Less illegal logging of Wunbaik mangroves after AA takes Ramree: environmentalists

By Admin 23 Sep 2024

DMG Newsroom
23 September 2024, Ramree

Illegal logging in the Wunbaik reserve mangrove forest (WRMF) has significantly decreased since the Arakkha Army (AA) seized control of Arakan State’s Ramree Township, according to environmentalists.

The WRMF is Asia’s second-largest mangrove forest, but timber smugglers have been known to harvest its mangroves for use ultimately as charcoal.

“Locals normally cut down firewood [in the WRMF] to be used due to power outages. There has been no illegal logging in the Wunbaik reserve mangrove forest since the AA seized Ramree,” said an environmentalist.

Prior to the AA’s conquest, hundreds of tonnes of mangrove wood was reportedly logged illegally from the WRMF annually, with a lack of effective protection raising concerns among conservationists that the forest was in danger of being destroyed.

While the township administrative body set up by the United League of Arakan (ULA) — the AA’s political wing — says it is working to prevent illegal logging in the WRMF, environmentalists point out that long-term planning is needed to conserve the mangrove forest.

“Although illegal logging has decreased, there is still a small amount of logging according to local needs,” said Ko Tun Naing, a member of the WRMF conservation committee. “The decrease in illegal logging is very good, but it needs to be sustained in the long term. The ULA needs to establish a special department to handle the conservation of the Wunbaik reserve mangrove forest.”

Environmentalists continue to urge the cooperation of local people as mangroves aid in mitigating climate change, and play an important role in fostering sustainable fisheries. 

“There is a need to educate the locals about mangrove conservation. Many species of turtles, as well as birds and fish, have been found in the Wunbaik reserve mangrove forest,” noted a local woman in Ramree.

The WRMF covers more than 150,000 acres, spanning Arakan State’s Ramree and Kyaukphyu townships. The habitat has been designated a “reserve” due to its rich biodiversity.