FRIENDS OF WILDLIFE was established in 2007 by a passionate group of people committed to wildlife conservation in partnership with local communities.  Our first field site was Chatthin Wildlife Sanctuary, where our founder, U Myint Aung, served as the sanctuary warden.  Chatthin is a haven for the endangered Eld’s Deer in the central dry zone of Myanmar, and U Myint Aung had a special interest in linking scientific research, protected area management, and community relations for the conservation of this majestic species. 

 

In 2005, he left the Nature and Wildlife Conservation Division of the government in order to found Friends of Wildlife as a non-profit, non-governmental organization.  Originally working in conjunction with the U.K. charity Indo-Myanmar Conservation, Friends of Wildlife was officially recognized by Myanmar's Ministry of Home Affairs in 2012 (registration #1968) and is a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). 

​

​

Friends of Wildlife has experience implementing conservation projects across Myanmar, and has contributed to the protection of many globally threatened and endangered species such as Asian elephant, gaur, star tortoise, and Eld's deer.  A cornerstone of this work has been collaboration with local communities through programs that support livelihood diversification, community forest establishment, increased land tenure security, and improved relations between communities and local government.

​

We aim to achieve our mission through approaches that include livelihood diversification, environmental education, community participation, research and monitoring of species for conservation, and public outreach.