Pyinoolwin Township in Mandalay Region covering an area of 127.25 km2 (49.13 sq mi). It was gazetted in 1918 and spans an elevation of 975–1,210 m (3,199–3,970 ft). It is one of four protected wetlands.
Imawbum National Park, also known as Emawbum National Park, is a national park in northern Myanmar. The park was designated in 2020, and covers an area of 149,103 acres (603.40 km2). It is located in eastern Kachin State, and on the east it adjoins the border with China.