The impact of natural disasters on the environment and people of Burma/Myanmar

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Description: Link to a top-level category in OBL
Source/publisher: Online Burma/Myanmar Library
Date of entry/update: 2012-07-18
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: "This Analytical Brief focuses on the changing landscape of Myanmar in terms of climate, environmental degradation and disaster risk based on a review of recent research, hazard modelling and available data. It reviews the changing areas and populations at risk of exposure to natural disasters. Summary Myanmar is one of the of the world’s most affected countries in terms of natural disasters, and among the most vulnerable to new disasters in the years to come. In addition to significant loss of life, livelihoods, and property, natural disasters are estimated to cost up to 3% of Myanmar’s annual GDP, and the longer-term impacts may be still greater. Changing climate and environmental degradation are influencing the frequency and severity of natural hazards in Myanmar, with predictions of more frequent and more severe floods, storms and droughts. Loss of natural ecosystems such as mangroves and forests, rising average annual temperatures, and more intense rainfall are all factors which could increase the impact of natural disasters on large numbers of Myanmar’s population. Extreme weather events do not become disasters on their own - the level of impact is influenced by the vulnerability of the affected community. Densely populated districts with less infrastructure investment were found to be key vulnerability hotspots. Populous coastal areas in Rakhine State and Ayeyarwady and Yangon Regions were found to be at risk of a wider variety of destructive events than other areas. Activities aimed at disaster risk reduction, disaster preparedness and response in Myanmar should carefully consider current as well as projected disaster risks. Further research and data collection are needed to develop effective approaches that can reduce the impact of climate change and environmental degradation on disaster risk for communities. More can also be done to create a shared understanding of vulnerability and how best it can be measured given limitations in available data..."
Source/publisher: Myanmar Information Management Unit (Myanmar) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2022-06-09
Date of entry/update: 2022-06-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 9.5 MB
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Description: "The way the environment has been historically perceived in Myanmar (Burma) is strongly linked to its turbulent and authoritarian political history (Simpson et al., 2017). Concepts such as ‘the environment’ and ‘environmentalism’ have appeared relatively recently in mainstream Myanmar discourses, with traditional interpretations of nature tending to focus on exploitable natural resources. Myanmar is extremely geographically and ecologically diverse, stretching from northern snow-capped mountains through the flatlands of the cen- tral dry zone to the palm-dotted beaches of the southern tropical coasts and islands. Gover- nance of the ecosystems in these complex environments is still in its infancy. While most countries in the world have well-entrenched laws ensuring that public participation, envi- ronmental impact assessment (EIA) and social impact assessment (SIA) are key components of any major development activities, these types of legislated requirements have historically been absent from Myanmar. Between 1962 and 2011, Myanmar was ruled by authoritarian governments that had little interest in or inclination for environmental protection or com- munity consultation. While there existed forestry laws, including those that recognized community forests, and a Land Acquisition Act, which was meant to regulate compensation for farmers, there were no laws that adequately regulated pollution or protected biodiversity and no law existed that took a holistic approach to the management or protection of the environment overall. This dire situation first began to shift during the quasi-civilian government of President Thein Sein between 2011 and 2016, with an Environmental Law, which had been drafted and redrafted over 15 years, finally passed in March 2012 (Government of Myanmar, 2012). The various rules and procedures that were to implement this law took several years to be finalized, with implementation of, for example, the EIA Procedures left to the newly formed National League for Democracy (NLD) government, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, from 2016. Due to these governments’ lack of experience and expertise in this area, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) assisted with the drafting of the EIA Procedures, Rules and National Environmental Quality Standards through a Technical Assistance Grant under the Greater Mekong Subregion Core Environment Program (ADB, 2014). 1 Although the ADB itself is regularly criticized for not having adequate public participation and environmental safeguards, the historical lack of any environmental protections in Myanmar makes the standards of international financial institu- tions such as the ADB look relatively thorough (Simpson and Park, 2013). Following promulgation of the Environmental Law, draft Environment Conservation Rules (Government of Myanmar, 2014a), draft EIA Procedures (Government of Myanmar, 2014b) and draft EIA Rules (Government of Myanmar, 2014c), which established the operation of the law, began circulating in Myanmar. Workshops were held with public and private stakeholders during Thein Sein’s government in a consultation process that until the political reforms was entirely foreign to Myanmar. According to an environmental lawyer who was involved with the process: the EIA Regulations do reflect best practice but there are huge hurdles to effective implementation. There needs to be a refocus on sustainable development and environ- mental protection to avoid further significant and long-term environmental disasters in Myanmar. A key element will be the effective participation of the community and civil society in the EIA process. 2 When these regulations are finalized and implemented, they may finally initiate a process of formalized and comprehensive state-led environmental governance in the country. Even allowing for the dramatic reforms currently taking place, however, the military’s traditional dominance in both the political and economic spheres is likely to limit the effectiveness of measures nominally designed to increase participation and ensure sustainability (Farrelly, 2013; Jones, 2014; 2016; Macdonald, 2013). That a country in Asia with a population of 53 million is only just initiating a package of environmental protections indicates the distance that the country needs to travel before effective environmental governance can occur (Simpson, 2015b). This state-led environmental governance is desperately needed in Myanmar, both to address the historical environmental degradation that occurred under the economic mismanagement of the military dictatorship and due to the environmental strains being unleashed by the current political and economic reform process. In some respects, the lack of economic development in the country throughout five decades of authoritarian rule resulted in a less disastrous environ- mental impact on the local environment than in its neighbour, Thailand, which developed large and highly polluting heavy industries over the same period (see chapter 28 and Simpson, 2015a). Likewise, fragile coastal areas have not been degraded to the same extent as in Thailand because mass tourism remains in its infancy. In other respects, the lack of coherent environmental gov- ernance and policymaking resulted in widespread and ad hoc mining, logging and energy proj- ects that were undertaken without regard for the adverse environmental consequences, a situation compounded by civil conflict between the central government and ethnic minorities in the mountainous and resource-rich border regions. Although upland regions, such as Kachin State in the north and Kayin (Karen) State in the east, face a plethora of environmental prob- lems, it is deforestation from unchecked logging that is of most concern for local communities and is often blamed for increased flood events (MacLean, 2003; Tint Lwin Thaung, 2007). Likewise, large-scale, artisanal and small-scale mining put together have an enormous environ- mental impact due to the lack of environmental regulations, resulting in deforestation and the pollution of rivers from mine tailings. Mines are spread throughout Myanmar and produce zinc, lead, silver, tin, gold, iron, coal and gemstones, particularly jade (Global Witness, 2015). One of the biggest and most contentious mines is the Letpadaung (Monywa) copper mine in Sagaing Region, which has been the site for recent protests and conflict (AFP, 2013; Fortify Rights and International Human Rights Clinic, 2015; Smith, 2007)..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Adam Simpson
2016-10-04
Date of entry/update: 2022-03-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 396.27 KB (Original version) - 12 pages
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Description: "A tractor works at a dumpsite in Yangon, Myanmar, June 5, 2020. World Environment Day, a United Nations (UN) campaign to raise awareness about the protection of the environment, is celebrated every year on June 5.."
