by
Khin Maung Nyunt
Assistant
Director (Planning)
Forest Department
Ministry of Forestry
Government
of the Union of Myanmar
1. Myanmar Forest Policy (1995)
2. Long Term Plan
3. Immediate/Short-Term Plan
3.1 Working Plan
3.2 Management Plan
3.3 Annual Plans
4. Constraints
5. Conclusiion
Forests have always been important to fulfil several obligations – environmental, social, economic, recreational needs in addition to the supply of forest products. To ensure this enormous role of forests to be dynamic, a comprehensive planning approach in the framework of a proper forest policy is essential. Although Myanmar has managed its forest resources for more than a century and a half on a sustainable basis, no policy on its own was promulgated up till 1994. The statements of forest policy laid down both for India and Myanmar in 1894 were the sole guiding principles for the Burma Forest Service (BFS). Along with regaining of independence in 1948 the BFS took overall control of the forest administrative mechanisms. The nature of different political and social settings called for a new forest policy for Myanmar.
In light of prevailing situations with respect to the changing extent of forest lands, deforestation, increasing demographic pressure, the change in the political economy of the nation and instigation of privatisation and free market economy, national duty has become incumbent upon the Myanmar Forest Department (MFD) to promulgate and adopt a forest policy. Consequently Myanmar Forest policy (1995) was formulated in line with the Forestry Principles and Guidelines adopted at the United Nations Conferences on Environment and Development (UNCED). In Myanmar, forestry (over 50% of the total land area) and agriculture (about 27%) are the two main sectors mainly engaged in management of land and land based resources.
The State, with a view to enhancing sustainable agriculture is making every effort including the reclamation of cultivable wasteland and fallow land, while measures are being taken to increase per unit yield. Because of vast areas of cultivable wasteland, it is possible to undertake land reclamation without affecting forest lands. However there still exists agricultural encroachment into forest land. About 151,420 ha of permanent agriculture is found to have been cultivated in forest lands. Intrusion on forest lands for agriculture is a common issue in Myanmar.
While agricultural land use is till manageable outside forest lands, Forest Department is in the process of increasing the existing permanent forest estate from the present status of about 18% to around 40% as stipulated in Myanmar Forest Policy, 1995.
The Policy has identified six imperatives, and they are:
PROTECTION of soil, water, wildlife, biodiversity and environment;
SUSTAINABILITY of forest resources to ensure perpetual supply of both tangible and intangible benefits accrued from the forests for the present and future generations;
BASIC NEEDS of the people for fuel, shelter, food and recreation;
EFFICIENCY to harness, in the socio-environmentally friendly manner, the full economic potential of the forest resources;
PARTICIPATION of the people in the conservation and utilization of the forests; and
PUBLIC AWARENESS about the vital role of the forests in the well being and socio-economic development of the nation.
The objective of the Myanmar Forest Policy, 1995 is to conserve and manage the forest through sustainable management and maintain its important roles in the national economy and preservation of environmental stability. The Policy stipulates that sustainable forest management (SFM) with the object of maximizing social and environmental benefits for the country and its population, restoring ecological balance and bio-diversity conservation as well as checking soil erosion need to be ensured. And the Forest Policy also states that shifting cultivation should be discouraged through adoption of improved farming practices which ensure better food production and a better quality of life for shifting cultivators.
Briefly the Myanmar Forest Policy aims at achieving the following objectives;
Land use
To evolve a system of balanced and complimentary land use under which land is only diverted to uses where it would produce most and deteriorate least.
Protection and Management
To extend existing areas under forest reserves and protected area system in order to ensure sustainable forest management
Forest regeneration and Afforestation
To pursue sound programme of forest development through regeneration and rehabilitation operations to optimise productivity from natural forests.
Inter-sectorial Co-ordination
To establish an adequate and effective co-ordination co-operation among all related sectors of the economy having influence on forestry including international agencies and institutions concerned with forestry development.
Institutional Strengthening
To strengthen the forestry institutions in qualitative and quantitative terms to meet the changing needs.
Budget and Finance
To maintain a level of funding and investment in the forestry sector, sufficient to achieve the goals and objectives of the National Forest Policy.
Peoples Participation and Public Awareness
To enlist people’s participation in the forestry sector development activities and also to create public awareness and mass motivation for protection and conservation of forests.
Forest Industry Marketing and Trade
To upgrade and diversify appropriate wood-based industries with determined capacities commensurate with the resource flow to achieve high level of efficiency and minimise waste of forest resources.
To promote the export of value added forest products and encourage use of under utilized species.
To secure a sizeable share of overseas wood product market through aggressive marketing including promotional measures.
Forest Research
To promote problem-oriented forestry/forest products and socioeconomic research to support sustainable forestry development
Forestry Planning
To initiate development planning for the forestry sector to achieve sustainable development in resource production, processing and marketing, biodiversity conservation and restoration of ecological balance.
In conformity with the policy stipulations, (1) long-term plan, (2) immediate or short-term plan and (3) annual plan need to be formulated to realize the goal of sustainable forest management.
Presently there is a lack of long term plan formulated based on land use capabilities, land carrying capacities, resource production, forest industries and marketing. The working system that is a strong and demanding unit ensuring linkage between the forestry sectors is needed to contribute effectively to the overall planning process of the government.
