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MYANMAR (BURMA)

In the 1990s and 2000s, Myanmar, the country formerly called Burma, was an environmental pariah, with a high deforestation rate and widespread illegal logging. Now with the country opening up to foreign investment, there are fears that forest conversion could increase, a prospect that especially concern conservationists given climbing deforestation since 2000.

Myanmar's dense forests are found mostly in Shan (25 percent of the country's forests using a 50 percent tree cover threshold), Kachin (19 percent), and Sagaing (14 percent) in the northern parts of the country. These states and regions have also had the highest aggregate loss of forests, amounting to nearly 850,000 hectares between 2000 and 2012, according to research led by Matthew Hansen.

Overall Myanmar lost some 1.4 million ha of forest since 2000, ranking it well behind Indonesia and Malaysia, but ahead of other Mekong nations, including Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand.

Drivers of deforestation in Myanmar include conversion for agriculture, both subsistence and industrial; legal and illegal logging, including establishment of teak plantations; and various types of mining.


Global Forest Watch image showing recent forest loss and gain in Myanmar.

Myanmar's protected area system lags behind its peers in the region, but conservation groups are stepping up programs. There is a lot to protect: Myanmar has some 1709 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles according to figures from the World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Of these, 4.7% are endemic and 5.9% are threatened. Myanmar is home to at least 7000 species of vascular plants, of which 15.3% are endemic.

	Total forest area		Dense forest area		Forest gain		Forest loss		Total land area
	>10% tree cover (ha)	% total land cover	>50% tree cover (ha)	% total land cover	2001-2012 (ha)	% total forest cover	2001-2012 (ha)	% total forest cover	(ha)
Ayeyarwady	768428	23.5%	546097	16.7%	273667	35.6%	12710	1.7%	3275753
Bago	1910966	50.2%	1680721	44.2%	1070202	56.0%	50728	2.7%	3806832
Chin	3325158	90.5%	2984199	81.2%	2026305	60.9%	72655	2.2%	3676180
Kachin	7903403	89.5%	7549154	85.5%	6847749	86.6%	194024	2.5%	8828256
Kayah	952549	81.9%	791798	68.1%	396304	41.6%	15882	1.7%	1162810
Kayin	2503069	84.0%	2279428	76.5%	1532746	61.2%	106425	4.3%	2979847
Magway	1197412	27.5%	805003	18.5%	261313	21.8%	33138	2.8%	4357480
Mandalay	1162141	32.1%	911583	25.2%	379932	32.7%	21014	1.8%	3617003
Mon	630408	55.2%	520857	45.6%	295295	46.8%	38568	6.1%	1143005
Rakhine	2646337	76.1%	2445983	70.3%	2006187	75.8%	81940	3.1%	3477437
Sagaing	6309647	66.7%	5748087	60.8%	4198361	66.5%	193580	3.1%	9454745
Shan	11808703	76.1%	9752146	62.9%	4776243	40.4%	458093	3.9%	15516533
Tanintharyi	3802235	92.7%	3668722	89.5%	3324755	87.4%	179778	4.7%	4100807
Yangon	160352	17.1%	106068	11.3%	54328	33.9%	3729	2.3%	937507
Myanmar	45080808	68.0%	39789847	60.0%	27443387	60.9%	1462263	3.2%	66334194

Pie chart showing forest cover in Myanmar


Forest cover by state in Myanmar


Chart: aggregate forest loss by year in Myanmar/Burma


Chart: annual forest loss by state/region in Myanmar/Burma


Forest loss by state/region in Myanmar



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Myanmar Forest Figures Forest Cover Total forest area: 32,222,000 ha % of land area: 49% Primary forest cover: n/a % of land area: 0.0% % total forest area: n/a Deforestation Rates, 2000-2005 Annual change in forest cover: -466,400 ha Annual deforestation rate: -1.4% Change in defor. rate since '90s: 13.5% Total forest loss since 1990: -6,997,000 ha Total forest loss since 1990:-17.8% Primary or "Old-growth" forests Annual loss of primary forests: n/a Annual deforestation rate: n/a Change in deforestation rate since '90s: n/a Primary forest loss since 1990: n/a Primary forest loss since 1990:n/a Forest Classification Public: 100% Private: 0% Other: 0% Use Production: 77% Protection: 4.7% Conservation: 15.2% Social services: n/a Multiple purpose: 3.2% None or unknown: n/a Forest Area Breakdown Total area: 32,222,000 ha Primary: n/a Modified natural: 31,373,000 ha Semi-natural: n/a Production plantation: 696,000 ha Production plantation: 153,000 ha Plantations Plantations, 2005: 849,000 ha % of total forest cover: 2.6% Annual change rate (00-05): 30,600,000 ha Carbon storage Above-ground biomass: 5,109 M t Below-ground biomass: 1,226 M t Area annually affected by Fire: 6,500,000 ha Insects: n/a Diseases: n/a Number of tree species in IUCN red list Number of native tree species: 2,000 Critically endangered: 13 Endangered: 12 Vulnerable: 12 Wood removal 2005 Industrial roundwood: 3,880,000 m3 o.b. Wood fuel: 39,180,000 m3 o.b. Value of forest products, 2005 Industrial roundwood: $838,479,000 Wood fuel: $51,415,000 Non-wood forest products (NWFPs): $11,761,000 Total Value: $901,655,000 More forest statistics for Myanmar

Suggested reading - Books

• Lonely Planet Myanmar (Burma)
• Myanmar Country Map: (Burma)
• Letters from Burma
• Birds of Myanmar
• The Native Tourist: A Holiday Pilgrimage In Myanmar

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