This project focuses on the conservation and sustainable use of the marine, coastal and terrestrial resources of Tanintharyi Region, the southernmost region of Myanmar. The region is of outstanding significance for biodiversity conservation - approximately 20% of Myanmar's Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) are in Tanintharyi, grouped under the Tanintharyi Range and Tanintharyi Marine Corridors. The region includes the largest areas of lowland wet evergreen forest remaining in the lndo-Myanmar Hotspot, some of the largest blocks of mangrove forest in mainland SE Asia, and some 800 islands and diverse marine ecosystems of the Myeik Archipelago in the Andaman Sea Marine Ecoregion. The project embraces all of these ecosystems, through connected land and seascapes that cover key portions of the Tanintharyi Range, Aukland Bay mangroves and coastal waters, and marine ecosystems from Thayawthatangyi Island group in the north to Langann Islands in the south. It will demonstrate community based natural resource management, participatory conservation area management and integrated land use planning and management in line with a ridge to reef approach that connects terrestrial, coastal and marine resource management. 

The first part of this complaint concerns the violation of indigenous communities’ right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) in the development and inception phases of this project. The second section addresses the risks posed to the rights of refugees and IDPs to safely and voluntarily return to their lands. The complaint then focuses on the risks posed by the Ridge to Reef project on the land and resource rights of indigenous communities. The final section covers existing conservation initiatives that are being led by indigenous communities that stand as an alternative vision for conservation in Tanintharyi Region.