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Source/publisher: "Xinhua" (China)
2020-06-05
Date of entry/update: 2020-06-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Farmers winning multi-year legal battles against polluting mining companies is worth celebrating, but such victories raise questions over what the government is doing to hold polluters to account.
Description: "IN A landmark victory for environmental law in Myanmar, three farmers in Tanintharyi Region have battled through the court system to persuade the Dawei District Court to order two mining companies to compensate them for the destruction of their betel palm plantations. The companies, Myanmar Pongpipat Company and Eastern Mining Company, operate mines in neighbouring valleys in the Tanintharyi ranges in Dawei Township, about an hour’s drive from the regional capital. Tin has been mined at the sites for decades but nearby communities only began to report negative impacts from mining after the two companies acquired and greatly expanded the mines. MPC entered an agreement with the government in 1999 and EMC began mining around 2011. In a judgment delivered on January 7 against MPC and two more on January 28 against EMC, the companies were asked to pay damages of up to K114,800,000 (US$82,536) for each claimant. This great success should be celebrated, but it raises the question of what the government has done to hold these companies to account. Mining inevitably produces waste, including sediment and liquid tailings, and mismanagement can be catastrophic for communities downstream. In Tanintharyi, livelihoods have been destroyed as thick layers of sediment, fouled with heavy metals and high levels of salts, have inundated farmland after heavy rain. In the two cases against EMC, a Thai mining expert said he had never seen such damage, in which creeks had disappeared under a pile of waste..."
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Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar" (Myanmar)
2020-05-14
Date of entry/update: 2020-05-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Mangroves account for only 0.7 per cent of the Earth’s tropical forest area, but they are among the world’s most productive and important ecosystems. They provide a wealth of ecological and socio-economic benefits, such as serving as nursery habitat for fish species, offering protection against coastal surges associated with storms and tsunamis, and storing carbon. While many countries have established legal protection for mangroves, their value for sustainable ecosystem services face strong competition from converting the land to other more lucrative uses, particularly for agriculture. In the past decade, studies have shown that mangrove deforestation rates are higher than the deforestation of inland terrestrial forests. New research from the National University of Singapore (NUS) provided additional support for this, with results showing that mangroves deforestation rates in Myanmar, an important country for mangrove extent and biodiversity, greatly exceed previous estimates. The research, led by Associate Professor Edward Webb and Mr Jose Don De Alban from the Department of Biological Sciences at the NUS Faculty of Science, was published online in the journal Environmental Research Letters..."
Source/publisher: "Eurasia Review"
2020-03-04
Date of entry/update: 2020-03-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "...MAP Multi-Media supports all projects at MAP to produce communication materials in migrant languages to disseminate information to migrant communities on issues of policies, laws, rights, and health. The media formats used include MAP’s two community radio stations at Chiang Mai and Mae Sot, printed materials, audio and video, websites and social media.... This magazine contents are Tsunami, cause and impact of Tsunami, migrants and Tsunami, animal behavior and natural disasters...."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: MAP Foundation
2005
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : PDF
Size: 1.7 MB
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Topic: Plastic waste, Pollution, Oceans, Rivers, Basel Convention
Topic: Plastic waste, Pollution, Oceans, Rivers, Basel Convention
Description: "Southeast Asia stands to gain the most from the addition of plastic waste to the Basel Convention in 2019. All 10 ASEAN member states are signatories to the Basel Convention, a treaty that controls the movement of hazardous waste from one country to another. A major global environmental problem, plastic waste pollution has reached catastrophic proportions with an estimated 100 million tonnes of plastic now found in the oceans, 80-90 percent of which comes from land-based sources, according to the Basel Convention website. This problem is especially acute in ASEAN, which has seen imports of waste plastic from wealthier nations to the region – particularly Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand – rise sharply following a Chinese ban on waste imports at the start of 2018. Data from the United States (US) Census Bureau shows that nearly half the plastic waste exported from the US for recycling in the first six months of 2018 was shipped to Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam. The contaminated and mixed plastic waste is difficult or even impossible to recycle, leading to a large amount of it ending up in rivers and oceans – or incinerated. The proposed amendment to the Basel Convention provides countries with the right to refuse unwanted or unmanageable plastic waste, and it is a move which will better regulate the global trade in plastic waste, make it more transparent and ensure that its management is safer for humans and the environment..."
Source/publisher: "The ASEAN Post" (Malaysia)
2020-01-28
Date of entry/update: 2020-01-31
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Sub-title: Three earthquakes shook several townships in Chin State and Sagaing Region during the past few days, an official of the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology said.
Description: "The quakes were recorded by Hakha seismological observatory, he added. People in Htantlang township in Chin, and Kalay and Kalaywa townships in Sagaing felt the earthquakes, but no damage or injuries were reported. The quakes were traced to movement in the Kabaw Fault in Chin. The fault lies roughly parallel to the India-Myanmar border near Mizoram in the foothills of the mountains separating the plains of central Myanmar from the Rakhine Mountains, extending roughly 300 kilometres southward. U Yin Myo Min Htwe, assistant director of the department, said the earthquakes were triggered by movement of the Kabaw Fault. “The fault could trigger a landslide in Chin.” A moderate, magnitude 5.1 earthquake with its epicentre about 5 miles southeast of Kalaywa struck on Friday at a depth of 58 kilometres. The other two earthquakes, with magnitudes of 4.4 and 4.5, struck on Thursday and Saturday..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
2019-10-21
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Mandalay Region’s Sont Ye Lake in Kyaukse township and Paleik Lake in Tada-U will be designated as protected wetlands to conserve them and regulate development, a senior regional official said.
Description: "U Myo Thit, regional minister for Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, said his office will soon meet with local groups, residents and non-governmental organisations to discuss the plan and to ensure technical support and effective management. “We need to hold a meeting to discuss the details,” he said. Wetland ecosystems provide a range of products and services for people through rivers, streams, freshwater lakes, marshes, seasonally flooded plains, and estuaries with extensive mangrove swamps. At least 10 wetland areas need conservation in central Myanmar, including Sont Ye Lake, Pyu Lake, Paleik Lake, Manaw Lake, and Taungthaman Lake, said U Thein Aung, chair of the Myanmar Bird and Nature Society. Filling in the lake for settlement and farming, excessive extraction of lotuses, littering, and lack of environmental conservation knowledge among residents are causing the severe degradation of Sont Ye Lake, according to Ma Thiri Dawei Aung of the Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
2019-09-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Myanmar faces many development challenges, but climate change presents the greatest of all. While the effects of climate change are felt in many ways, it is the threat to the country’s future development that makes it so significant.
