The map to the right shows forest cover in Burma in 1985 (Landsat Pathfinder, University of New Hampshire).
Burma holds more than half of mainland Southeast Asia's closed forests -- forests that have caused the country to be called "the last frontier of biodiversity in Asia" Yet these forests are not inexhaustible resources. Deforestation is increasing, and an analysis of current satellite data shows that Burma's remote frontier forests are now threatened. Although agricultural conversion, fuelwood cutting, and charcoal production are the main causes of deforestation in the lowland areas of central and southern Burma, logging appears to be an important factor in the fragmentation of the remaining intact forests that cover Burma's mountainous border areas.
Most of Burma's undisturbed closed-canopy forests are located in the mountains that ring the country. The lowlands of central and southern Burma have been largely deforested since the turn of the century as a result of agricultural conversion, firewood cutting, and charcoal production.
The rules governing exploitation of Burma's forests are given by the Forest Law that was promulgated in November 1992, superseding the 1902 Forest Act. The law marks a shift away from treating Burma's forests as a purely commercial resource. It emphasizes the importance of forests' contribution " toward the food, clothing, and shelter needs of the public and for perpetual enjoyment of benefits by conservation and protection of forest," the importance of " international agreements relating to conservation of forests and conservation of [the] environment," and the need to "promote the sector of public cooperation in implementing the forest policy of the government" (SLORC, 1992).
A Forest Policy was approved by the Ministry of Forestry in July 1995. It sets specific objectives and policy measures in the areas of environmental protection and management, reforestation, forest industry and trade, forest research, institutional strengthening, and people's participation and public awareness (Ministry of Forestry, 1996). The policy was prepared with the assistance of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). To understand the significance of the new policy, it is necessary to review the historic conditions that have influenced both timber production and biodiversity conservation in Burma.
Heavy logging, by both the regime and by ethnic minorities, is a major cause of deforestation in Burma's border areas. Two factors, however, have played a particularly important role in maintaining both a supply of, and demand for, Burma's timber: the regime's economic and security policies and the regional timber trade.
Physical Geography of Burma
Population Distribution of Burma
Burma's Major Habitats
Copyright © 1998. Logging Burma's Frontier Forests: Resources and the Regime (Washington, DC: World Resources Institute). This posting does not use the adopted name "Myanmar," given to Burma by the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) in 1988. The name Burma is used in accordance with the Burmese National League for Democracy, the United States Government and many other countries, and leading publications including The Washington Post, Bangkok Post, The Nation, and The Far Eastern Economic Review.