Myanmar Protected Areas: Context, Current Status ... - Istituto Oikos

Agriculture in Makyone Galet (Lampi Island MNP) (A.Bonetti)
Fisheries
Although fishing is prohibited inside the park boundaries, a variety of fishing gears are used by
subsistence and commercial fishermen for different catches. Lines, net and set gillnet are used for prawn
fishing especially in War Kyunn area; traps, bag and artificial prawn baits are used to catch squid in the
area of Makyone Galet, Ko Phawt, Sitta Galet and War Kyunn. A very small minority of fishermen has the
necessary collection and carrying license from the Fishery Department. Local fishers use fishing vessels
of small-medium dimension and they have frequent disputes with large fishing vessels illegally coming
to catch near the shore destroying their traps and nets as well as the fishing ground. The collection of
molluscs and sea cucumber is common amongst the Moken-Salone and Karen people respectively. The
main market for the Lampi catches is neighboring Thailand. The illegal practice of dynamite fishing (or
blast fishing) is common in this area and its destructive effects are visible on the corals around Lampi
Island.
Secondary occupations
Grocery, general stores and tea shops are common in the five human settlements. Shopkeepers buy
food supply directly from Kawthoung (border town in Myanmar) and/or Ranong (border town in
Thailand) and resell to the local inhabitants and fishers from passing fishing boats. Hunting, especially
by Karen migrants, is an illegal yet very lucrative livelihood. A single hunter can kill daily 10 to 20 animals
such as mouse-deer, pangolin, giant lizard and wild-pigs, which he sells to the local fishermen or keeps
conserved in cool box and then sends to Makyone Galet market. Although on small scale and with basic
equipment, hunting in Lampi area could have severe consequences on the biodiversity of the site.
Horticultural farming is only present in Makyone Galet village and War Kyunn work camp. Cashew, betel
and rubber are the main crops of Makyone Galet and cashew betel and mango are primary cash crops
in War Kyunn. The vegetables consumed in the area are mainly imported from Kawthoung.
Very recently, due to the State policy encouraging rubber plantations under an agricultural.
commercialization scheme, local people of Makyone Galet have started to convert the natural forest of
Bo Cho Island into private rubber plantations. Logging is illegal but common in the site, especially in Bo
Cho Island during rainy season when the transport of logs from the forest to the boats is made easier
by water streams. The most common trees felled in the forest are Shorea sp., Dipterocarpus sp., Firmiana
sp., Syzygium sp., Cinnamomum sp., Shorea farinose Fischer Mitra, Heritiera javanica (Blume), Artocarpus
calophyllus Kurz, Hopea sangol Korth, Hopea odorata Roxb., Strombosia javanica Blume.
7. Research
The isolation of the Myeik Archipelago precluded for many years the possibility to conduct scientific
expeditions in the area. Only recently Istituto Oikos and the local partner BANCA, in collaboration with
other organizations like Ecoswiss, and with the support of Forest Department, had the opportunities to
jointly organize some basic resource assessments in Lampi Island Marine National Park.
Table 15 Survey reports about Lampi Island MNP
Survey title Conducted by Timeframe
Birds of the Mergui Archipelago:
preliminary observations
Andrea Bonetti 2006-2007
Sea Cucumber Report Barry Bendel May 2008
Socio-economic survey report Tint Tun and Aung Myint Oo May 2008
Lampi fish report Tint Swe, San Tha Tun and Tint Tun September 2008
Seagrass report Barry Bendel and Tint Tun December 2008
Mangrove of Myeik Archipelago rapid
survey assessment
Hornbills of Myanmar (poster
presented at the fifth International
Hornbill conference in Singapore
22-25 March 2009)
Win Maung January 2009
Lara Beffasti and Tint Tun March 2009
Birds survey report San San Nwe and Nila Pwin April 2010
Flora survey report Ei Ei Phyo and Myint Sein April 2010
Livelihoods survey report Lara Beffasti and Saw Mon Theint April 2010
Mammals survey report Khin Maung Soe, Thaw Sin, Pyi Phyo Swe April 2010
Mangroves survey report Moe Min Win April 2010
Marine resources survey report
Birds survey report
Saw Han Shein (plankton), Tint Tun, Tint
Wai and Thuang Htut (seagrass and
seaweeds)
Sein Myo Aung, Saw Moises, San San
Nwe and Nila Pwint
In-depth Study of Lampi Island Marine National Park
List of technical reports on Lampi Island MNP
produced in the framework of the MABR and MEP projects.
Surveys implemented in the period 2006-2008 were part of the Mergui Archipelago Biodiversity
Research (MABR) project managed by Ecoswiss in partnership with Istituto Oikos and BANCA, funded by
Stiftung Drittes Millennium. Surveys implemented in the period 2009-2010 were part of the Myanmar
Environmental Project (MEP) and Conservation and Sustainable Management of Lampi MNP (COSMO)
project, both managed by Istituto Oikos in partnership with BANCA, co-funded by European Union,
Regione Lombardia and Stiftung Dritt Millennium. Survey reports are reported in chronological order in
Table 15. They are available under request (coverpage for contacts).
116 117
April 2010
December 2010
Crabs survey report Tat Su Mar December 2010
Dugongs status survey report Tint Tun December 2010
Focus Group Discussion Report Saw Mon Theint and Than Than Aye December 2010
Molluscs survey report Tint Tun, Tint Wai and Thaung Htut December 2010
Reptiles and amphibians survey report Kyo Soe Lwin and Khin Mar Tin December 2010
Salone cultural ecology study Mya Thidar Aung and Moe Thidar Twe December 2010
Sea turtles survey report Aung Hlaing Win and Htet Myint Aung December 2010