Myanmar is a member state of the CITES MIKE programme. This project aims to build institutional capacity within the Myanmar Nature & Wildlife Conservation Division of the Department of Forestry to improve the long-term management of the elephant populations within Myanmar.

Before this monitoring can be started, the relevant patrol officers from the MIKE sites need to be taught the necessary skills and given the appropriate equipment for them to competently and continuously monitor the law enforcement efforts made in these areas. Such skills are map and compass navigation skills, use of the GPS, and field record taking using approved MIKE forms. This training will improve officers’ ability to monitor elephant populations, improve detection of changes in levels of illegal killing and to use this information to provide more effective law enforcement in the field. This training will also lead to systematic recording and reduction of human/elephant conflict.

The first Law Enforcement Monitoring training in Myanmar took place in November 2005 and it was a great success. It was so successful that the Government asked for the training to be given again in the Hyuakong Valley in the far north and it was particularly satisfying because some officers that were trained on the first course were able to act as instructors on the second one.

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