Description: "Myanmar’s location and physical diversity means climate change takes many forms – in the dry zone, temperatures are increasing and droughts are becoming more prevalent, while the coastal zone remains at constant risk of intensifying cyclones. Extreme flooding in the current wet season has seen over 190,000 people seek emergency shelter, with the damage to homes, schools and farms compounding the impact of last year’s floods, and those from the year before. More intense and frequent climatic events would greatly affect Myanmar, which is already one of the most vulnerable countries to extreme weather events. With memories of 2008’s catastrophic Cyclone Nargis still vivid, the development gains that have been made in recent years remain highly susceptible to such risks. The need to prepare for, respond to, and recover from, these natural disasters costs time and resources that could otherwise be spent on more pressing development priorities. There is no question that Myanmar must work with the international community to slow down and reverse global warming, while also building its resilience. The government of Myanmar recognises that a clean environment, with healthy and functioning ecosystems, is the foundation upon which the country’s social, cultural and economic development must be sustained. It has therefore committed to a national development framework that incorporates the notion of environmental sustainability for future generations by systematically embedding environmental and climate considerations into all future policies and projects..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times" (Myanmar)
2019-09-20
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Topic: Bamboo construction, Climate Change, Global Warming, ASEAN
Topic: Bamboo construction, Climate Change, Global Warming, ASEAN
Description: "The world has 11 years left, as reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to beef up its efforts to reduce global temperatures before it crosses the threshold leading to climate catastrophe. While ASEAN countries have expressed their joint commitment through national pledges to take action and fight climate change, they are also focusing on developing their nations as well. GlobalData’s lead economist for Construction Industry, Danny Richards, said that construction output among ASEAN member states will grow six percent annually over the next five years. However, the building sector accounts for 39 percent of global carbon emissions, where 28 percent is from building operations (heating, cooling, lighting, etc.) and 11 percent is attributed to embodied-carbon emission which refers to carbon that is released during the construction process and material manufacturing. Cement and steel emit eight percent and nine percent, respectively of the total amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the world. Director of the World Green Building Council (World GBC), James Drinkwater, says that once a building of high-embodied-carbon emission is constructed, those emissions add to the total amount of carbon in the air. The construction sector can reduce carbon emission by using materials with low or no embodied carbon..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The ASEAN Post"
2019-05-09
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Topic: Tanintharyi River, Karen, Karen National Union, International Finance Corporation, Myanmar, Environment
Topic: Tanintharyi River, Karen, Karen National Union, International Finance Corporation, Myanmar, Environment
Description: "The lack of transparency surrounding plans to construct dams on the Tanintharyi River in southern Myanmar, and the impact it will have on the livelihoods of the Karen – the area’s indigenous people – is set to add more tension to an area already filled with strife. While there are 18 Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) for dams on the Tanintharyi River – one of southern Myanmar’s largest free-flowing waterways – local communities have received no information on their location, size or status according to a report by three civil society groups last week; Candle Light Youth Group, Southern Youth and Tarkapaw Youth Group. The report titled ‘Blocking a Bloodline: Indigenous Communities along the Tanintharyi River Fear the Impact of Large-Scale Dams’ also notes that 32,008 people from 76 villages living directly along the river depend on it as a vital source of food, water, transportation and cultural expression – all of which are at risk due to plans to build a 1,040 megawatt (MW) hydropower project by Thai-owned Greater Mekong Sub-region Power Public Co Ltd (GMS)..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "The ASEAN Post"
2019-08-15
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Seven years after it was suspended, the Chinese developer of the Myitsone Dam is ramping up efforts to lobby residents amid a strengthening of China-Myanmar relations.
Description: "MUNG RA stands on stage, looking out over the thousands of anti-dam protesters who have come to the confluence where the Ayeyarwady River originates on October 1 to celebrate the seventh anniversary of the suspension of the Myitsone Dam. At the edge of the crowd are English signs with the words “No Dam” and “Free Streaming the Ayeyarwady”. Many people in the audience have pinned badges to their clothing with anti-dam messages. Mung Ra waves a book: Answering Questions on the Extraction of Hydroelectricity from the Ayeyarwady Myitsone, Upper Reaches and River Valley. Published by the dam’s investor, China’s State Power Investment Corporation, it includes a wide range of information on the series of dams the company wants to build on the Ayeyarwady and its tributaries, the N’mai and the Mali rivers, including the structure and potential environmental impact of these dams, and the financial and other benefits for Myanmar. It also explains the company’s investment in the project to date, including the support it has provided to communities displaced by the 6,000 megawatt Myitsone dam project. “The book mentions our resettlement and the health and livelihood assistance [the company gave] but it’s just full of fake information. We never received this [assistance] in the past and we are not receiving it now,” Mung Ra tells the crowd. Mung Ra should know. Originally a resident of Daung Bum, a village located near Myitsone, in 2009 he was forced to move with his family to Maliyang, one of two model villages build by SPIC (then known as China Power Investment Corporation) to house people displaced to make room for the mega-dam, which would flood an area the size of Singapore..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar"
2018-11-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "National Statement of Myanmar at the fourth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly Delivered by Dr. San Oo, Head of Delegation of Myanmar, Deputy Director General, Environmental Conservation Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation of Myanmar..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: UN Environment
2019-03-13
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-18
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Description: "ကျွန်ုပ်တို့ရဲ့ သက်ရှိဇီဝမျိုးစိတ်တွေကို ဘယ်လိုကာကွယ်ထိန်းသိမ်းကြမလဲ" ဆိုသည့် ခေါင်းစဉ်ဖြင့် ၁၀.၅.၂၀၁၅ ရက်နေ့တွင် ဒီဗီဘီ ရုပ်သံသတင်းဌာန မှ ထုတ်လွှင့်ပြသသွားခဲ့သည့် ဒီဗီဘီ ဒီဘိတ် (ပထမပိုင်း)။..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "DVB Debate"
2015-05-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "ကျွန်ုပ်တို့ရဲ့ သက်ရှိဇီဝမျိုးစိတ်တွေကို ဘယ်လိုကာကွယ်ထိန်းသိမ်းကြမလဲ" ဆိုသည့် ခေါင်းစဉ်ဖြင့် ၁၀.၅.၂၀၁၅ ရက်နေ့တွင် ဒီဗီဘီ ရုပ်သံသတင်းဌာန မှ ထုတ်လွှင့်ပြသသွားခဲ့သည့် ဒီဗီဘီ ဒီဘိတ် (ဒုတိယပိုင်း)။..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "DVB Debate"
2015-05-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "ကျွန်ုပ်တို့ရဲ့ သက်ရှိဇီဝမျိုးစိတ်တွေကို ဘယ်လိုကာကွယ်ထိန်းသိမ်းကြမလဲ" ဆိုသည့် ခေါင်းစဉ်ဖြင့် ၁၀.၅.၂၀၁၅ ရက်နေ့တွင် ဒီဗီဘီ ရုပ်သံသတင်းဌာန မှ ထုတ်လွှင့်ပြသသွားခဲ့သည့် ဒီဗီဘီ ဒီဘိတ် (တတိယပိုင်း)။..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "DVB Debate"
2015-05-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-16
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Description: "Asian elephants at the Yangon Zoological Garden in Yangon, Myanmar. The World Elephant Day is marked on Aug. 12 every year, to bring attention to the urgent plight of Asian and African elephants. An Asian elephant at the Yangon Zoological Garden in Yangon, Myanmar. The World Elephant Day is marked on Aug. 12 every year, to bring attention to the urgent plight of Asian and African elephants.Tourists view an Asian elephant at the Yangon Zoological Garden in Yangon, Myanmar, Aug. 12, 2019, the World Elephant Day. The World Elephant Day is marked on Aug. 12 every year, to bring attention to the urgent plight of Asian and African elephants.A girl feeds an Asian elephant at the Yangon Zoological Garden in Yangon, Myanmar, Aug. 12, 2019, the World Elephant Day. The World Elephant Day is marked on Aug. 12 every year, to bring attention to the urgent plight of Asian and African elephants..."