In 1991, the Myanmar Government submitted a request for FAO assistance to launch National Forest Programme (NFP). In 1999, the training workshop on National Forest Programme (NFP) was held in Yangon, Myanmar and trained the persons who are involved in National Forest Master Plan (NFMP) of Myanmar. NFMP is being drawn up for 30 years. A NFMP team has been developed, which is composed of 19 sub-teams as follows:
Forest Management
Natural Forest
Forest Plantations
Forest Protection
Conservation of Biological Diversity
Watershed Management
Forest Products and Services
Non Wood Forest Products
Home Gardens and Other Non Forest Tress Resources
Biomass Energy
Community Participatory Forestry
Timber Harvesting
Wood-based Industry
Pricing and Marketing
Policy, Legislation and Institutional Strengthening
Human Resources and Development
Forest Resources and Development
Forest Extension
Monitoring and evaluation
Now the National Forest Master Plan for 30 years is being prepared as a long-term plan and targeted to be finalized before the end of year 2000.
Forest sector development planning being undertaken with a 10-year perspective contains: programmes/projects and flexible targets; areas for sites to be protected; areas to be reforested; estimates of supply and demand of forest products; felling and regeneration programmes and other related management and conservation activities; research priorities and outline administrative arrangements and staff requirements for implementation of the plan together with estimates of costs and returns. Working plans for each forest division were drawn up and exercised starting from 1930s. Forest Management plan newly drawn up for each civil district for a medium term of 10 years superseded the terminated working plans.
4.1 Working Plan
The Forests of Myanmar have been sustainably managed since 1856 practising the silvicultural system formally formerly known as Brandis Selection System which was modified into Burma Selection System (BSS) or Myanmar Selection System (MSS).
The MSS which became already well established by the year 1920 has ever since been practised throughout the country. Management plans (in those days named working plans) were written for each forest division. The plans were revised and modified at the termination of the plan period of 10 years. The system involves adoption of felling cycles of 30 years, prescription of exploitable sizes of trees, girdling or marking of exploitable tree, girdling of defective or deteriorating marketable teak trees, thinning of congested teak stands, removal of other trees interfering with the growth of both young and old teak, enumeration of trees left, doing special silvicultural operations in bamboo flowering areas, and fixing annual yield based on the Brandis formula.
Under the MSS, a Felling Series is divided into 30 blocks of approximately equal yield capacity. Each year, selection felling is carried out in one of these blocks and the whole forest is therefore worked over during the felling cycle of 30 years. When felling becomes due, marketable trees which have attained a fixed exploitation diameter are selected for cutting. For teak the exploitable diameter limit varies with the type of the forest. In good (moist) teak forest, the diameter limit at breast height of 1.3 is 73 cm and in poor (dry) teak forest it is 63 cm. The fixed diameter limit for other hardwoods varies with the species. Although the size limit is fixed, selection for cutting is also based on silvicultural criteria.
Unhealthy trees that have not attained these exploitable sizes, but are marketable, are also selected for cutting if they are unlikely to survive through the subsequent felling cycle. If seed bearers are scarce, a few high quality stems of and above the exploitable size may be retained as seed trees. Trees left standing at the time of the selection are recorded, down to 39 cm in diameter for teak and 10 cm below the exploitable diameter for other species. This provide a reliable basis for calculating the future yield.
Trees of exploitable size are selectively marked within the bounds of the annual allowable cuts (AACs) carefully calculated for each Felling Series based on the principle of sustained yield management. The present AAC’s which have been calculated and fixed are 409,062 m3 for teak and 3,236,071 m3 for other hardwoods. Mature teak trees selected for exploitation are normally girdled and left standing for 3 years before being felled and extracted. This is to season the timber and to make it floatable as logs are, where possible transported by floating down rivers and streams. However, mature trees are sometimes felled and extracted green. The experience of 100 years or so with the MSS has manifested the systems sustainability and environmental friendliness.
Under MSS there are 14 forestry operations, which are routinely carried out by the Forest Department every year. They are; teak girdling, green teak selection, hardwoods selection marking, artificial regeneration, improvement felling, weeding, thinning, climber cutting, maintenance of forest roads, maintenance of reserve boundaries, maintenance of compartment boundaries, fire protection and forest reservation.
4.2 Management Plan
Due to several constraints, the working plans could not be revised and updated when they are terminated. In 1993, Forest Conservation and Management Committees at all administrative levels were formed to implement integrated forest land management to prevent and check land degradation, deforestation as well as to strengthen multi-sectorial planning, decision making and participation.
After about 3 decades of gap, the management plan for 62 civil districts covering the whole country were recently reformulated as substitution of working plans and updated based on sustainable forest management principles. The management plan has stipulated mainly that a system of balanced and complimentary land use under which land is only diverted to uses where it would produce most and deteriorate least. The population of Myanmar at present is around 48 million and expected to reach 50 million in the year 2000 and 102 million in 2150 (UNDP/FAO, 1991).
Nevertheless, the natural forests are shrinking gradually due to population pressure, domestic and industrial requirements. Under these conditions it is inevitable that plantation forestry has to be considered as part of remedy to the forest depletion and to fulfil some needs for special purposes.
Although forest resources are renewable by way of proper management and reforestation it may not be fast enough to carry out the task in time when its resources, at present, are declining rapidly. Silvicultural works such as improvement felling, climber cutting, nyaunbat felling and thinning etc. were carried out with increasing effort year after year in the natural as well as in plantation forests in the 1970’s and 1980’s. However, reform in forest management alone is no longer feasible for the future to ensure an adequate forest cover for water and soil conservation as well as production of timber and other forest produce so as to satisfy the nations requirement and for export. A drastic measure to counter the deterioration of forestry situation is to launch a plantation programme in the form of commercial, industrial, local supply and watershed plantations while taking an extra care to minimize the environmental degradation.
