Bangladesh-Myanmar cooperation to conserve forest genetic resources
Monday, 18 May 2009
Karar Mahmudul Hasan
THE ethnic origins of the people of modern Myanmar (known historically as Burma) are a mixture of Indo-Aryans, who began to push into the area around 700 B.C. The Mongolian invaders under Kublai Khan penetrated the region in the 13th century. Anawrahta (1044-1077) was the first great unifier of Myanmar.
In 1612, the British East India Company sent agents to Burma, but the Burmese doggedly resisted efforts of the British, Dutch, and Portuguese traders to establish posts along the Bay of Bengal. Through the Anglo-Burmese War in 1824-1826 and two subsequent wars, the British East India Company expanded to the whole of Burma. By 1886, after Burma was annexed to India, it became a separate colony in 1937.
World War (WW) II leads to independence: During WW II, Burma was a key battleground; the 800-mile Burma Road was the Allies' vital supply line to China. The Japanese invaded the country in December 1941, and by May 1942, had occupied most of it, cutting off the Burma Road. After one of the most difficult campaigns of the war, the Allied forces liberated most of Burma, prior to the Japanese surrender in Aug. 1945.
Burma became independent on Jan.4, 1948.
Mr. Mu Mu Aung of Forest Institute, Yangon, Myanmar states that Myanmar is well-endowed with forests and other natural resources. Forests cover about 40 per cent of the total land area. They are traditionally classified into two categories: reserved forests and unclassified (or public) forests. Forest exploitation is controlled by law, but the government allows rural communities to use various forest products (except protected plants and animal species).
Myanmar has a population of about 60 million people, over three-quarters of whom depend heavily on forest products, particularly fuel wood, posts and poles. Forest genetic resources play a major role in socio-economic development and forest product exports are an important source of foreign exchange. Myanmar is the world's largest supplier of natural teak (Tectona grandis). Myanmar's forests also support large numbers of plant and animal species.
About 43 per cent of Myanmar's total land area is under closed forests and another 30 per cent under woodland. An assessment in 1990 revealed that forest cover had decreased at an annual rate of 220,000 ha, or 0.64 per cent, between 1975 and 1989. This decrease was attributed mainly to shifting cultivation, illegal logging and encroachment for agricultural purposes. The permanent transfer of forestland to non-forest uses, however, was only about 15,000 ha per year during the same period. According to FAO (1999), Myanmar lost 387,000 ha, or 1.4 per cent, of its forests each year between 1990 and 1995.
Myanmar has about 7,000 plant species, of which 1071 are endemic. Eighty-five of the 2088 tree species in Myanmar produce multipurpose timber of high quality (Forest Department 2000). The properties and end uses of lesser-used timber species (LUS) are being studied and their use is widely promoted. The aim of promoting LUS is to increase commercial timber production and reduce exploitation pressures on traditional timber species.
Forest types: The forests of Myanmar are highly diverse. They vary from the scrubby and thorny vegetation of central Myanmar to the candlestick-like stands of evergreen dipterocarps. The coastal mangrove forests are important breeding grounds for many aquatic species. These forests support local fishing industries and provide food, shelter, small-scale timber, fuel wood and other forest products to the coastal communities. Over half of the main forest types (tropical evergreen forest, mixed deciduous forest and deciduous dipterocarp forest) support valuable timber species.
Bamboo forests: Bamboo forests occur throughout Myanmar in both pure and mixed stands. Pure stands of Kayin-wa (Melocanna bambusoides) cover about 8000 km2 in Rakhine State in the western part of the country (Forest Department 1999). Considerable areas of pure bamboo stands are also found in Tanintharyi Division in the southernmost part of Myanmar. The M. bambusoides stands in Rakhine State have an estimated growing stock of 21.34 million tonnes and are capable of producing around 830,000 tonnes of pulp each year. The pure bamboo stands in Tanintharyi Division have a growing stock of 6.09, million tonnes, and are capable of producing an annual pulp yield of 247,904 tonnes, if managed under a ten-year cutting cycle. According to forest inventory data from the States and Divisions, the stocking of mixed bamboo and tree stands is 1.66 tonnes/ha (Forest Department 2000).
