Collaboration

Participatory forest inventories only work if there is real collaboration between all parties. As shown above, Myint Myint Oo (WCS) records the data (flawlessly) while Myint Thein (Forest Department) takes a compass bearing (flawlessly, see Nam Sa Bi VMA). Collaboration doesn't get any better than this (thx, guys). [NOTE: The hats say it all].

Homalin Sunset

Late afternoon, looking out over the Chindwin River in Homalin. [NOTE: Image taken from the window of my room in the Yati Hotel. Electricity a few hours each night, a (cold) shower, and a thermos of hot water for tea. Seemed palatial relative to previous accomodations (see Basecamp)].

Looking Back

Young monk in Homalin (see Roadwork) turns back to assess the blue-eyed, bearded stranger during his morning alms rounds.

Great Truck

Posted without comment. Another classic truck (see That Truck) from northern Myanmar. This beautiful specimen parked in front of the Htamanthi WS Forward Station in Htamanthi, Sagaing Region.

Transect Treefall

So, you're halfway through the transect and you've forded the stream and scrambled up a steep slope and you're finally on a little flat (and dry) spot and you think that everything is going to be a little easier for a while - and then you see that the transect line goes straight over a treefall and that the tree is the size of a railroad car. Gulp. [NOTE: The crew hopped right over the treefall; I walked around it].

Tiger Tracks

After we finished the first transect in the VMA, we went down to a little sandy beach along the stream to have our (late) lunch. The following day, after finishing transect two, we decided to go back to that same sandy beach for (an even later) lunch. And that's when the guys saw the tiger tracks. Fresh, from the night before. Tigers in the Village Management Area. Wow. [NOTE: Have never really wanted to meet a tiger in the forest (Yikes!), but I am honored to have seen their tracks and shared a space with them].

Basecamp

This is what basecamp at the Nam Sa Bi VMA (see Nam Sa Bi VMA) looked like. Surprisingly comfortable; constructed on site using local bamboo. Light bulbs powered by a battery charged each day by a small solar panel. That's my yellow duffel (see Duffel Bag) at the last spot on the rightside sleeping platform. Home away from home.

Nam Sa Bi VMA

U Myint Thein from the Myanmar Forest Department shoots a compass line as we lay out out a 100 hectare Village Management Area (VMA) in the forests east of Nam Sa Bi. Extremely steep and rugged terrain and running the baseline was tedious at best. I took a GPS reading at both the first and last stake, and Myint Thein's accumulated error after 2.0 kilometers - across slopes in excess of 100% - was about 8 meters. Really. [NOTE: This is unbelievable precision for a transect rope and hand compass].