Plantation forestry in the past has been compensatory in nature, that is to supplement the natural regeneration of teak and a few commercially important tree species regarded as a subsidiary operation in the natural forests. This compensatory concept or natural forestry concept is introduced to the plantations by applying final heavy thinning in the plantation at the age of 40 years or so and regarding such plantation as a natural forest thereafter and the same treatment is given just as the other natural forest stands. In Myanmar Forest Policy (1995), it is stipulated that “recognize that plantation forestry is not a substitute for natural forest management. A combination of both should constitute the most efficient use of the forest resource base in the country”.
Today, Forest data for Forest Management Plan have to be related to the demographic, social, economic and environmental situation to a much greater extent than in the past. However, in Myanmar, there has been failure to generate a sound database. Although the available data are diverse, the actual data needed for effective recommendations are rather scanty and inadequate.
The main differences between those two types of plan (i.e. Working Plan a& Management Plan) are more favourable to public sector, more flexible for land tenure system and more concentrated on a market oriented economy. A major breakthrough in Myanmar Forestry was made in 1995 by issuing Community Forestry Instructions to promote and encourage people participation and decentralization in forest management. In Myanmar, all lands are owned by the State. According to the Community Forestry Instructions, 1995, community forestland could be granted to the community concerned for an initial period of 30 years, which is extendable on certain conditions.
To facilitate the development of a market oriented economy, the privatization Commission to oversee and ensure the successful implementation of the privatization process was formed in January 1995. In the forest sector, the Government is inviting foreign investments in downstream activities either in joint ventures or 100% investment, making agreements with Myanmar Timber Enterprise, the sole institution for harvesting, processing and marketing timber.
The format of plan contents is changed in line with the current status described above.
Annual Plan is not only the
simple and qualitative prediction based on past experiences but a temporary tool
to bridge the gap of sectorial planning. In the annual plan the formats are
already give to the concerned sectors and the data must be filled in. For
example to draw a plan for year 2000, the format is shown below;
Production of Forest Products
.................... State/Division Private Sector
|
Forest Product |
Unit |
1997 Actual |
1998 Provisional Actual |
1999 Provisional |
2000 |
|
1. Teak |
Cu. Ton |
||||
|
2. Hardwood |
Cu. Ton |
||||
|
3. Post |
Nos. |
166,780 |
129,850 |
170,000 |
172,000 |
|
4. Pole |
Nos. |
||||
|
5. Bamboo |
(Nos 000) |
The formats of reservation for
permanent forest estate, tending operations such as teak
girdling, selective felled marking for hardwood, artificial
regeneration (establishment of forest plantation), natural regeneration,
thinning and weeding of plantation etc. are similar to the format of forest
products.
Myanmar Forest Department is not ready to respond
interactively to many industrial and trade related issued that will arise by a
market-oriented economy, nor is it ready to be transformed into an effective
land management agency geared towards meeting the basic needs of the rural
poor.
It is pertinent to mention that production data is
meaningless if there is no demand for it and if it is not continuously adopted
in accord with the demand. This implies that there has to be a strong and
resourceful planning unit within the Forestry Department with the knowledge and
capability to influence data collection and to ensure that data are presented in
a useful way.
Lack of funds, lack of trained staff and lack of
expertise are the main obstacles to implement action plans successfully. This
can better be solved through international assistance and co-operation. The
implementation of forest policy and planning programmes should be adequately
funded and the mechanisms of funding support modified to ensure that
prescription and target envisaged in the forest policy are achieved. A policy
measure in this direction would be the establishment of a forest development
fund to be made operative outside the realms of the normal government budgetary
allocation procedures. Possibility should also be explored for increased
financial flows and technical assistance available from international agencies
for innovative activities capacity building, research, education and training.
Regarding community participation, indigenous people may
be reluctant to share the management responsibility because of centralized and
top-down approach practised in the past. Yet, extension and empowerment process
of the project will motivate local people to participate. Effective and
successful implementation of the policy would largely depend not only upon its
adoption by the government but also by it being understood and adopted by the
people. Massive information and extension campaigns should be organized to
promote tree and forest conservation consciousness among all concerned. The
focus of extension services and information campaign will need to include not
only the value of trees and forest in the day to day life but also to provide
information on meeting ones own need in an environmentally sustained way. The
potential of mass media in this respect should be fully exploited. Introduction
of elementary forestry in the curricula of primary and secondary schools needs
consideration.
Successful implementation of the forest policy will
require support of legislation of new strategies/approaches to forest protection
and management, which have been proposed. Accordingly, the existing legislation
need to be amended to provide credibility and consistency to policy goals and
objectives and rules and regulations prepared under the Act for policy
implementation.
In view of the fact that forest policy and programmes
are closely linked with those of agriculture, environment, energy, mining, trade
and industry, public works and social development, the government should
establish a binding consensus on policies. Thereafter each ministry under the
government should issue guidelines under its control to conform to policy
mandates. This may need some additional legislative measures to be adopted in
order to ensure that all government interventions remain structured to achieve
sustainable management of forests and restoration of ecological balance together
with environmental amelioration.
Challenges facing integrated land management still remain and they include, among others, inadequate inputs, low level of inter- and intra-agencies related to the utilization of land resources, the need for urgent economic returns and absence of comprehensive land use policy respected by all parties.
It needs to be recognized, that with a dynamic population, forest policy cannot remain static. Therefore, forest policy should be reviewed and revised periodically in light of the changing socio-economical environment as well as to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the strategies implemented in order to facilitate identification of future strategy options.