The main threats to forest resources in Myanmar are:
l Encroachment by farmers;
l Shifting cultivation;
l Forest fires;
l Building of dams;
l Urbanization and building of roads; and
l Lack of awareness of the importance of biodiversity.
Myanmar's government has recognized the role of forests in conserving soil and water resources, and in protecting the environment. Myanmar is also committed to sustainable use of forests and other biological resources through a number of international conventions and agreements.
Institutional and policy framework: Four governmental institutions under the Ministry of Forestry participate in forestry sector activities. The Forest Department is responsible for the protection, conservation and sustainable management of forests. The Myanmar Timber Enterprise (MTE) carries out timber harvesting, milling, downstream processing and marketing of forest products. The Dry Zone Greening Department (DZGD) focuses on reforestation of degraded lands and restoration of the environment in the dry zone of central Myanmar. The Planning and Statistics Department (PSD) coordinates and facilitates the work of the Forest Department, MTE and DZGD according to directives issued by the Ministry of Forestry. It also functions as a forest policy forum.
Myanmar's forest policy has been formulated in a holistic and balanced manner within the framework of environmental protection and sustainable development. The policy takes into account the forestry principles adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992. The policy identifies six priority areas for government action:
i) Protection of soil, water, wildlife, biodiversity and environment.
ii) Sustainability of forest resources to ensure a perpetual supply of benefits from forests for present and future generations.
iii) Basic needs of the people for fuel, shelter, food and recreation.
iv) Efficient use, in a social and environmentally friendly manner, of the full economic potential of forest resources.
v) Participation of people in the conservation and use of forests.
vi) Public awareness of the vital role of forests in the well-being and socio-economic development of the nation.
Forest Research Institute: Myanmar has a long history of scientific forest management. Efforts to improve forest research capabilities, however, are of recent origin. A research division was established under the Forest Department in 1922 but it took over 50 years for this to develop into a research institute. The Forest Research Institute (FRI) of Myanmar was established and strengthened in two phases from 1978 to 1987, with funding from the FAO and UNDP. The Myanmar government contributed US$9.75 million to establishing FRI.
The main objective of FRI is to provide technical information on all aspects of forestry and forest-based activities to increase the contribution of the forest sector to the well-being of the nation. The Institute consists of three sectors divided into eight divisions. Nine field research stations in different eco-climatic zones conduct field research throughout the country. At present, FRI has 50 researchers and 187 supporting staff.
Under the technical guidance of the Research Supervising Committee, FRI has prioritized the following research programmes on the basis of anticipated developments in the forestry sector:
l Sustainable management of natural teak forests.
l Development of economic plantations.
l Reforestation in the central dry zone.
l Development of non-wood forest products.
l Fuel wood resources and wood energy.
Six sub-divisions under FRI's Forestry Development and Forest Utilization Divisions (Forest Management and Silviculture, Tree Improvement and Forest Botany, Natural Resources, Forest Protection, Wood Properties, and Utilization and Forest Industrial Processes) carry out research and development activities. The following research activities have been initiated:
l Establishment of teak provenance trials under the Special Teak Plantation Project in Bago Yoma.
l Fertilizer application in teak plantations.
l Establishment of teak seed orchards.
l Growth comparison between stored stumps and teak seedlings.
l Development of new techniques for successful rooting of teak cuttings.
l Teak defoliator outbreaks in some plantations, particularly in Pyinmana Township.
l Wood properties and utilization potential of plantation teak.
l Growth of Gmelina arborea in an international provenance trial.
l Establishment of Acacia mangium seedling seed orchard in collaboration with CSIRO.
l Fertilizer application trials in G. arborea.
l Provenance trials in P. macrocarpus.
l Establishment of seed production areas for Acacia crassicarpa and Acacia aulacocarpa in collaboration with CSIRO.
l Forest nursery diseases and management of nurseries.
l Survey of the flora of Mount Popa.
l Tree species composition in Ngalaik Reserved Forest.
l Natural regeneration and growth of Cephalostachyum pergracile (Tinwa) after gregarious flowering.
l Feasibility study of producing bamboo boards from selected species.
l Lesser-known medicinal and industrial plants of East Yoma.
l Collection and identification of rattan and bamboo species.
l Indigenous and exotic species selection for the central dry zone of Myanmar.
l Soil improvement study of Eucalyptus camaldulensis in the central dry zone of Myanmar.
l Provenance trials of E. camaldulensis.
l Study on fertilizer application for E. camaldulensis on degraded soils.
l Study on production and utilization of wood for fuel substitution.
