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

3.3 Conclusions and recommendations
Lampi Island Marine National Park preserves important natural and cultural resources. It is the only
protected area of the Myeik Archipelago and the only marine national park of Myanmar. The diversity
of marine and terrestrial biodiversity is of significant value at national, international and regional level
(IBA, ASEAN heritage site). A total of fifty globally protected species have been identified so far but it
is likely that further and more detailed surveys inside and outside Lampi Island MNP will lead to more
discoveries. Lampi mangrove forests are the best conserved of Myanmar and, possibly, of the region.
Seagrass beds provide a feeding habitat for endangered species such as dugongs and sea turtles. Both
habitats are under threat of degradation. Some 3,000 people depend on the natural resources of Lampi
Island Marine National Park. The current conflicts between resource protection and use by people
need to be addressed in time. Destruction and overexploitation must be prevented by promoting the
participation of all stakeholders in conservation and wise management of resources and encouraging
sustainable revenue-generating activities. If it is set in such a way as successful, the participatory approach
initiated in Lampi Island MNP will be the cornerstone of how Myanmar can work to protect its precious
resources and natural environment. The following recommendations are made for the conservation and
sustainable development of the Lampi Island MNP. The conservation and management goals of the
protected area should be realistically achievable in the present situation, considering that, although not
allowed on paper, there are already not only permanent villages and settlements, but many commercial
activities. At present, only Lampi Island is to some extent protected while smaller islands and the marine
side have been left totally unprotected ever since the park designation. A 4-year management plan,
where different uses and limits of use are defined according to different zones, should be prepared and
enacted in time. The creation of a management/advisory committee including representatives of Forest
Department, Navy and Fisheries Department (as recommended by Rabinowitz 1995), as well as civil
society is envisaged to support the park staff in accomplishing the conservation and development goals.
Zoning: total protection should be granted to the main Lampi Island and to priority habitats inside the
park boundaries, for instance mangrove forests, seagrass beds and coral reefs. Sustainable management
of resources in the other minor islands of Lampi Island MNP should be encouraged, starting with the
legalization of existing villages and definition of a land plan. In particular, further expansion of human
settlements should be contained and support to the livelihoods of current settlers should be given
to promote wise resource use and participation in controlling illegal activities, like logging, poaching,
fishing with illegal techniques. Park staff should be permanently allocated to the newly constructed
park office in Makyone Galet for the implementation of the activities according to the management plan,
monitoring key resources and patrolling illegal activities, in particular logging and dynamite fishing.
More research should be conducted to monitor the status of key resources and to fill information gaps,
in particular on coral reefs, sea turtles nesting sites, dugongs, plain-pouched hornbill. Information about
the park should be divulgated to the villages and boats, signs should be installed around the perimeter.
Stakeholder consultations should continue to be organised on a regular basis with attention to gender
and ethnic balance. Collaboration between the park staff and organised groups of villagers should be
encouraged, especially to control illegal logging and fishing, and to regulate the access and use of
water resources. Environmental education should be included in the school programmes and seminars
regularly organised for the communities. Sound waste management should be initiated starting with
cleaning campaigns on the beach and around water springs. Water, energy and health programmes
are needed to address current problems. As recommended by Rabinowitz (1995) and Fischer (1996),
ecotourism should be developed only after park management is in place and in a manner that favours
community-based initiatives. As the only protected area of Myeik Archipelago in the Myanmar side,
the site ought to be connected to Surin and Similan MPAs in Thailand within a large transboundary
reserve to apply the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) ecosystem approach and accommodate
different land uses and planning needs.
BOX 1
Plain-pouched Hornbill
Plain-pouched Hornbill in Lampi Island MNP (A. Bonetti)
The Plain-pouched hornbill Aceros subruficollis is an endangered species listed as vulnerable in the IUCN
Red List (2010) due to its small and declining population. The main threats are hunting and shrinking of
the preferred habitat, the lowland wet evergreen forest. The species is confined to Southern Myanmar
and adjacent Thailand, and to northern Malaysia. Historically described (Anderson, 1889) as common
in Myanmar and occurring in great numbers in the Myeik Archipelago, being the commonest hornbill
in the area, it was not recorded in Myanmar since as far back as 1941 (Smith 1942) and in the Myeik
Archipelago since 1920 (unknown source in BLI 2005). It appears to have undergone a rapid and huge
decline in the last century (Rasmussen in litt. 1999). During the MABR and MEP project surveys in Myeik
Archipelago and Lampi Island MNP (2006-2010), two roosting sites were localized, a major one with
up to 150 individuals in Hornbill Island, and a minor one, comprising 20-25 individuals, on an islet
immediately south of Bo Cho Island. At least one count per year was done at the Hornbill Island roost
from 2006 and 2010, in the period between December and April, recording a maximum of 149 (end of
January 2006) and a minimum of 43 (beginning of December 2010) individuals. More counts at fixed
period should be carried out to understand if the variation in numbers is related to the breeding season
or to a population decline. Furthermore, to assess the conservation status of the species, more surveys
in the whole Myeik Archipelago are needed.
Plain-pouched Hornbill trend in Lampi Island MNP (Source: MABR 2006-2008; MEP 2009-2010)
118 119
N° individuals
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
3 January
2006
31 January
2006
April
2006
March
2007
March
2008
Survey period
January
2009
In-depth Study of Lampi Island Marine National Park
March
2009
March
2010
December
2010