National forest management and inventory area covered by type of inventory
(1981-82 to 1999-2000)
|
Sr. No. |
Year |
Area |
Locality |
Type of inventory | |
|
ha |
Ac |
||||
|
1 |
1981-1982 |
768,000 |
1,897,728 |
Southern Rakhine |
Preinvestment |
|
2 |
1982-1983 |
2,129,000 |
5,260,759 |
Bago Yoma |
Preinvestment |
|
3 |
1983-1984 |
2,259,000 |
5,581,989 |
Mandalay & Ayeyarwady Division, Lower Chindwin |
Preinvestment |
|
4 |
1984-1985 |
2,514,000 |
6,212,094 |
Sagaing Division |
Preinvestment |
|
5 |
1985-1986 |
2,166,000 |
5,352,186 |
Magway Division & Pyay District |
Preinvestment |
|
6 |
1986-1987 |
829,400 195,400 6,630 |
2,049,447 482,833 16,383 |
Upper Chindwin Phyu Township & Myebon Township Kunchaung Reserve, Myebon Township |
Reconnaissance Management Special |
|
1986-87 (Subtotal) |
1,031,430 |
2,548,664 |
|||
|
7 |
1987-88 |
760,420 67,500 17,400 10,200 |
1,878,998 166,793 42,995 25,204 |
Southern Chin State Taikkyi Township Lonphawgyi Area Kawthang Township Maington Township |
Reconnaissance Management Special Special |
|
1987-88 (Subtotal) |
855,520 |
2,113,990 |
|||
|
8 |
1988-89 |
607,000 137,500 15,380 |
1,499,897 339,763 38,004 |
Ann Township Lewe Township Ma-e Chaung Areas, Ann Township |
Reconnaissance Management Special |
|
1988-89 (Subtotal) |
759,880 |
1,877,663 |
|||
|
9 |
1989-90 |
1,048,900 |
2,591,832 |
Shwebo District |
Management |
|
10 |
1990-91 |
47,100 |
116,384 |
Labutta Township |
Management |
|
11 |
1991-92 |
152,900 |
377,816 |
Saw Township |
Management |
|
12 |
1992-93 |
197,977 734,400 |
489,201 1,814,702 |
SEAL Company Concession Areas Bago Division (East) |
Special Preinvestment |
|
1992-93 (Subtotal) |
932,377 |
2,303,904 |
|||
|
13 |
1993-94 |
163,800 384,466 |
404,750 950,015 |
Paduang Township Taunggok Township |
Preinvestment Reconnaissance |
|
1993-94 (Subtotal) |
548,266 |
1,354,765 |
|||
|
14 |
1994-95 |
1,201,942 1,346,722 442,533 388,258 41,540 25,496 40,056 45,548 110,974 |
2,969,999 3,327,750 1,093,499 959,386 102,645 63,001 98,978 112,549 274,217 |
Mandalay Division Magway Division Bago Division (West) Kachin State Kawthaung Township Thabaung Township Pathein (West) Township Laymyetna Township Ngaputaw Township |
Preinvestment Preinvestment Preinvestment Preinvestment Preinvestment Preinvestment Preinvestment Preinvestment Preinvestment |
|
1994-95 (Subtotal) |
3,643,069 |
9,002,023 |
|||
|
15 |
1995-96 |
606,951 1,289,231 327,590 687,948 |
1,499,766 3,185,690 809,475 1,699,920 |
Shwebo District Katha District Monywa District Kyaukme District |
Preinvestment Preinvestment Preinvestment Preinvestment |
|
1995-96 (Subtotal) |
2,911,720 |
7,194,860 |
|||
|
16 |
1996-97 |
808,187 512,501 805,848 19,264 |
1,997,030 1,266,390 1,991,250 47,601 |
Myitkyina District & Bhamaw District Falam District Loilin District Oktwin Township |
Preinvestment Reconnaissance Preinvestment Management |
|
1996-97 (Subtotal) |
2,145,800 |
5,302,272 |
|||
|
17 |
1997-98 |
110,757 247,705 305,625 61,189 218,492 89,008 283,134 167,837 2,657,676 345,143 30,736 |
273,680 612,080 755,200 151,199 539,893 219,938 699,623 414,726 6,567,117 852,849 75,949 |
Mogaung Township Mohnyin Township Kamaing Township Mindat Township Kanpetht Township Paletwa Township Lawksawk Township Ywangan Township Nawnghkio Township Kyaukme Township Oktwin Township |
Preinvestment Preinvestment Preinvestment Reconnaissance Reconnaissance Reconnaissance Preinvestment Preinvestment Preinvestment Preinvestment Management |
|
1997-98 (Subtotal) |
4,517,302 |
11,162,254 |
|||
|
18 |
1998-99 |
127,479 201,234 328,713 307,770 323,250 95,609 56,455 13,658 |
315,000 497,250 812,250 760,500 798,750 236,250 139,500 33,750 |
Kale Township Kalewa Township Mingin Township Mawlaik Township Phaungpyin Township Tamu Township Kalaw Township Taunggyi Township |
Preinvestment Preinvestment Preinvestment Preinvestment Preinvestment Preinvestment Preinvestment Preinvestment |
|
1998-99 (Subtotal) |
1,454,168 |
3,593,250 |
|||
|
19 |
1999-2000 |
86,625 88,966 39,466 54,183 104,017 |
214,050 219,836 97,521 133,885 257,026 |
Homalin Township Khanti Township Myebon Township Minbya Township Ann Township |
Preinvestment Preinvestment Preinvestment Preinvestment Preinvestment |
|
1999-2000 Sub total |
373,257 |
922,318 |
|||
|
Grand Total |
30,257,689 |
74,766,750 |
|||
Forest Department
Ministry of
Forestry
Government of the Union of Myanmar
1. Forest Resource Information
2. Assessment of Forest Resources
2.1 Forest Inventory
2.2. Resource Monitoring Using Remote Sensing and GIS System
3. Forest Resources
3.1. Forest Cover
3.2. Natural Forest Resources
3.3. Major Forest Operations in Natural Forests
3.4. Forest Plantation
3.5. Production and Export of Timber
3.6. Non-wood Forest Products
3.7. Wildlife and Nature Conservation
4. Conclusion
Forest resources have been and are being degraded and depleted world-wide as a result of increasing human needs, agricultural expansion and expansion and environmentally harmful mismanagement. As development activities have intensified and expanding populations have spread onto increasingly marginal lands, problems of deforestation, soil degradation, wetlands drainage and diminished biological diversity have become paramount environmental concerns. Thus, there is an urgent need for adequate information bases from which appropriate resource management strategies and interventions can be derived. Over the past 20 years, new technology has increasingly been used in assessing forest resources, including microcomputers, long-distance surveys via low-or high-resolution satellite, and GIS and global positioning system (GPS). Against this background of global situation, country data, available in the form of statistical tables or maps, have been the main source of information for the developing country like Myanmar. Most of our data are not computerized. There is no comprehensive Database Management System it is necessary to establish a computerized database for easy storage, retrieval, analysis and updating of information. Our main source of data comes from forest inventory.