FRI's research findings are made available to the Forest Department and others by means of leaflets, pamphlets, technical documents and other publications. By 1999, the Institute had published 147 papers for the research meetings held annually in Yangon.
Forests and forest Genetic Resources in Bangladesh - background scenario, present status and scope of mutual (Myanmar - Bangladesh) interactions in this vital sector are narrated below:
Mr. Haradhan Banik, at present working as Assistant Chief Conservator of Forests, Department of Forests, Bangladesh states that a forest is plant community predominately made of trees and woody vegetation, usually with a closed canopy.
In British India, the Department of Forest, was set up in 1862. The renowned German Forester Mr. Dietrie Brandis gave leadership in setting up Indian Imperial Forest Service which came into existence in 1864. The first Inspector General of Forest was appointed in 1864 for conservation/preservation of forest areas and forest resources of India. The Department of Forest was set up in Bengal in the year 1866. The then Forest Service of India was divided in three parts: (1) Indian Forest Service (IFS), (2) Provincial Forest Service, and (3) Subordinate Forest Service. Before the first partition of India in 1947, the forests of Bengal were under the control of Bengal-Assam Forest Service in Bangladesh. There are three types of Forests: A. Hill Forests, B. Mangrove Forests and C. Sal Forests.
The land use area statistics have been generated using a combination of findings from the remote sensing survey and the field survey following a harmonized land use/forest type classification system.
(The writer is former secretary to the Government of Bangladesh. He can be reached at email: karar.hassan@gmail.com)
THE ethnic origins of the people of modern Myanmar (known historically as Burma) are a mixture of Indo-Aryans, who began to push into the area around 700 B.C. The Mongolian invaders under Kublai Khan penetrated the region in the 13th century. Anawrahta (1044-1077) was the first great unifier of Myanmar.
In 1612, the British East India Company sent agents to Burma, but the Burmese doggedly resisted efforts of the British, Dutch, and Portuguese traders to establish posts along the Bay of Bengal. Through the Anglo-Burmese War in 1824-1826 and two subsequent wars, the British East India Company expanded to the whole of Burma. By 1886, after Burma was annexed to India, it became a separate colony in 1937.
World War (WW) II leads to independence: During WW II, Burma was a key battleground; the 800-mile Burma Road was the Allies' vital supply line to China. The Japanese invaded the country in December 1941, and by May 1942, had occupied most of it, cutting off the Burma Road. After one of the most difficult campaigns of the war, the Allied forces liberated most of Burma, prior to the Japanese surrender in Aug. 1945.
Burma became independent on Jan.4, 1948.
Mr. Mu Mu Aung of Forest Institute, Yangon, Myanmar states that Myanmar is well-endowed with forests and other natural resources. Forests cover about 40 per cent of the total land area. They are traditionally classified into two categories: reserved forests and unclassified (or public) forests. Forest exploitation is controlled by law, but the government allows rural communities to use various forest products (except protected plants and animal species).
Myanmar has a population of about 60 million people, over three-quarters of whom depend heavily on forest products, particularly fuel wood, posts and poles. Forest genetic resources play a major role in socio-economic development and forest product exports are an important source of foreign exchange. Myanmar is the world's largest supplier of natural teak (Tectona grandis). Myanmar's forests also support large numbers of plant and animal species.