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Source/publisher: "Global Times" via Xinhua
2019-08-13
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-15
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Description: "Myanmar’s Chindwin River Basin is home to a wide range of ecosystems from upland forests to riverine lowlands and seasonally flooded wetlands. These habitats are home to 370 bird species, 16 mammal species including tigers, 5 reptile species, 82 butterfly species, and 155 fish species of which 54 are endemic to the area. The six million people living in the basin depend on the basin’s natural resources for their livelihoods getting fuel, food, and medicinal plants as well as using the seasonally flooded wetlands for fishing and riverbank gardens for planting crops. “Saving Chindwin’s Biodiversity” gives the perspectives of the people living in the basin who talk about their lives and livelihoods, the threats to the natural resources such as from mining, and their ongoing efforts to urgently protect the basin’s natural resources before it’s too late. The film is an outcome of the Chindwin Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (CBES) study, a two-year assessment by Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI). CBES aims to conserve biodiversity and ecosystem service values by supporting local communities and state agencies in the Chindwin River Basin in Myanmar..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
2019-06-13
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Topic: A major British government-backed initiative has helped over 70,000 people and protected hundreds of elephants in Myanmar, supporting local livelihoods, ecosystem function and the country’s rich biodiversity.
Topic: A major British government-backed initiative has helped over 70,000 people and protected hundreds of elephants in Myanmar, supporting local livelihoods, ecosystem function and the country’s rich biodiversity.
Description: "As a result of increased deforestation, wild Asian elephant numbers in Myanmar have dwindled from 10,000 in the 1960s to under an estimate of 2000 by 2004. Myanmar still has the largest tract of intact elephant habitat in Asia and could support a larger number of wild elephants than the current estimated population. With Myanmar’s human population projected to increase, elephants in the nature are being pressured for loss of habitat. A programme from Elephant Family, an NGO protecting Asian elephants from extinction, and partners aim to work by educating school children and also having a scheme to inform local communities about land management. Elephants are known as “keystone species” for their crucial role in the ecosystem to maintain the biodiversity in which they live. The Asian elephant’s habitat ranges across 13 countries in Asia, but it is an endangered species with less than 40,000 remaining worldwide, which is less than one-tenth of the African elephant population. According to government statistics, during the eight-year period from 2010 to 2018, a total of 227 elephants died across the country, of which 124 were killed by poachers..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Myanmar Times"
2019-08-12
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: In 2011, construction work on a massive dam project in Myanmar's restive Kachin state was halted after large protests. China is now lobbying hard for the work to resume, but as BBC News Burmese's Soe Soe Htoon found, local people are still not convinced t
Description: ""I always cry every time I talk about the dam," says Jar Lie. Eight years ago, she was forced to abandon her 40 acres of farmland and move to a resettlement village in Aung Myin Tha, around six miles (nine kilometres) away. Her land was to be flooded by the vast reservoir created by the $3.6bn (£2.8bn) Chinese-financed Myitsone dam, at the source of the Irrawaddy river. Her new village has a market, a hospital, sealed roads and a school, all provided by the company building the dam, Beijing's State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC). But Jar Lie says that without farming land, life here is very difficult. "We could eat what we grew before; there was no need to buy anything. Here without land we can't do anything; we don't know how to earn money. I am very sick here." The dam was due to be completed this year - but so far work has barely begun, and the project has exposed simmering tensions over the balance of power between China and the country it often refers to as its younger brother. The Myitsone was to be the largest of seven dams SPIC is promising to build in the region, to provide quickly-developing Myanmar with much-needed electricity. By some estimates, the project would by itself generate more energy than the entire country produces now. The full contract the former military government signed with SPIC has never been publicly released. But in a rare interview in May, with BBC News Burmese, the former deputy minister of Myanmar's state power company, U Maw Thar Htwe, confirmed the most provocative part of the deal - that 90% of the electricity the dam generated would go back over the border to China. According to U Maw Thar Htwe, the government will get a 10% stake in the dam but will only see a return on its investment two decades after it starts operations..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: BBC News
2019-07-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: " Environmentalists, scientists, writers and monks called for the cancellation of the Myitsone dam at a meeting in Yangon on Monday, at which a committee was formed to fight for the termination of the US$3.6 billion, China-backed project. The meeting came amid pressure from Beijing for work to resume on the dam and followed State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s March 20 comment that the 6,000MW project needed to be considered from “a wider perspective”. Work on the dam, on the Ayeyarwady River about 42 kilometres upstream from the Kachin State capital Myitkyina, was suspended by President U Thein Sein in September 2011 amid escalating and emotionally charged protests against the project. A joint venture between China’s State Power Investment Corporation and a Myanmar conglomerate, Asia World, began work on the dam in 2009 under a memorandum of understand signed by the ruling military junta and the Chinese government three years earlier. An agreement provided for most of the power generated by the massive dam, which would inundate an area as big as Singapore and displace thousands of people, to be exported to China. Speakers at the April 1 meeting included retired government meteorologist and founder of Myanmar Climate Change Watch, Dr Tun Lwin, 71, who challenged one of Aung San Suu Kyi’s March 20 comments about the project. The State Counsellor was quoted as saying that if her National League for Democracy government broke promises made by a previous administration, it would lose credibility with investors. Tun Lwin said there were examples of governments not keeping promises for the sake of their people and the national interest, citing the decision by the Malaysian government to cancel China-backed infrastructure projects worth billions of dollars. “I want the government to listen to the people and cancel the Myitsone project,” he said. “Otherwise I believe the future will not be pleasant.” In his speech Tun Lwin said he did not support the Myitsone dam because the Ayeyarwady River was more important than Myanmar itself. Global warming was already leading to water shortages, he said, and blocking the flow of the river would endanger the country’s future access to water. The former director-general of the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology also expressed regret that his warnings about the impact of climate change on Myanmar were largely ignored. “Sadly, no one has listened enough, especially government officials. This is the fate of our country,” said Tun Lwin, adding that the average temperature in Myanmar had risen by about 1.4 degrees Celsius over the past 50 years..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar"
2019-04-02
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-09
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Description: "In a rare concession to public pressure, Myanmar’s government on Friday ordered the suspension of a controversial hydroelectric project financed and led by a state-owned Chinese company. The Myitsone dam project would have been the first to span the Irrawaddy River, the largest waterway in Myanmar, and was a showcase project for the previous military government. The halt in construction was a victory for dissidents in a country with a long history of stifling opposition. A number of prominent people inside Myanmar, including writers, scientists and the Nobel Peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, had opposed the project. The government’s announcement underscores the nascent stirrings of democracy in Myanmar, also known as Burma, after a nominally civilian government took control from a military junta in March. The dam’s suspension was a blow to China, long considered a benefactor to the government in Myanmar. China Power Investment, a state-run Chinese company, was leading the construction of the project, which would have delivered electricity to southern China. It is unclear how the suspension will affect six other Chinese-led hydroelectric projects in northern Myanmar..."
