Change of
Rural Society and Local Agro-ecological Knowledge in Myanmar
Date: 16 March
2004 - 17 March 2004
Place:
SEAMEO-CHAT
Introduction
Rural Development
Programs in terms of society and production have been required for the rural
people, especially, in developing countries in Asia
for materializing their development or modernization. The social reconstruction programs
have been largely implemented under the International Cooperation since 1950s
just after the Second World War.
The modernization or westernization was unconditionally believed to
up-grade the livelihood of rural peoples rapidly. However, in 1980s, as the imitation of
resources and the unexpected minas-effect for rural societies has appeared
clearly in the world, the paradigm of rural development has been shifted
unlimited progress dream given by the state government to the sustainable
development based on the peoplesf participation. Before 1980s, in the paradigm of rural
development, the people would see the only futuresf themselves and forget the
existence as continuation in a history.
This paradigm learned toward the economic development. The alternative paradigm is that a historical
perspective is important to integrated and holistic development by employing
the wisdom and knowledge ingerited among rural peoples to maintain social
systems, resource management and production technologies etc. It would be noticed that Myanmar has
an advantage in preparing the alternative rural development program based on
her own rural social systems and resources management.
In this
connection the joint study project with a historical perspective on the Historical
Development of Rural Societies and Villagerfs Livelihood in Myanmar -from
Tradition to Modernity- is much required as a basic academic exercise. SEAMEO-CHAT and CSEAS (Center for
Southeast Asian Studies), Kyoto University has accordingly started the first
phase of the above joint study project since 2000 in closed collaboration
with University of Yangon, University Historical Research Center and ASAFAS
(Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies), Kyoto University. We have employed the village-based
field research with integrating the natural and human science. The Gwa Township,
Rakhine state was selected main field site because of its remoteness and
cultural and ecological complexity.
The other sites including Bago etc. are studied especially for
Forestry Livelihood. We have
aimed the following three main objectives to understand how rural people can
live with continuity of their tradition, culture and history under changing
rural socio-economic circumstances.
(1) To
understand the holistic rural livelihood in the context of historical
perspective of introduction of modernization initiated under British
colonization and its effect at the present.
(2) To make a
set of database for locally available wisdom and knowledge in social management
and rural resource in the traditional life style of rural peoples.
(3) To
identify the potential of a rural history as one of tools of designing the
rural development program.
We would like
to discuss about our interim findings with the participants from the relevant
Government Officials, Scholars in Myanmar,
Japan
and SEAMEO Member Countries and also believe the outcome of the workshop will
contribute to build the Myanmar Approach of Rural Development as an
alternative paradigm.
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