About 43 per cent of Myanmar's total land area is under closed forests and another 30 per cent under woodland. An assessment in 1990 revealed that forest cover had decreased at an annual rate of 220,000 ha, or 0.64 per cent, between 1975 and 1989. This decrease was attributed mainly to shifting cultivation, illegal logging and encroachment for agricultural purposes. The permanent transfer of forestland to non-forest uses, however, was only about 15,000 ha per year during the same period. According to FAO (1999), Myanmar lost 387,000 ha, or 1.4 per cent, of its forests each year between 1990 and 1995.
Myanmar has about 7,000 plant species, of which 1071 are endemic. Eighty-five of the 2088 tree species in Myanmar produce multipurpose timber of high quality (Forest Department 2000). The properties and end uses of lesser-used timber species (LUS) are being studied and their use is widely promoted. The aim of promoting LUS is to increase commercial timber production and reduce exploitation pressures on traditional timber species.
Forest types: The forests of Myanmar are highly diverse. They vary from the scrubby and thorny vegetation of central Myanmar to the candlestick-like stands of evergreen dipterocarps. The coastal mangrove forests are important breeding grounds for many aquatic species. These forests support local fishing industries and provide food, shelter, small-scale timber, fuel wood and other forest products to the coastal communities. Over half of the main forest types (tropical evergreen forest, mixed deciduous forest and deciduous dipterocarp forest) support valuable timber species.
Bamboo forests: Bamboo forests occur throughout Myanmar in both pure and mixed stands. Pure stands of Kayin-wa (Melocanna bambusoides) cover about 8000 km2 in Rakhine State in the western part of the country (Forest Department 1999). Considerable areas of pure bamboo stands are also found in Tanintharyi Division in the southernmost part of Myanmar. The M. bambusoides stands in Rakhine State have an estimated growing stock of 21.34 million tonnes and are capable of producing around 830,000 tonnes of pulp each year. The pure bamboo stands in Tanintharyi Division have a growing stock of 6.09, million tonnes, and are capable of producing an annual pulp yield of 247,904 tonnes, if managed under a ten-year cutting cycle. According to forest inventory data from the States and Divisions, the stocking of mixed bamboo and tree stands is 1.66 tonnes/ha (Forest Department 2000).
The main threats to forest resources in Myanmar are:
l Encroachment by farmers;
l Shifting cultivation;
l Forest fires;
l Building of dams;
l Urbanization and building of roads; and
l Lack of awareness of the importance of biodiversity.
Myanmar's government has recognized the role of forests in conserving soil and water resources, and in protecting the environment. Myanmar is also committed to sustainable use of forests and other biological resources through a number of international conventions and agreements.
Institutional and policy framework: Four governmental institutions under the Ministry of Forestry participate in forestry sector activities. The Forest Department is responsible for the protection, conservation and sustainable management of forests. The Myanmar Timber Enterprise (MTE) carries out timber harvesting, milling, downstream processing and marketing of forest products. The Dry Zone Greening Department (DZGD) focuses on reforestation of degraded lands and restoration of the environment in the dry zone of central Myanmar. The Planning and Statistics Department (PSD) coordinates and facilitates the work of the Forest Department, MTE and DZGD according to directives issued by the Ministry of Forestry. It also functions as a forest policy forum.
Myanmar's forest policy has been formulated in a holistic and balanced manner within the framework of environmental protection and sustainable development. The policy takes into account the forestry principles adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992. The policy identifies six priority areas for government action:
i) Protection of soil, water, wildlife, biodiversity and environment.
ii) Sustainability of forest resources to ensure a perpetual supply of benefits from forests for present and future generations.
iii) Basic needs of the people for fuel, shelter, food and recreation.
iv) Efficient use, in a social and environmentally friendly manner, of the full economic potential of forest resources.
v) Participation of people in the conservation and use of forests.
vi) Public awareness of the vital role of forests in the well-being and socio-economic development of the nation.
Forest Research Institute: Myanmar has a long history of scientific forest management. Efforts to improve forest research capabilities, however, are of recent origin. A research division was established under the Forest Department in 1922 but it took over 50 years for this to develop into a research institute. The Forest Research Institute (FRI) of Myanmar was established and strengthened in two phases from 1978 to 1987, with funding from the FAO and UNDP. The Myanmar government contributed US$9.75 million to establishing FRI.