There are two government organizations dealing with forestry issues they are Forest Department and Myanmar Timber Enterprise. Forest Department is responsible for sustainable management of forests while Myanmar Timber Enterprise for timber harvesting timber industry and timber marketing Data relating to forest resources except timber harvesting and trade are held at the Forest Department.
Knowledge of the growing stock of forests by species and by girth classes is a prerequisite for the preparation of forest management plans. Forest management plans drawn on sound scientific lines are necessary to ensure sustainable development of our forests. At such, forest inventories using different methods have conducted since the dawn of scientific forestry management in 1856.
In order to systematically manage the Forests of Bago Yoma Dr. Brands started the survey in 1856 to estimate the growing stock of teak. From that linear survey he got the stock of teak by girth classes ad the management plan was drawn up. That was just a start to work the forests under proper management with the plan.
A Working plan Circle under a conservator can only be instituted in 1920. From 1920to 1930forest reserves had been formed. From 1931to 1935field works were suspended and working plan activities resumed in 1935to 1942.
Enumeration to determine the growing stock of trees was later carried out along with girdling of teak. Trees of 4"0" girth and up short the exploitable girth are counted at each girdling and that forms the basis of yield calculation. For trees other than teak similar procedure is used but those trees I foot below the exploitable girth are counted.
Until about 1963 enumeration on that basis was the normal procedure in the determination of the growing stock. Systematic sampling techniques with random sample plots were later used to inventory the growing stock of teak and non teak species and also the growth rate of trees were determined in later days.
A reliable and up-to-date resources database is of utmost importance in the preparation of proper plans for sustainable forest management. Large-scale forest inventories at the national level were initiated in 1981-82 under the "National Forest Survey ad Inventory Project" carried out with the assistance of UNDP/FAO. At the termination of the project in May 1986, the follow-up project, the second phase, the National Forest Management and inventory became operational for another five years. During the projects’ period, forest inventories have been conducted each year at three levels, pre-investment, reconnaissance, and management. Pre-investment level surveys with a sampling intensity of about 0.1%are conducted of commercially important forests, reconnaissance surveys with a sampling intensity of less than o.1% are carried out for areas of lesser commercial importance, management level surveys with a sampling intensity of 1% are made in other selected forest areas. More than 2,450 permanent sample plots were laid out on a square grid of 6kmx6km in 10 million ha of natural forests. Permanent sample plots are re-measured over 5-10 year periods to ensure continuous monitoring of the forests growth and status.
Since the termination of the project in 1993 the Government of Myanmar has been conducting forest inventory, covering about 2 million hectares each year, with its own resources, Some of the areas left out during the project are being surveyed depending on favourable security condition. This is in line with the statement made in the forest low (1992), in which forest resources data should be collected and collated every 10 years so as to obtain fresh data for planning purposes, A Five-year Plan of forest inventory has been drawn up to cover various States and Divisions, starting from 1996-97up to 2000-2001, so as to include all secured areas of the country. (Appendix 1 shows area covered by forest inventory from 1982-82 to 199-2000).
The design of inventory at the per-investment level is systematic sampling with plots located on a square grid of 3 km x 3km. As the basis for the continuous inventory was designed on Sampling with partial replacement (SPR), one quarter of the sampling units were made permanent on a grid of 6km x 6km. The sampling unit was L- shaped strip of 30m width and had an area of 1.05 ha.
The sampling design of the reconnaissance inventory was a stratified random cluster sampling. The systematic sampling design cannot be used in the mountainous and hilly regions due to steep slopes and difficult transportation. The cluster sampling design should be adopted in these regions. Based on the stand height and density of the forest, the inventory area was stratum. Generally, one cluster consists of five sample plots. The sampling design of the management inventory was exactly the same as that of the pre- investment level, except that it was more intensified with more information collected in each.
The inventory data are processed and analyzed at the initial stage. The stand and stock tables for the divisions/ states are generated and sampling errors are calculated during the later stages. The whole process is undertaken using a package of programmes written in Q-Basic programming language at the Forest Department Based on the national forestry inventory data collected the outputs regularly produced are stand Teak and other non- teak hardwoods, AAC Table of bamboo, and Forest Resources Data Book.