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Source/publisher: "The New York Times"
2011-09-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-09
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Description: "The jade trade between Myanmar and China is worth an estimated US$30 billion a year - about half of Myanmar’s GDP. But jade mining is a bloodstained business built on drug addiction, slave labour and massive environmental destruction. Who should be responsible for the dark side of jade?.."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: CNA Insider
2018-09-08
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: The Ayeyarwady River, dubbed the lifeblood of Myanmar and home to a threatened species of dolphin, is being suffocated by tonnes of plastic being dumped into it every day. It has been ranked the ninth most polluted river in the world, behind the Philippin
Description: "A study by Fauna & Flora International (FFI) and Thant Myanmar, a non-profit organisation combating plastic pollution in Myanmar, showed that 119 tonnes of plastic waste enter the river daily, based on water samples taken by experts along the Ayeyarwady from Mandalay to Pyay in Bago Region. The Delta Region dumps the most plastic waste in the river each day, around 32 tonnes, and Yangon dumps about 29 tonnes of plastic a day in the river. The waste comprises 62 percent hard plastic, such as bottle caps, 22pc soft plastic, such as betel nut bags, 9pc Styrofoam, such as food boxes, and 7pc multi-layer flexible, such as instant coffee packages. The study’s findings were discussed by experts and policymakers recently at a workshop in Nay Pyi Taw entitled “Plastic pollution in Myanmar: Focus on the Ayeyarwady River"..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Myanmar Times
2019-07-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The UNODC released a report this month that said the number of wildlife trafficking seizures in Myanmar is considerably lower than those made elsewhere in the Mekong sub-region but the country is an increasingly important transit point for the illicit wildlife trade. From 2013 to 2017, officials seized 34 shipments of pangolin scales and other parts, totalling more than 1.2 tonnes. Myanmar also has a modest illegal trade in elephant skin, which is often found for sale in popular markets in special economic zones such as Mine Lar and Tachileik in Shan State. “Myanmar has the perfect conditions for the illegal wildlife trade: abundant wildlife, conflict in border regions with little or no government control, located near the infamous Golden Triangle where all sorts of illegal trade thrives, and neighbours with China, where demand for illegal wildlife products is greatest,” Christy Williams, country director of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Myanmar), said. He added, “This means the impact on Myanmar’s wildlife is devastating. To save our wildlife we need to work together across borders to protect our wildlife, stop poaching and end this insidious trade.” WWF and fellow conservation partners are working to support the government in the fight against wildlife trafficking through training, capacity-building and public awareness campaigns, such as Voices for Momos and the Yangon Elephant Museum. Myanmar is trying to reduce or eliminate the illegal trade by burning US$1.15 million (K1.7 billion) worth of elephant tusks and other wildlife parts that were seized this year, a Forest Department official said..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Myanmar Times
2019-08-02
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Myanmar is generally regarded as a country endowed with rich natural resources: minerals, forests, fertile agricultural lands with plentiful of Monsoon rains, and opulent marine resources. • Located between the east Himalayan syntaxis and the Andaman Sea to the south, washed by the Bay of Bengal on the west, Myanmar links Alpine- Himalayan orogenic belt to the west with its extension in the rest of Southeast Asia. • Myanmar is natural hazard or disaster prone country, being located in the tectonically active Alpide Seismic Belt. • Because of rapid growth in population, industries and urban areas, like elsewhere in the developing world, environmental degradation and other man-made hazards or disasters are also on the rise...ဓ
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Source/publisher: Myanmar Environment Institute (MEI)
2015-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Myanmar’s rainforests and at least nine globally-threatened species face significant risks in Tanintharyi Region if the Dawei-Htee Khee road project continues without a comprehensive biodiversity protection plan, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
Description: "The WWF released a report, “Nature in Peril: The risk of forests and wildlife from the Dawei-Htee Khee road” on Thursday. Construction began on the 138-kilometre, two-lane Htee Khee road to link the Dawei Special Economic Zone with Thailand in 2018. It runs through the vast forests of the Dawna Tenasserim Landscape, which spans the mountains on the Thai-Myanmar border. The DTL is one of the most intact natural landscapes in the entire Greater Mekong region and a stronghold for tigers, elephants, and other endangered wildlife. This forest ecosystem provides freshwater for the area and is critical for mitigating climate change. It is home to 168 species of mammal, 568 species of bird, and thousands of reptile, amphibian, insect, fish and plant species, the WWF said. “The road would bring economic growth to Tanintharyi. However, we are not looking at the cost to forest and wildlife. Just as people need roads, nature needs wild highways allowing species to move,” said Nick Cox, conservation director of WWF-Myanmar. Needing wild highways is one of several issues ignored by the project, he added. Following the Dawei SEZ Memorandum of Intent signed by Myanmar, Thailand and Japan in 2015, Italian-Thailand Development (ITD) signed an agreement with the government to build the two-lane road. In May 2018, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation approved the environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) with some comments. However, the assessment is inadequate in mitigating any impact on biodiversity because it fails to address key challenges, such as the loss of habitat connectivity for threatened species, and an increase in deforestation and illegal hunting, the WWF said. For example, the impact on forests and wildlife identified in the assessment include increases in vehicle pollution, vehicle-wildlife accidents, and deterioration of habitat, but it lacks a comprehensive assessment of the impact of increased traffic and vehicle speeds on wildlife..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Myanmar Times
2019-07-16
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Guided by the insights of a Buddhist monk, we explore the lives of the Burmese intertwined with the reconstruction of the road and the environmental effects it will have on one of Southeast Asia's last remaining wildernesses..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: Timeline - World History Documentaries
2019-07-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: About 90 tonnes of plastic waste a day are dumped in the Ayeyarwady River and another 29 tonnes in the Yangon River, said Friedor Jeske, waste management expert at Thant Myanmar.