The main objective of FRI is to provide technical information on all aspects of forestry and forest-based activities to increase the contribution of the forest sector to the well-being of the nation. The Institute consists of three sectors divided into eight divisions. Nine field research stations in different eco-climatic zones conduct field research throughout the country. At present, FRI has 50 researchers and 187 supporting staff.
Under the technical guidance of the Research Supervising Committee, FRI has prioritized the following research programmes on the basis of anticipated developments in the forestry sector:
l Sustainable management of natural teak forests.
l Development of economic plantations.
l Reforestation in the central dry zone.
l Development of non-wood forest products.
l Fuel wood resources and wood energy.
Six sub-divisions under FRI's Forestry Development and Forest Utilization Divisions (Forest Management and Silviculture, Tree Improvement and Forest Botany, Natural Resources, Forest Protection, Wood Properties, and Utilization and Forest Industrial Processes) carry out research and development activities. The following research activities have been initiated:
l Establishment of teak provenance trials under the Special Teak Plantation Project in Bago Yoma.
l Fertilizer application in teak plantations.
l Establishment of teak seed orchards.
l Growth comparison between stored stumps and teak seedlings.
l Development of new techniques for successful rooting of teak cuttings.
l Teak defoliator outbreaks in some plantations, particularly in Pyinmana Township.
l Wood properties and utilization potential of plantation teak.
l Growth of Gmelina arborea in an international provenance trial.
l Establishment of Acacia mangium seedling seed orchard in collaboration with CSIRO.
l Fertilizer application trials in G. arborea.
l Provenance trials in P. macrocarpus.
l Establishment of seed production areas for Acacia crassicarpa and Acacia aulacocarpa in collaboration with CSIRO.
l Forest nursery diseases and management of nurseries.
l Survey of the flora of Mount Popa.
l Tree species composition in Ngalaik Reserved Forest.
l Natural regeneration and growth of Cephalostachyum pergracile (Tinwa) after gregarious flowering.
l Feasibility study of producing bamboo boards from selected species.
l Lesser-known medicinal and industrial plants of East Yoma.
l Collection and identification of rattan and bamboo species.
l Indigenous and exotic species selection for the central dry zone of Myanmar.
l Soil improvement study of Eucalyptus camaldulensis in the central dry zone of Myanmar.
l Provenance trials of E. camaldulensis.
l Study on fertilizer application for E. camaldulensis on degraded soils.
l Study on production and utilization of wood for fuel substitution.
FRI's research findings are made available to the Forest Department and others by means of leaflets, pamphlets, technical documents and other publications. By 1999, the Institute had published 147 papers for the research meetings held annually in Yangon.
Forests and forest Genetic Resources in Bangladesh - background scenario, present status and scope of mutual (Myanmar - Bangladesh) interactions in this vital sector are narrated below:
Mr. Haradhan Banik, at present working as Assistant Chief Conservator of Forests, Department of Forests, Bangladesh states that a forest is plant community predominately made of trees and woody vegetation, usually with a closed canopy.
In British India, the Department of Forest, was set up in 1862. The renowned German Forester Mr. Dietrie Brandis gave leadership in setting up Indian Imperial Forest Service which came into existence in 1864. The first Inspector General of Forest was appointed in 1864 for conservation/preservation of forest areas and forest resources of India. The Department of Forest was set up in Bengal in the year 1866. The then Forest Service of India was divided in three parts: (1) Indian Forest Service (IFS), (2) Provincial Forest Service, and (3) Subordinate Forest Service. Before the first partition of India in 1947, the forests of Bengal were under the control of Bengal-Assam Forest Service in Bangladesh. There are three types of Forests: A. Hill Forests, B. Mangrove Forests and C. Sal Forests.
The land use area statistics have been generated using a combination of findings from the remote sensing survey and the field survey following a harmonized land use/forest type classification system.
(The writer is former secretary to the Government of Bangladesh. He can be reached at email: karar.hassan@gmail.com)