The Gulf of Mottama is an area that extends along the Sittaung River in Mon State, Bago Region, and Yangon Region. It is home to a variety of aquatic resources such as fish, crabs, snails, and marine mammals, as well as sea turtles, mangroves, whales, dolphins, and shorebirds. The Gulf supports up to 150,000 migratory waterbirds in the non-breeding season including Critically Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea), hosting probably more than half of the remaining global population. It also hosts internationally important species in which it regularly supports at least 1% of the individuals of the population of seven waterbird species. Recognizing its ecological significance, the Gulf was designated as Ramsar Site in Kyaik Hto and Bilin Townships in Mon State in 2017 and later extended to include Thaton and Paung Townships in Mon State and Kawa and Thanatpin Townships in Bago Region, thus, the Ramsar Site is now has a total area of 161,030 hectares.

The Gulf of Mottama is crucial habitats for numerous species and also plays a vital role for fishers and aquatic activities that hold economic significance for local communities. However, these resources of the Gulf are facing the risk of overfishing due to the use of illegal fishing nets, and catching birds by using poisons and nets, that are potentially leading to the extinction of various species. Moreover, the wetlands areas are threatened by extensive use of pesticide for agriculture, agricultural encroachment and unsustainable water extraction from industries.

Therefore, in order to address these challenges Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association (BANCA) led the reforming Local Conservation Groups (LCGs) in collaboration with Helvetas Myanmar - Gulf of Mottama Project in Mon State and Bago Region in 2023. At this time, the training sessions for the limited members of LCGs were arranged in both Mon State in December 2023 and Bago Region in January 2024 respectively. These sessions covered fundamental conservation topics and the systemic implementation of conservation activities. After the training sessions, the selected participants engaged the activity for coaching on waterbirds survey and SMART monitoring in the Gulf of Mottama from December 2023 to February 2024.