Description: ""Almost 90 tonnes of plastic trash go into the Ayeyarwady, mostly hard plastic materials, packing and single use foam packaging," he said at a workshop in Nay Pyi Taw on Monday on plastic pollution in the river. Thirty percent of the plastic waste is produced in Yangon. Villages on the Ayeyarwady dump a lot of plastic in the river, he said. The government needs a better garbage collection and waste management system in villages and townships to solve this issue, which would cost about US$20 million per month. There are heaps of plastic waste in the rivers, which eventually end up in the ocean. If the dumping of plastic in the Ayeyarwady is not reduced, plastic waste will pile up on the riverbed, which will make the river rise, and cause riverbank erosion. To reduce plastic pollution, people's lifestyles must change. First, people should be encouraged to avoid using plastics or to reuse plastic items. They should dispose of plastics properly by recycling. The National Waste Management Strategy and Action Plan was drafted by the governemnt to address the problem. Department of Environmental Conservation Director General U Hla Maung Thein said, "This action plan also includes a main measure for plastic reduction." "The real challenge is the fact that we keep using plastics. In the past when there were no plastics, people used natural packaging. But plastic materials are now being used everywhere, and reducing their use has become a huge challenge," he said. The issue is facing not only Myanmar but countries around the world. Research shows that the plastic breaks down into microscopic particles in the water, which end up in fish and people who eat the fish. "According to the World Bank, a person unknowingly consumes about 5 grams of plastic in fish each week, the consequences of which are still being researched," Jeske said..."
Source/publisher: Myanmar Water Portal via "Myanmar Times"
2019-07-19
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Sustainable rubber is the future and Myanmar has the chance to be a leading player - a win-win-win for the environment, communities and the economy.” Myanmar is one of the most biodiverse countries in Southeast Asia. Its pristine forests, free flowing rivers, beautiful lakes and other natural assets support the livelihoods of millions of people. However, these natural assets are in grave danger. Threats including infrastructure development, illegal logging and rapid rubber expansion are destroying forest habitat that is essential for wildlife, communities and the Myanmar economy. It need not be this way. The global rubber market is shifting towards sustainability with the two biggest mobility companies, Michelin and General Motors, already committed to sourcing and using sustainable rubber. Others will follow. Myanmar has a great opportunity to transform its rubber sector by producing sustainable rubber following a zero deforestation approach. This will protect forests, improve the livelihoods of communities, and contribute to the targets of the National Export Strategy for rubber. This comprehensive analysis will help stakeholders understand the existing dynamics of rubber production and trade and why it is critically important to transform the industry to benefit both communities and environment. The tremendous effort by CIRAD and Yezin University in undertaking this study is truly commendable. The insights and data provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MoALI), and the Myanmar Rubber Planters and Producers Association (MRPPA) have been invaluable in driving important conclusions. This is the moment for Myanmar to become a leader in sustainable rubber production, a decision that will be applauded by generations to come..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
2017-08-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 2.33 MB
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Description: "Over the last four years, WWF-Myanmar and its partners have been working together to better understand the biodiversity and ecological processes of the Dawna Tenasserim landscape. To date, WWF has worked with the Karen Forest Department (under Karen National Union - KNU) to carry out camera trap surveys of the area. WWF has also worked with Columbia University in the United States to understand past climate trends as well as future climate projections that could impact the landscape. Furthermore, WWF collaborated with the Natural Capital Project to map ecosystem services and how changes in land use will impact on the provisioning of these services 4 as well as with the Smithsonian Institution, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), and Flora and Fauna International (FFI) to summarize results of biodiversity surveys and communicate the biodiversity richness of this landscape. Finally, WWF worked with the University of Hong Kong to identify ideas and technical solutions for how infrastructure can be developed more sustainably in this particular landscape. Now, more than ever, we are equipped with not only the information about the area’s biodiversity value but also the threats posed to people and nature by built infrastructure, such as the Dawei-Htee Khee road. This report is the fourth in a series of reports (see below) that have been published between 2015- 2018. The first report published in 2015, highlighted the need to consider information about ecosystem services, land use change, and wildlife in the planning of the road and the broader land use planning of the area (A Better road to Dawei— Protecting wildlife, sustaining nature, benefiting people). A design manual, published in 2016 as the second report, showcased design options for accommodating wildlife crossings and bio-engineering techniques for slope stabilization as well as alignment options to minimize deforestation and maximize social and environmental benefits (Design manual—Building a more sustainable road to Dawei). Based on a request from the road developer in 2016 regarding the identification of wildlife movement patterns in the landscape, WWF worked with conservation organizations active in the area and regional mammal experts to identify critical crossing areas for mammals based on modelling (Wildlife crossing—Locating species’ movement corridors in Tanintharyi, published in 2016) 5 . This fourth report specifically brings together several years of work that has looked in depth at what is at stake in this important ecological corridor system—a system that keeps key forested areas in Thailand and Myanmar connected and which the Dawei-Htee Khee road cuts across. This report outlines the history of the road and the newly approved 2018 Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) of the Dawei-Htee Khee two lane road project 6 . It furthermore highlights the current and projected impacts from deforestation within specific areas in the landscape that are deemed important habitat for many wildlife species. Moreover, this report presents case studies from other countries where successful land use planning and mitigation measures occurred in and around similar landscapes where road construction has taken place. Finally, by drawing on these examples and the evidence collected in the Dawna Tenasserim landscape, this report provides a set of recommendations for key stakeholders listing how they can implement better land use planning within this important landscape to avoid further destruction and deterioration of these “wild highways”. It should be noted that while there are many social and environmental issues associated with the Dawei-Htee Khee road project, this report only focuses on forest and wildlife related issues and the broader fragmentation impacts this road will have on the landscape. WWF recognizes that many social issues related to the road construction, including poor consultations, inadequate or lack of compensation, road safety issues and loss of livelihoods are yet to be resolved and should be further studied and addressed. That is, however, beyond the scope of this technical report assessing impacts on forest and wildlife from the Dawei-Htee Khee road..."
Source/publisher: World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
2019-07-05
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 1.89 MB
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Description: "2017 has been a year of considerable progress in the Dawna Tenasserim Landscape (DTL). This report highlights WWF’s successes on the Myanmar side of the landscape, and demonstrates how donor support is helping us to setup and develop projects that are and will continue to contribute to the overall goals for this vast and ecologically rich landscape. Across the board, WWF is working to show the significance of the DTL and to protect it. Biodiversity surveys have shown that key species including tiger and Asian elephant roam the DTL’s critical corridors, demonstrating to partners this landscape’s biodiversity values. Four Wildlife Protection Units (WPUs) have been established to enhance the protection of these animals and the areas in which they live. Together with partner organisations, a project collaboration has been established, leading to the development of a land use and management plan for the Tanintharyi Landscape Corridor which will secure its vital long-term protection. As funding for the landscape programme has also increased, WWF has now secured crucial support for the protection and effective management of the proposed Tanintharyi National Park. WWF’s signing of an MoU with the Karen National Union exemplifies the strong partnerships that are being developed in the DTL, and our growing credibility has enabled us to secure funding to begin rubber-focussed conservation work. The DTL is an inherently transboundary landscape, straddling the Myanmar-Thailand border. Critical corridors enable the free movement of key populations of terrestrial species. For example, where Thailand has lost its forested corridor connecting Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex (KKFC) to the Western Forest Complex (WEFCOM), connectivity between these two significant forested areas is preserved by the Tanintharyi Landscape Corridor on Myanmar’s side of the DTL. Species moving between the two forest complexes have no choice but to move back and forth over the border. This is a critical moment for progress in this spectacular landscape. Though we are at an early stage of engagement, funding has enabled us to embrace this key time frame, initiating and scaling up engagement whilst allowing us the flexibility to move on opportunities and deliver concrete support to local partners..."
