Kachin state's NDA-K region to get park for rare monkey

A photo a snub-norsed monkey in northern Kachin state, Myanmar. Photo: AFP

Fauna & Flora International (FFI), a British environmental organization, has announced that it is moving forward with plans to establish a nature reserve in northern Kachin state to protect the Myanmar snub-nosed monkey which was discovered by FFI researchers in 2010.

In an article posted on the FFI website the group says it is working with the Burmese government’s Forest Department to conduct field work that will “finalise the biological justification for the gazettement of a new National Park, known as Imawbum National Park, and are consulting local communities on boundary delineation.”

The park will be established in an area that has long been the fiefdom of the pro-government New Democratic Army Kachin (NDA-K) and its colorful leader Zahkung Ting Ying (also spelled Za Khun Ting Ring).

According to FFI the Myanmar snub-nosed monkey is listed as Critically Endangered with an estimated 260 to 330 of the monkey's thought to be still living in the wild. In the FFI website article, Frank Momberg, the group's Burma Programme Director heralded recently recorded video footage showing the rare species. “The video footage is evidence to the continued presence of this threatened species and gives us a first glimpse into the social organisation of the Myanmar snub-nosed monkey,” he said.

“From this footage we are able to determine that they clearly live in large groups, unlike other leaf-eating monkeys that have been shown to live in smaller family units. This means their social organisation and behaviour is similar to other snub-nosed monkeys, which sets the entire genus apart from other leaf monkeys. It also means that larger groups require large home ranges and larger areas of contiguous forest need to be protected to ensure the survival of the species” Momberg added.

According to a lengthy article published last month in the Hong Kong based South China Morning Post, FFI claims that the NDA-K “is supportive of its conservation aims”. (Unfortunately the article's author Vincent Mac Isaac incorrectly referred to the group as the non-existent “NDKA”). Zahkung Ting Ying, who currently serves as a member of parliament, is not particularly known for his dedication to environmental protection.

Over the past 20 years Tin Ying is believed to have profited immensely from mining and logging concessions deals involving the Chinese business interests operating in NDA-K territory. Ting Ying's large wealth and his reluctance to share the spoils amongst his colleagues was reportedly the cause of long simmering tensions in the NDA-K and several unsuccessful but violent attempts to oust Ting Ying as the head of the group. This includes a December 2004 assassination attempt involving his car and a September 2005 full scale mutiny led by his deputy Layawk Zelum.

According to a report on Kachin state's destructive timber trade by the UK NGO Global Witness Ting Ying's difficulties with his NDA-K colleagues were exacerbated by arguments over the profits from the Htang Shanghkawng molybdenum mine, a mineral used in the production of steel alloys.

The NDAK was the successor to a Kachin Independence Organization unit led by Ting Ying's that broke-away in 1968 to join forces with the Communist Party of Burma (CPB). In 1989 following the complete collapse of the (CPB), Ting Ying with the support of troops under his command created the NDAK, quickly reaching a ceasefire with the central government.  The NDAK's deal with Burma's military regime resulted in the establishment of Kachin state Special Region No. 1 and enabled the group to profit from the cross border timber trade at Kambaiti and Pangwa during a period that saw the vast clear cutting of forests in Kachin state. Much of the NDAK territory remains bare of trees thanks to the massive level of timber cutting that took place on Ting Ying's watch.

In 2009 the NDAK's standing army of about 1,000 troops was officially absorbed by the Border Guard Force (BGF) and placed in BGF battalions 1001, 1002 and 1003. EX NDAK turned BGF forces frequently clashed with KIO troops in 2012 and early 2013. In 2012 Ting Ying publicly distributed weapons to his former forces who he appears to maintain a significant amount of influence over.

During the November 2010 election Ting Ying ran unopposed by any candidate from the military backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and easily defeated his only other opponent from the National Unity Party (NUP), another military backed party affiliated with the remnants of the Ne Win regime.