2.2 Resource Monitoring Using Remote Sensing and GIS System
Remote Sensing technology in the form of Aerial Photography was introduced in Myanmar as early as 1920s for forestry purposes and revision of topographic maps. Aerial photography continued to play an important role in topographic maps compilation and forest cover assessment and large parts of the country had been covered by aerial photography in two different periods 1950s and 1970s. No complete coverage for the whole country was acquired at any period.
Satellite Remote Sensing was first introduced in Myanmar in 1980 by FAO/UNEP project Landsat MSS images taken between 1972 and 1979 of 1:1,000.000 scale were provided for forest cover assessment for the whole country. Manual interpretation method was conducted and forest cover area of the whole country was assessed. The reference year for this appraisal was 1975.
The UNDP funded project BUR/79/011 "National Forest Survey and inventory project" (NFI) began in 1981 and during the project 50% of the country was covered by aerial photography and two sets of Landsat MSS imageries for the period 1974-1980 at 1:1000,000 and 1:250,000 were acquired. The follow up project (MYA/85/003)" National Forest Management and Inventory project" (NFMI) provided more funds to continue aerial photography and set of Landsat TM imagery for the period 1989-90 at 1:5000,000 scale was acquired and a countrywide landuse map was produced by visual interpretation. With the funds provided by the NFMI (MYA/85/003) project a OC based Are/info GIS was installed in July 1993. Several geographic databases and land use maps were produced on a pilot scale using the GIS system.
For the first time in Myanmar, a digital image processing system PCIEASI/PACI was installed at the Forest Department in early 1996. The system incorporated with the GIS system is used to produce land use maps The Myanmar Forest Department of the Ministry of Forestry has produce been a pioneer in the application of GIS system and has now become one of the major GIS users in Myanmar.
The FAO/UNDP project (MYA93/005) provided the Forest Department the first GPS units, Now several units of GPS are available at the Forest Department, They mainly used for locating of ground control points in the process of ground truthing in digital image processing.
International organizations mainly FAO/UNDP, have supported the capacity building of remote sensing and GIS infrastructure of the Forest Department by providing technical assistance as well as logistics.
A three-year information System Development Project (ISDP) with" The Forest Agency of the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries" was started in the fiscal year 1995-96 for management of tropical forests in Myanmar. During the project period, the Japan Forest Technical Association (JAFTA) acquired the most recent Thematic Mapper (TM) satellite data and conducted digital image processing in Japan with the assistance to of the staff of the Forest Department field inspection was carried out twice a year in Myanmar. Finally forest type maps and related data in the form of forest registers were produced and presented to the Myanmar Forest Department. After the termination of the three-year project, the project was extended for another one year and 5 more Landsat scenes were digitally classified in digital processing Landsat scenes, maps and forest data in the form of paper as well as in digital form have been provided to the Forest Department by the project (See Map showing Status of the satellite Digital scenes at the Forest Department).
3.1 Forest Cover
Already four appraisals have been made of the forest cover status of Myanmar. The third appraisal based on the analysis of the 1989 Landsat TM imageries has indicated that Myanmar is still endowed with one of the most extensive natural forest covers in the world 43% of its area is under closed forests and another 30% under woodlands.
The status of forest cover in 1989 is as given in Table-1.
Table 1. Forest Cover in Myanmar
|
Sr. No. |
Land Category |
Area (km2 |
Percent |
|
1. |
Closed forests |
293,269 |
43.34 |
|
2. |
Degraded forests |
50,968 |
7.53 |
|
3. |
Forests affected by shifting cultivation |
154.389 |
22.82 |
|
4. |
Water bodies |
13.327 |
2.01 |
|
5. |
Non-forest |
164.600 |
24.30 |
|
Total |
676.553 |
100.00 |
Source Forestry in Myanmar, 1999
The actual forest cover had decreased at an annual rate of 220,000 ha or 0.64% of the actual forested area during a period of 14 years from 1975 to 1989. According to the FAO publication "State of the World's Forests 1999", change in forest cover between 1990 and 1995 for Myanmar is estimated as 387,000 ha per year or -1.4%.
The latest appraisal of forest cover based on the satellite data available at the Forest Department for the FRA 2000 (Forest Resource Assessment for Year 2000) Project has been accomplished. The following Table 2 shows results of four forest cover assessments.
Table 2. Results of Four Successive Forest Cover Assessments of Myanmar
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
|
Assessment Year Percent of Forest Cover Actual Forest Areas (>40%)sqkm Lost in Forest Cover (sq.km) Interval (years) |
1955 57% 385635.2 |
1975 47.8% 323392.3 62242.9 20 |
1989 43.2% 292270.9 31121.4 14 |
1997 37.4% 252895.5 39375.4 8 |
|
Deforestation rate(ha/year) |
311214.38 |
222295.99 |
492192.31 | |
|
Deforestation rate (percent of total land) |
0.5 |
0.3 |
0.7 | |
|
Data Sources |
1:24000 1:20000 1:50000 Airphotos |
1:1,000,000 Landsat MSS Diapositives |
1:500000 Landsat TM Hardcopies |
1:250000 Landsat TM DIP 1:50000 ADEOS Hardcopies |
|
Overall 1955-97 changes |
13274.1 sq.km |
|||
|
Deforestation rate (ha/year) |
316049.2 |
3.2 Natural Forest Resources
Myanmar is rich in forest resources. Out of the 2088 big and small tree species, 85 species have been recognized and accepted as producing multiple-used timber of premium quality. Recorded number of vegetative species in natural forests of Myanmar are:
• 1,347 species of big trees;
• 741 species of small trees;
• 96 species of bamboos;
• 1,696 species of shrubs;
• 36 species of rattan; and
• 841 species of orchids.