Source/publisher: World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
2018-08-11
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 2.55 MB
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Description: "This has been a year of results. From zero elephant rangers we now have 220 on the ground in our Central Elephant Landscape and have gone from one elephant poached per week, to one a month and now one every six months. We have achieved one of the toughest wildlife laws in Asia with a mandatory minimum three years imprisonment for poaching or trade of completely protected species and seen it implemented in the courts. Through the Voices for Momos campaign we have secured a ban on illegal wildlife sales in Yangon region. It has also been a year of challenges. The Dawei Road project has re-awoken and is pushing ahead with potential devastating impacts to a critical tiger corridor. Conversations around dams are becoming louder and more frequent and everyone is aware of the challenges Myanmar is facing in its transition to democracy. To meet these challenges we are expanding our presence with offices now in Naypyidaw, Hpa-An, Dawei and Yangon, and work focused across three landscapes –Dawna Tenasserim, Central Elephant and Ayeyarwady. Our work in natural resource protection and management is investment in the peace, stability, and prosperity of an entire nation. This is evidenced in our Dawna Tenasserim projects where we are working alongside returning Karen refugees supporting livelihoods through a sustainable, inclusive, landscape approach. Now more than ever we need to ensure Myanmar’s natural heritage remains and underpins sustainable, inclusive development for the good of all its people..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
2018-11-28
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 2.61 MB
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Description: ''The Myanmar Climate Change Alliance (MCCA) was launched in 2013 with the joint efforts of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (MNREC) and its Environmental Conservation Department (ECD). The programme also works closely with several other ministries and government agencies, including the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement (MSWRR) and its Relief and Resettlement Department (RRD). The overall objective of MCCA is to mainstream climate change into the policy development and reform agenda of Myanmar. The country is highly vulnerable to climate change and hazards. At a local level, climate change is already resulting in more frequent and severe disasters such as devastating cyclones, frequently recurring floods and storm surges, droughts and consequent climate driven migration, and loss of productivity in the agriculture sector, among others. In the context of increasing climate-induced risks, local administrations need to enhance their capacities for climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR). In response, MCCA and ECD designed a training course entitled “Building Local Level Resilience to Climate Change in Myanmar”. The overall aim of the training course is to build the capacity of national and local governments for integrating CCA and DRR measures into local development plans. The course modules are tailored to equip government officials with robust knowledge on climate change and its impacts in Myanmar, as well as with analytical and technical skills on how to develop local CCA and DRR strategies and plans based upon vulnerability assessments...''
Source/publisher: HABITAT (United Nations Centre for Human Settlements)
2019-03-26
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 3.86 MB
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Description: "In 2016 the Myanmar Climate Change Alliance (MCCA), implemented by UN-Habitat and UN-Environment, on behalf of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, conducted a detailed climate change vulnerability assessment of Labutta Township, in collaboration with WWF and Columbia University...."
Source/publisher: HABITAT (United Nations Centre for Human Settlements)
2018-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 2.29 MB
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Description: "Hydropower development in Myanmar has potentially wide-ranging impacts. Hydropower development in Myanmar is taking place in the context of sustained and rapid economic growth over approximately the last two decades. This has been driven predominantly by growth in the industrial sector, although growth in the agricultural and service sectors has also been important. Extractive and natural-resourced based industries have been an important component of this growth with natural gas, minerals and timber comprising the lion’s share of exports. The economics baseline develops a broad strategic picture of relevant economic sectors, highlights development and environmental issues, identifies interactions with hydropower development and potential cumulative impacts of hydropower and other economic development. Based upon consultations throughout potentially hydropower affected areas of the country, five economic sectors were identified as having important linkages with hydropower that the SEA should investigate, these were i) the Power sector; ii) Agriculture; iii) Forestry; iv) Mining; and, v)Transportation. Power sector - Hydropower has significant direct economic benefits. It represents an important part of grid-based electricity generation, accounting for around 3.5 GW of installed capacity and 72% of grid-based electricity generation in 2014. The value of the electricity generated per year is best estimated in terms of the value of alternative supply of electricity, which would make the approximately 6,920 GWh generated by hydropower in 2014 worth USD 735 million.1 Agriculture - agriculture has expended relatively rapidly since the 1990s with significant increases in land under cultivation, irrigable area and cropping intensity. The use of agricultural inputs has also grown rapidly with increases in the use of agricultural chemicals and mechanisation in particular. These changes have led to significant increases in agricultural productivity over the last two decades. However, in recent years value-added growth in the sector has been low. Significant interactions between hydropower and agriculture include: • Reduced nutrient transport; • Reduced deltaic stability; • Increased erosion downstream of HP plants; • Unseasonal changes in water flow or availability; • Loss of riverbank gardens associated with changes in flow regime and/or sedimentation; • Loss of agricultural land in area inundated by HP plants with a reservoir; • Loss of access to land in watershed protection area; • Reduced flooding of plants managed for flood reduction; • Increased water availability for irrigation if plants managed for multiple use; • Improved electricity supply; • Deforestation and knock-on consequences for other sectors (such as flooding, erosion and soil degradation) and biodiversity loss; • Increased pollution from agricultural run-off compounding reservoir water-quality issues; and, • Increased soil degradation, erosion and sedimentation caused by agricultural practices. Forestry - forestry represents a relatively small and declining share of GDP. Although value-added has grown considerably since the early 2000s, in recent years production in the sector has declined, in part due to policies banning the export of raw timber. Illegally exported timber, not accounted for in official statistics, is typically smuggled across the border to China, remains important. The key development and environmental issue associated with the forest sector is deforestation and unsustainable use of timber resources. Important interactions with hydropower development were identified as: • Clearance of forest from inundation areas and transmission line corridors; • Deforestation through better access to forests, through road and other infrastructure, including during the plant construction period; and • Increased watershed erosion due to deforestation and sedimentation in reservoir..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: World Bank
2019-01-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Format : pdf
Size: 2.56 MB
