Authorities criticised for inaction as Arakan State’s mangrove forests continue to shrink

By Admin 25 Mar 2023

DMG Newsroom
25 March 2023, Sittwe

Authorities are still failing to cooperate in the conservation of mangrove forests in Arakan State, according to activists engaged in mangrove forest conservation.

Previously, mangrove trees were only cut for firewood, but these days people are logging mangrove forests for commercial purposes including to make charcoal and bricks, with authorities failing to take effective action, say activists.

Deforestation of mangrove forests has been on the rise year after year in Kyaukphyu, Taungup, Ann, Myebon and Ramree townships. While authorities fail to take action against loggers, they also don’t bother to undertake mangrove replanting efforts, according to activists.

Ann resident Ko Myo Lwin, who engages in the conservation of mangrove forests, said: “It is fair to say around 70 percent of mangrove forests have been completely deforested in our area. Of the remaining 30 percent that survive, around 5 percent are trees younger than five years old.”

Mangrove forests are also deforested for other purposes including making way for fish and salt farming.

Annually, as many as 200 tonnes of mangrove trees are illegally logged from the Wunbaik mangrove forest reserve in Ramree Township, one of Asia’s largest mangrove forests.

At present, the Wunbaik mangrove forest reserve is only conserved through the collaborative efforts of local residents. The mangrove forest reserve will be completely deforested in the next 10 years if authorities fail to intervene, said Ko Chit Lwin from Sitbya Village in Ramree Township.

“The government’s conservation programmes exist in name only. We are not satisfied with its conservation measures, which are not effective. They also don’t cooperate with locals,” said Ko Chit Lwin.

The Arakan State environmental conservation department has stressed the need to systematically conserve mangrove forests as deforestation of mangrove forests can exacerbate climate change and depletion of fish resources.

“Deforestation will lead to global warming, and climate changes and marine resources will decline year by year,” said an official of the environmental conservation department.

DMG’s calls to Arakan State Forest Department official U Aung Min went unanswered.

In a 2021 interview, the Arakan State Forest Department told DMG that it grew 390,000 saplings annually in townships across Arakan State to prevent deforestation.

The Forest Department compiles and updates information on mangrove forests throughout Myanmar once every five years. The most recent tabulations, from 2015, found that Arakan State had 395,726 acres of mangroves in total. There are 5,320 acres of mangrove forests in Maungdaw District, 7,463 acres in Sittwe District, 148,268 acres in MraukU District, 83,660 acres in Kyaukphyu District and 83,876 acres in Thandwe District.