Forest area of the country has been estimated by forest ecosystems as shown in Table-3
Table 3. Area by Types of Forest Ecosystems
|
Sr. No |
Forest Ecosystems |
Area (Hectares) |
% |
|
1. |
Tidal, beach and dune, and swamp forests |
1,376,900 |
4 |
|
2. |
Tropical evergreen forests |
5,507,800 |
16 |
|
3. |
Mixed deciduous forests |
13,425,300 |
39 |
|
4. |
Dry Forests |
3,442,400 |
10 |
|
5. |
Deciduous dipterocarp forest |
1,721,200 |
5 |
|
6. |
Hill and temperate evergreen forest |
8,950,100 |
26 |
|
Total |
34,423,700 |
100 |
Source: Kyaw Tint (1995)
The forest area my also be divided by type of vegetation and productivity as shown in Table-4.
Table 4. Forest Area by Type of Vegetation and Productivity
|
Sr. No. |
Type of vegetation |
Productive forest ('000 ha) |
Unproductive forest ('000 ha) |
Total ('000 ha) |
|
1. |
Closed broad-leaved |
20,655 |
11,908 |
32,563 |
|
2. |
Mangrove |
382 |
403 |
785 |
|
3. |
Bamboo |
963 |
- |
963 |
|
4. |
Conifers |
113 |
- |
113 |
|
Total |
22,113 |
12,311 |
34,424 |
Source: Forestry in Myanmar, 1999
The volume of growing stock of timber has been estimated as shown in Table-5
Table 5. Volume by Type of Vegetation and Productivity
|
Sr. No. |
Type of Vegetation |
Productive forest |
Unproductive forest |
Total | ||
|
Total(mil.m3) |
M3/ha |
Total(mil.m3) |
m3/ha |
mil.m3 | ||
|
1. |
Closed broad-leaved |
1,859 |
90.0 |
357 |
30 |
2,216 |
|
2. |
Mangrove |
12 |
30.6 |
4 |
10 |
16 |
|
3. |
Conifers |
16 |
141.6 |
- |
- |
16 |
|
Total |
1,887 |
361 |
2,248 | |||
Source: Forestry in Myanmar, 1999
The table shows that the forests in Myanmar contain some 2.2 billion cubic meters of standing growing stock of timber. Allowing a conservative growth rate of 1.5m3/ha/yr in the productive closed broad-leaved forest, the total annual growth could mount to about 31 million cubic meters.
The status of permanent forest estate (PFE) at the end of 1998 is as stated in Table 6. Forest reservation has also being expedited to reach a total coverage of 30% of the total land area by the year 2001.
Table 6. Permanent Forest Estate in Myanmar
|
Sr. No. |
Legal Classification |
Area ('000 ha) |
% of total land area |
|
1. |
Reserved forest |
10,401 |
15.40 |
|
2. |
Protected public forest |
166 |
0.25 |
|
3. |
Protected areas system |
1,368 |
2.02 |
|
Total |
11,935 |
17.67 |
Source: Forestry in Myanmar, 1999
3.3 Major Forest Operations in Natural Forests
With the view of sustainability of natural forests and production of forest produce in perpetuity, the department has accomplished following major forest operations below.
Table 7. Performance of Forest Conservation Works
|
Sr. No. |
Particulars |
Unit |
1997/98 |
1998/99 |
1999/2000 |
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
|
1. |
Teak Girdling/ Green Teak markings |
Tree |
118457 |
121024 |
120180 |
|
2. |
Selection felling markings |
Tree |
681351 |
415548 |
764000 |
|
3. |
Artificial regeneration |
Acre |
96950 |
71929 |
75896 |
|
4. |
Natural regeneration |
Acre |
31250 |
16776 |
26350 |
|
5. |
Improvement fellings |
Acre |
26451 |
10305 |
26850 |
|
6. |
Weedings |
Acre |
409152 |
362586 |
382887 |
|
7. |
Thinnings |
Acre |
60330 |
41124 |
74835 |
|
8. |
Climber cutting |
Acre |
254050 |
69485 |
281940 |
|
9. |
Repairs of forest road |
Mile |
1446 |
958 |
1530 |
|
10. |
Repairs of reserve boundary |
Mile |
1496.3 |
882 |
1590 |
|
11. |
Repairs of compartment boundary |
Mile |
1324 |
572 |
1410 |
|
12. |
Fire protection |
Acre |
338124 |
226211 |
322897 |
|
13. |
Forest Reservation |
Sq. mile |
318.26 |
4413.9 |
3753.43 |
3.4 Forest Plantation
Teak plantations using taungya (agro-forestry) method were first raised in 1856 but large-scale plantation work began in 1980 and more than 30,000 ha of forest plantations have annually been formed since 1984. The Special Teak Plantation programme, structured with a series of 8 consecutive phases was initiated and has been implemented since 1997.
Table 8. Forest Plantation by Type up to 1998
|
Sr. No. |
Type |
Area (Hectare) |
% |
|
1. |
Commercial |
353,511 |
55 |
|
2. |
Village supply |
182,843 |
28 |
|
3. |
Industrial |
49,222 |
8 |
|
4. |
Watershed |
58,446 |
9 |
|
Total |
644,022 |
100 | |
Source: Forestry In Myanmar, 1999
3.5 Production and Export of Timber
As seen in the Table 8, production of teak has been reducing gradually year by year with a view to improving the natural teak stock. Table 9 indicates that the share of forestry export earning in the national economy has declined due to the increase in foreign exchange earnings in other sectors.