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Description: "Myanmar's gross domestic product (GDP) was US$67 billion in 20171 and has been growing at a high rate of 7.2 percent in 2013-2018. The GDP growth rate is expected to be 6.2 percent in the 2018/19 fiscal year (World Bank Group 2018). Most of the contribution to GDP growth in the past five years has stemmed from industry (1.9 percentage points from manufacturing and 0.7 percentage points from other industries) and services (3.9 percentage points). Myanmar has relied heavily on natural resource exploitation to sustain economic growth, and serious environmental issues are emerging, underlining the importance of transparent and robust Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system. There are growing concerns around the impacts of the large-scale development, including deforestation, depletion of inland and coastal fisheries, land degradation, flooding and landslides, biodiversity loss, and the deterioration of water and air quality (IFC 2017; Rai6er, Samson, and Nam 2015). A functioning EIA system is critical in identifying and managing the potential impacts of large-scale development and striking the balance between economic development, environmental conservation, and social inclusion. Balancing economic growth and environmental protection remains a critical policy challenge. Myanmar was ranked 171st in the World Bank Group Doing Business 2019 report; in terms of environmental governance, Myanmar scored 138th out of 180 countries on the Yale Environmental Performance Index in 2018. There is a need to improve business regulations while increasing efficiency and effectiveness of EIA, monitoring, and compliance systems that support environmental and social (E&S) sustainability. This also underlines the need for effective public participation in environment and natural resources (ENR) management, which an effective EIA process can facilitate. At the policy level, the Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan (MSDP) (2018-2030) and National Environment Policy (2019) provide the foundation for mainstreaming ENR into development planning. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (MONREC) and its Environmental Conservation Department (ECD) have also set ambitious targets to recruit more than 19,000 staff by 2025 and establish 73 offices at the district level and 365 offices at the township level. Internally, they have also recogni6ed the urgent need to strengthen EIA systems. Significant progress has been achieved in recent years by the Government of Myanmar (GoM) in establishing the legal and regulatory framework for environmental management. The GoM has introduced the Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) (2012), supported by the Environment Conservation Rules (ECR) (2014) and EIA Procedure (2015). The government has also set up an EIA Division to oversee the review and approval of EIAs, Initial Environmental Examinations (IEEs), and Environmental Management Plans (EMPs). Over the last three years, the World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Asian Development Bank (ADB), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Myanmar Center for Responsible Business (MCRB) and other development partners have invested in building the capacity of ECD through support to training and development of sector-specific guidelines..."
Source/publisher: World Bank
2019-06-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 2.45 MB
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Description: Nay Pyi Taw – The Government of Myanmar today announced its vision for the country’s environmental protection and climate action, launching two new policies that will guide Myanmar’s environmental management and climate change strategy. Myanmar is widely considered one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to the impacts of climate change, and its renowned biodiversity and natural resources are under increasing pressure as the country develops. More intense and more frequent floods, cyclones and droughts have caused immense loss of life and damage to infrastructure and the economy. President U Win Myint announced the two new policies – the National Environmental Policy and the Myanmar Climate Change Policy – at an event marking World Environment Day in the capital. More than 400 attended the announcement, including senior government officials from Union ministries, states and regions and representatives from civil society, academic institutions, businesses and the international community, including the acting UN Resident Coordinator and EU Ambassador. Speaking at the launch, President U Win Myint said, “I am greatly honored to launch these policies in this auspicious ceremony. These policies, strategy and master plan have to be implemented effectively in the relevant sectors through short-and long-term development plans and investments, respectively. I have no doubt that we have confidence to achieve sustainable and harmonious development which balances economic, social and environmental pillars. It can be achieved by understanding current promulgated environmental policy and Climate change policy, environmental conservation laws, by-laws, rules and regulations, guidelines in the relevant Ministries, civil society, businesses, technicians, students and people, and also contributing to the development projects, investments and sustainable development activities, based on the technology and experiences with international best practices through reducing greenhouse gas emission and development of air pollution management plan. I would like to urge Myanmar citizens, including all of you, to participate for the current and future sustainable development of our country by changing your daily lifestyles in order to support environmental conservation. And, I also would like to urge you again to beat air pollution as an important part of Myanmar’s sustainable development to benefit our society as a whole.”
Creator/author: vi Rivinoja, Shashank Mishra, Nina Raasakka, Martin Cosier
Source/publisher: UNDP (United Nations Development Programme)
2019-06-05
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Pinsalu Island, Myanmar – Eight years after experiencing the devastating Cyclone Nargis, Myanmar’s worst natural disaster to date in the country, rural communities, especially women, in the Ayeyarwady River Delta, live in constant dread of another monster sea storm. Although better prepared with improved early warning systems and ready to quickly pack essentials before taking refuge in the village cyclone shelters with their families, the women of Pinsalu in Labutta district in the Delta face a higher risk to their lives during a natural disaster and are more exposed to the growing ravages of climate change. In case of emergency, the women have to take care of the children, sick and elderly at home as the men are often away at work on the farms or fishing in the river. During community consultations for a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) climate change gender vulnerability assessment, the women of Pinsalu and Labutta villages which were worst affected by the May 2008 Cyclone Nargis, said they need to be better prepared for natural disasters as they are primarily responsible for the safety of vulnerable family members. They are trying to procure lifejackets and supplies of safe drinking water, food, medicine and electric lights. They also need to improve their preparedness to cope with the worsening impact of the changing climate on their daily lives. Although women are actively engaged in farming and fisheries, their role in these main livelihood sectors is still not recognized and, as a result, they are often excluded from government-run climate change adaptation training for farmers and fishers. The findings of the UNEP gender assessment, underscore how climate change is affecting rural women and men in Myanmar, especially in a country where 15.1 per cent of agricultural landowning households are headed by women. The women of Labutta lack access to information and other resources needed to adapt to the changing climate. As a result, these women who play pivotal social and economic roles in their communities and often are breadwinners, are the most vulnerable. Over the past decade in Pinsalu, where the main source of livelihoods is fishing, the fish catch has been reduced dramatically because of rising temperatures and damage to mangroves..."
Source/publisher: UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme)
2016-10-05
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: A giant earthquake occurred off Sumatra Island of Indonesia, on December 26, 2004. The earthquake, an interplate event, caused by the subduction of Indo-Australian) plate beneath the Andaman (or Burma) microplate was the largest in size (Mw 9.1) in the world for the last 40 years. While the epicenter was located west off Sumatra Island, the aftershock zone extended through the Nicobar to the Andaman Islands. This earthquake generated a tsunami which devastated the shores of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, South India, and Thailand as far as the east coast of Africa. More than 200,000 people are thought to have died as a result of the tsunami. In Myanmar, however, the damage and casualties were relatively small compared to other countries that were impacted.This report summarizes the results of a survey to documents the effects of the tsunami along the Myanmar coast and seeks to identify why the damage was much smaller than the neighboring Thai coast, and how vulnerable the Myanmar coast may be for future tsunamis.
Creator/author: Kenji Satake, Than Tin Aung et al
Source/publisher: National Institute of Advance Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)
2005-06-00
Date of entry/update: 2010-09-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 991.79 KB
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