MyCClimate
Community Responses to Climate Change in Highland Asia
Understanding local perceptions and adaptation strategies in border communities
About the Project
The Highland Institute is part of a research team conducting academic training and ethnographic research in areas along the Northeast India-Myanmar border, studying perceptions and impacts of climate change linked to natural resource use and environmental concerns within border communities.
Funded by the Danish Institute for International Studies, the MyCClimate project explores community-driven strategies addressing climate impacts on local livelihoods and ecosystems in Highland Asia, emphasizing resilience, adaptation, and indigenous environmental knowledge.
The overall objective is to strengthen academic and policy understandings of the linkages between climate change actions and conflict dynamics in Myanmar's ethnic border regions and build research capacity that contributes to sustainable peace and development.
Research Focus Areas
Ethnographic research in India-Myanmar border regions examining climate perceptions in conflict-affected areas
How local communities view and adapt to climate change through traditional and innovative practices
Environmental conservation, extraction, land use patterns, and pollution in highland ecosystems
Documentation of traditional land management systems and their role in climate resilience
Project Partners
Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Project Coordinator & Funding Organization
Regional Centre for Social Science (RCSD)
Chiang Mai University, Thailand
Nyan Corridor
Myanmar Research Partner
The Highland Institute
Northeast India Research Hub
Research Methodology
The MyCClimate project combines innovative research approaches to capture the complex relationships between climate change, conflict, and community resilience:
- Digital Ethnographic Methods: Online community engagement and remote data collection
- In Situ Fieldwork: Ground-level research in border communities
- Local Collaboration: Partnership with indigenous researchers and organizations
- Capacity Building: Academic training for early-career researchers from the region
Featured Publication
The MyCClimate project produces new empirical knowledge on how state actors, civil society organizations, and political movements across Myanmar's border regions address climate change and the interlinked fields of environmental conservation and sustainable development.
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