Myanmar Forestry Policy and Institutional Arrangement: Case Study of Mangrove Deforestation during 1980 and 2015

The country's mangrove vegetation has been declining over the years, with a significant decrease in area from 555,500 ha in 1980 to 299,000 ha in 2015, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The Forest Department (FD) has reported a degradation rate of about 11,088 ha/yr. The mangrove forests in Myanmar are threatened by increasing socioeconomic needs and climate change. Despite the existence of policies and institutional arrangements, forest degradation in Myanmar is still occurring. The country has a rich natural resource base, with forests covering 46.69% of the total land area. However, the mangrove forests are being systematically managed, with the FD implementing measures such as establishing administrative boundaries, such as Reserved Forests and Protected Areas, to conserve the mangroves. The current study aims to understand the existing law and policy, and institutional arrangement status, the cause and barriers, and ways to cope with deforestation. The study area covers a 2400 km long coastline, which is divided into three main coastal zones: Rakhine Coastal Zone (RCZ), Ayeyarwaddy Delta Coastal Zone (ADCZ), and Tanintharyi Coastal Zone (TCZ). The mangrove grows well along the coast but is being degraded and deforested due to natural and anthropogenic pressures. The study evaluates the overall mangrove cover change and analyzes the cause and barrier of mangrove deforestation, and current policy and institutional arrangement to find potential and suitable measures or ways coping with mangrove deforestation for sustainable mangrove management. The mangrove cover changes for 30 years were analyzed based on official documents, Forest Department's Management Plan, reports such as "Myanmar forest register," and FAO's forest assessment reports. Cause and vulnerability assessment has been analyzed by conducting questionnaire interview with local community and semi-structured interview with FD officials reviewing official records of FD. The results show that mangroves are growing well in 9 out of 17 Townships (TSPs) along Rakhine coast line of (RCZ). The cover area in Rakhine State in 1995-96 was 152,111.8 ha or 9.28% of total forest area of 1639378.25 ha. In Ayeyarwaddy Region, mangrove grows in 7 out of 26 Townships. It is surveyed as of 81,851.75 ha or 19.22% of total forest of 425,832.75 ha. Altogether 21 Reserved Forests (RFs) and unreserved forests (URFs) covering mangrove of 253,118.3 ha, 8 RFs in Ayeyarwaddy Region, one RF and one URF in Rakhine State, and 11 RFs in Tanintharyi Region are observed in 2013. Four Protected Areas or wildlife sanctuaries, 2 in Ayeyarwaddy Region and 2 in Tanintharyi, have also been established. The study highlights the need for a clear and strong legal framework followed by enhancing institution, conservation methods activities, collaboration, raising awareness, alternative job opportunities, to protect mangrove taking into account these data from FAO and FD. The results of the study are expected to be supportive in achieving sustainable development in parallel with conservation.