12 Feb, 2026 – Indigenous communities lead first-ever assessment of fish biodiversity in Salween Peace Park A pioneering study to document fish biodiversity and local fisheries management in the Bweloklo (Yuzalin) River, located within the Salween Peace Park in Karen State, Myanmar, was conducted from June 2023 – May 2025. Led by Indigenous women researchers from the Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN), the research represents the first systematic fish survey ever conducted in the upper Bweloklo River and its tributaries.
For Indigenous Karen communities, the Bweloklo River is more than a source of food. It holds deep cultural and spiritual significance and is governed through customary rules that reflect long-standing relationships between communities and their environment. However, due to ongoing conflict in the region, it’s rich ecological biodiversity and cultural heritage has remained undocumented.
Working in close collaboration with local leaders, elders, fishers, women and youth, the KESAN research team combined Western scientific identification methods with Indigenous Karen ecological knowledge, an approach increasingly recognised as essential for effective and equitable conservation. The research was supported by IUCN’s Building River Dialogue and Governance (BRIDGE) project, which aims to build water governance capacities through learning, demonstration, leadership, and consensus building, in transboundary river basins.
Over the course of the project, researchers surveyed seven streams, two lakes and one paddy field. The study recorded 46 fish species, including four species previously not documented in science, revealing high levels of biodiversity. These findings imply that the Bweloklo basin remains relatively intact and ecologically diverse, despite growing concerns among communities about declining fish populations and environmental pressures.
