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

Istituto Oikos believes that biodiversity conservation and equitable natural resources management
are crucial to ensure the livelihood of local people, where land degradation and poverty are strictly
connected. The approach is based on the following assumption: a well conserved environment is the
only guarantee for socio-economic development, poverty alleviation, food security, health and wellbeing
for current and future generations. That is why the core of all Istituto Oikos’ projects, whether they
be technical-scientific assistance, environmental evaluations programs, fauna monitoring or support
for youth or women’s cooperatives, is the relationship between man and nature. Many actions focus on
protected areas and on natural areas risking deterioration due to irrational and unplanned use of natural
resources. Moreover, the projects never leave aside the awareness-raising factor, so that those involved
can understand and share Istituto Oikos’ objectives, as well as the training of local personnel to ensure
the sustainability of work. After 15 years of field activities and more than 150 projects implemented, in
Italy and abroad, on biodiversity conservation and sustainable development, Istituto Oikos has gained
a wealth of experience in the definition and implementation of methodologies and strategies aimed
at integrating the environmental dimension into the socio-economic processes. To reach concrete and
sustainable results, as well as to ensure the highest standards of quality in its activities, Istituto Oikos
has established firm collaboration with local and national governments, universities, research institutes,
conservation, development organisations and business companies, both in Italy and worldwide. Istituto
Oikos has been operating in Myanmar since 2006 in order to improve the conservation of natural
resources and the capacity building of local NGOs as a tool of sustainable development. Myanmar is a
country where natural resources are still well conserved, biodiversity is high and forests cover almost
half of the territory. The protected areas of Myanmar conserve spectacular natural, cultural and spiritual
values and provide communities with opportunities for recreation and education. As natural areas are
progressively being destroyed under different types of human pressure, it becomes increasingly urgent
to maintain and improve the condition and management of protected areas. The PA system of Myanmar
is essential to continue providing environmental services at community and national level, to prevent
climate change and the loss of biodiversity. The protection of cultural values is another important role
of the PA system that contributes to spiritual life and Myanmar’s historical traditions. Understanding
the values within the PA system and evaluating the outcome of management is essential to being
able to adapt and improve management practices. In the period 2009-2010, Istituto Oikos and BANCA,
with the support of the European Union, the Lombardy Region and Stiftung Drittens Millenium, have
managed the project “Strengthening environmental NGOs in Burma/Myanmar” aimed at improving
the capacity of local NGOs to engage in biodiversity conservation and sustainable development
programs and coordinate sustainable environmental development investments and activities. The
publication “Myanmar Protected Areas: Context, Current Status and Challenges”, one of the outputs of
the project, presents information on the status of the protected areas in Myanmar. We hope it will help
to promote cost-effective initiatives and innovative approaches, to provide technical inputs for policy
review processes and to mobilise international awareness and financial support to conserve the unique
heritage of Myanmar’s protected areas.
Rossella Rossi
President
Istituto Oikos
Myanmar Protected Areas
Among South-East Asian countries there is no doubt that Myanmar is the most biologically diverse
country on the mainland. It possess a long coastal line of 2,000 kilometers, over 800 islands, mangroves,
high mountains of the Eastern Himalayas in the north, a dry zone in the center, Sundaic forest in the
south and many types of habitats and ecosystems. There are only few types of habitats left on earth that
cannot be found in Myanmar. It still has a high percentage of natural forest cover which is home to a rich
diversity of flora and fauna. It is also one of the least explored countries in the world. There have been
expressions like“ after walking two days we found nothing but primeval forest”, “ we barely see a person
coming along during our exploration” and “there is one new bird found in every step we took” from
nature lovers and bird watchers who have visited Myanmar. The Leaf deer Muntiacus putaonensis and
the Myanmar Snub-nosed Monkey Rhinopithecus strykeri are some of the new discoveries within recent
years in the Northern part of Myanmar. Other species of reptiles and amphibians new to science have
also been reported. The Ministry of Forestry has been trying to protect representative type of forests
and up till now has gazetted, nominated and proposed 43 protected areas which cover 7.3 % of total
land. But as a developing nation, Myanmar has financial as well as environmental issues. Unfortunately
conserving biodiversity and environment is not the top priority of the government. Out of 43 protected
area systems only a few have been properly gazetted and have a management system in place. Some
are nominated and some are only in a proposal stage. Very few of the gazetted protected areas have full
management resources and staff. Even big national parks are short of resources. For them top priorities
like regular biodiversity surveys and patrolling are beyond their capacity. As a result very few parks have
a comprehensive checklist of flora and fauna. Lampi Island Marine National Park falls in the category
that does not have a proper management system and a checklist of flora and fauna that exist in the
park. We BANCA and Oikos do sincerely feel honored to conduct this much needed survey which we
hope will help the forest department to form a proper management system and serve as a baseline for
further evaluation and monitoring of this park. Moreover, we also hope that this publication will serve as
a good reference for all existing parks of Myanmar. During recent years people have changed. Their new
lifestyle has become more advanced and sophisticated. New changes need new solutions. Population
has also increased dramatically and consequently more space becomes essential for their livelihoods and
sustainability. The more space they need the more destruction was made to nature and the environment.
The lifestyle of people and the changes in the environment have become more interconnected. Issues
have become too big and complicated to be handled by a single department or organization alone.
Therefore people in the conservation field also have to change. All stakeholders including governments,
private and public sectors have to work together to have successful conservation programs. BANCA and
Istituto Oikos as stakeholders look forward to assist Myanmar within our capacity especially in the field
of biodiversity for successful conservations programs. BANCA appreciates the support of international
organizations and the European Union to meet the conservation challenge.
Dr Htin Hla
Chairman
BANCA
Myanmar Protected Areas
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