Table 9. Production of Timber
|
Sr. No. |
Fiscal Year |
Teak |
Non-teak hardwoods |
|
1. |
1988-89 |
542,753 |
729,413 |
|
2. |
1989-90 |
574,204 |
710,904 |
|
3. |
1990-91 |
566,286 |
520,634 |
|
4. |
1991-92 |
474,499 |
766,038 |
|
5. |
1992-93 |
501,359 |
727,902 |
|
6. |
1993-94 |
473,304 |
801,988 |
|
7. |
1994-95 |
428,177 |
934,256 |
|
8. |
1995-96 |
428,176 |
1059,423 |
|
9. |
1996-97 |
417,354 |
1413,811 |
|
10. |
1997-98 |
410,539 |
1350,082 |
Source: Forestry in Myanmar, 1999
Table 10. Share of Forestry Sector in the National Export Earning
|
Sr. No. |
Fiscal Year |
Percent of forestry earning in total export earning |
|
1. |
1990-91 |
38.20% |
|
2. |
1991-92 |
32.17% |
|
3. |
1992-93 |
30.65% |
|
4. |
1993-94 |
32.09% |
|
5. |
1994-95 |
21.63% |
|
6. |
1995-96 |
19.25% |
|
7. |
1996-97 |
18.32% |
|
8. |
1997-98 |
13.91% |
Source: Forestry in Myanmar, 1999
3.6 Non-wood Forest Products
Apart from timber the forests in Myanmar also produce a variety of minor forest products, namely, bamboo, rattan, cutch, bat guano, edible birds' nest, thatch, orchids, etc. The Forest Department in accordance with the annual requirements and with the object of achieving sustained production also controls the annual production of these minor forest products. Bamboo grows abundantly throughout the country either mixed with tree species or in pure stands. Of the 96 known species of bamboo only about 13 species are considered commercially important so far.
Production of some selected minor forest products are shown in Table-11
Table 11. Production of Non-wood Forest Products (NWFP) (in thousand)
|
Sr. No. |
Particulars |
Unit |
1995-1996 |
1996-1997 |
1997-1998 |
|
1. |
Firewood |
Cu.ton |
17,926 |
17,672 |
17,950 |
|
2. |
Charcoal |
Cu.ton |
184 |
191 |
68 |
|
3. |
Bamboo |
No.(00) |
9,205 |
9,559 |
9,601 |
|
4. |
Rattan |
No.(00) |
1,014 |
776 |
405 |
|
5. |
Cutch |
Viss |
125 |
112 |
171 |
|
6. |
Thanakha1 |
Viss |
230 |
239 |
209 |
|
7. |
Thatch |
No.(00) |
9,016 |
7,739 |
7,764 |
|
8. |
Indwe2 |
Viss |
413 |
489 |
217 |
|
9. |
Pine resin |
viss |
- |
- |
20 |
Source: Forestry in Myanmar, 1999
1 Limonia accidissima,
Linn
2 Resin extracted from Dipterocarpus
spp., mainly used as filling.
3.7 Wildlife and Nature Conservation
Wildlife Resources
Recorded number of wildlife species in Myanmar natural forests are:
1,000 species of birds;
300 species of mammals;
400 species of reptiles and amphibians.
Protected Area Management
In Myanmar, the first game sanctuary, Pidaung Wildlife Sanctuary, was established in 1918 in northern part of the country. At present, 23 wildlife sanctuaries and 5 parks constituting about 2.20% of the total area of the country have been established. Although Myanmar's forest cover is still in good shape, the protected area percentage is the lowest in Asia. Thus, the short-term goal is to increase the coverage of the PAS to 5 percent with the long-term objective of increasing it up to 10 percent as envisaged in the Myanmar Forest Policy 1995.
To get fresh and adequate data, regular assessment and monitoring of forest resources are inevitable. They are indeed a pre-requisite for proper and effective planning and management of our natural resources. Our data are many but varied as the collection of data and information is being carried out on an ad hoc basis. Thus, we need a standardized comprehensive database management system. In order to achieve this goal we need to convince the policy maker and to cooperate with international organizations.
Forest Department
Ministry of
Forestry
Government of the Union of Myanmar
1. Government Policy
2. Infrastructure
3. Costs
4. Positive signs
Myanmar has many constraints for electronic networking. They are:
Use of IT is still restricted. Although email and some
internet services are being provided, the latter on experimental basis, free use
of them is still in question. Government must not only give access to free
information but also to allow free usage of it. Therefore if a node is to be
given to the FRA2000, it should be in the FAO office at present.
Telephone networks between states and divisions still do
not meet the requirements for electronic networking. Direct digital lines are
not very secure. Fax transmissions are still bad quality and frequently out of
order between cities. The requirement for updating the infrastructure has to be
taken seriously into account.
All IDD services can be paid only in hard currency (US$) even by Governmental Organizations. This factor plus the shortage of departmental funds even in local currency is greatly hindering the use of email in Myanmar. Only wealthy private companies and foreign investors can afford IT services in Myanmar.
Although the above constraints exists there are positive signs. Computer literacy is high although the number of people who can afford computers is low. The Remote Sensing and GIS Section of the Forestry Department has already finished one database in HTML. It is ready for release on the internet via the Teaknet Centre in Myanmar and in a format suitable for submission to FAO HQ in Rome. Computer training has become a requisite for young generations and many competent training centres linking with International Training Centers exist.
