Saw O Moo (1975 – 5 April 2018) was a

Karen people The Karen ( ), also known as the Kayin, are an ethnolinguistic group of peoples who speak Karenic languages and are indigenous to southern and southeastern Myanmar, including the Irrawaddy Delta, Irrawaddy delta and Kayin State. The Karen ac ...

activist in the Mutraw District of

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

who worked as an indigenous wildlife researcher, took on the role of a Luthaw Paw Day community forest coordinator, and actively advocated for Karen people land rights by campaigning for a number of years to establish a Karen people managed and Karen people governed 5,400 km² Indigenous and Community Conservation Area in the

Salween River The Salween is a Southeast Asian river, about long, flowing from the Tibetan Plateau south into the Andaman Sea. The Salween flows primarily within southwest China and eastern Myanmar, with a short section forming the border of Myanmar and Tha ...

basin."Indigenous environmental activist killed in Burma" asian Correspondent, 13 April 2018
/ref>"Indigenous environmental campaigner killed by Myanmar government" The Guardian (Australian Edition), 14 April 2018
/ref> Saw O Moo was born in 1975 at Ler Mu Plaw, Myanmar, where he married Naw Paw Tha, had 7 children, and since 2006 has partnered with the Karen Environmental and Social Action Network"A Tribute to Saw O Moo" KESAN website, 9 April 2018
/ref> to establish a Karen people managed and governed Salween Peace Park including remnant old growth forests, plus habitats of

Asiatic black bear The Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), also known as the Asiatic black bear, moon bear and white-chested bear, is a medium-sized bear species native to Asia that is largely adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. It is distributed from southeast ...

and

Sunda pangolin The Sunda pangolin (''Manis javanica''), also known as the Malayan or Javan pangolin, is a species of pangolin. It is a member of the Manidae family. Its English name comes from the Malay name "pëngulin", which means "roller". It is native to S ...

s threatened by mercury pollution from goldmines and the Hat Gyi hydroelectric project In August 2017 he assisted launch a documentary at Yangoon for World Indigenous Peoples Day. In October 2017 he travelled with 12 other Karen leaders to the Philippines to learn about Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs), and by December 2017 he was publicly promoting the proposed Salween Peace Park quoted as saying "For us as Indigenous people, the Salween Peace Park represents our deepest desires and needs," Saw O Moon died at Wah Klo Hat, Myanmar where he was reportedly shot by the Myanmar military who presumed him to be a plain clothes soldier with the

Karen National Liberation Army The Karen National Liberation Army (; abbreviated KNLA) is the military branch of the Karen National Union (KNU), which campaigns for the self-determination of the Karen people of Myanmar (formerly Burma). The KNLA has been fighting the Burmes ...

The Salween Peace Park and Saw O Moo received the 2018 th
Paul K. Feyerabend Award-- a World of Solidarity is Possible

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moo, Saw O 1975 births 2018 deaths Indigenous activists of Asia Burmese Karen people Deaths by firearm in Myanmar People from Kayin State