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Time for an Action Plan for a Trash-Free Ngapali

18 May, 2017

The presentations from the workshop are available here together with the press release in English and Burmese.

Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB), Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) and Myanmar Responsible Tourism Institute (MRTI), co-hosted a second multistakeholder workshop on sustainable tourism in Ngapali from 8-9 May 2017.

It was attended by the Union Minister of Hotels and Tourism, H.E. U Ohn Maung, Rakhine State Ministers for Finance and Planning U Kyaw Aye Thein, and Minister for Development Affairs, U Min Aung, Thandwe MP U Win Naing, newly elected Chairman of Myanmar Hoteliers Association, U Aung Myo Min Din, and around 80 local stakeholders and tourism experts, including government officials, hotel owners and managers, restaurant and shop owners, fishermen, local villagers and environmental experts and other civil society organisations. H.E. U Ohn Maung who was visiting Ngapali as part of a four day visit to Southern Rakhine State, his first as Minister, gave the opening and closing speeches.

Workshop participants voted on their top concerns for tourism in Ngapali, as they had done in at the first multistakeholder workshop on tourism in Ngapali in 2016. Environment remained the top - and a growing - concern, selected by 35% of participants (up from 29% in 2016). Rising up the list to 2^nd place was lack of local participation in decision-making (16%). Solid waste management remained top of the environmental concerns, selected by 55% of participants (up from 34.5% in 2016), with sand mining in 2^nd place at 18% (23.5% in 2016, also 2^nd place).

Since waste management had also been identified by the Minister as the key challenge to be addressed before Ngapali’s runway could be extended to bring in more visitors, most of the workshop discussion focussed on this. Practical examples of addressing waste management were presented by U Saw Lwin, Chairman of Ngapali City Development Committee, who noted that last week the municipality had acquired a new 3 acre landfill site for all users. Local youth leader Phyo Maung Maung, talked about the community beach clean up after the recent cyclone. Phone Kyaw Moe Myint presented the Trash Heros trash clean-up network in Ngwesaung, Yangon, Mandalay and Pyin Oo Lwin, and Wendy Neampui explained the ChutChut plastic upcycling initiative. Both offered support to civil society in Ngapali looking to address the trash problem.

Participants identified ideas and personal and organisational commitments to reduce, reuse, recycle and collect waste in Ngapali to build an action plan for cleaning up Ngapali to complement the increased government efforts which the Minister had called for before Ngapali airport could proceed with expansion.

Other environmental issues such as combatting sandmining, including through social media, and mangrove deforestation were also discussed, along with guesthouse licensing, human resources development, planning and destination management. MRTI briefed on their ongoing study of the risks of child sexual exploitation, with support from UNICEF, and with the approval of the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.

The presentations from the workshop are available here together with the press release in English and Burmese.

In the Media: http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/business/25938-no-airport-extension-in-ngapali-until-trash-is-slashed.html - Myanmar Times, May 12, 2017