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4.24. Myanmar is one of the world's main suppliers of (natural) teak. Forestry products contributed 0.7% to exports in 2018 (...) The forest cover decreased between 1990 and 2015 (Table 4.2). Over 5,000 km2 per year were lost due to deforestation between 2010 and 2015, which according to the FAO was among the highest net declines in forest cover in the world. The contribution of the forestry sector to GDP declined sharply during the review period, notably in FY 2016/17 (down 60%), as the Government imposed a country-wide moratorium on timber harvesting during that time [10]. In the Bago Yoma region, a 10-year logging ban has been in place since FY 2016/17.

[10] Restrictions are also in place on hand chain saws in order to combat illegal logging. The Community Monitoring and Reporting System (CMRS) was implemented to control illegal logging and associated trade. Local communities cooperate with the Government to transfer unregistered chain saws to the regional Forest

4.25. With the aim of containing deforestation and forest degradation, Myanmar implemented a scheme of shifting cultivation and introduced a mechanism called Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Participating developing countries may receive REDD+ incentives from international sources for reducing CO2 emissions from land use (and change thereto), including forestry.

Table 4.2 Changes in land use, 1990, 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015
Categories: Forests
Area ('000 hectares)
1990: 39,218; 2000: 34,868; 2005: 33,321; 2010: 31,773; 2015: 29,041
(...)
Categories: Other wooded land
Area ('000 hectares)
1990: 19,498; 2000: 19,703; 2005: 19,908; 2010: 20,113; 2015: 15,080

4.26. Forestry policy is implemented mainly by the Forest Department of the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry (MOECAF); the state-owned Myanmar Timber Enterprise (MTE), which is part of the MOECAF; the Myanmar Forest Certification Committee; the Department of Trade; and the Myanmar Customs Department. The main legislation governing the sector includes the Forest Law, 2018; the Biodiversity and Conservation of Protected Area Law, 2018; the Environmental Conservation Law, 2012; and the Myanmar Investment Law, 2016. [11]

[11]The Forest Rule and the Biodiversity and Conservation of Protected Area Rule were drafted for the implementation of the Biodiversity and Conservation of Protected Area Law, 2018, and the Forest Law, 2018.

4.27. The Forest Department manages two categories of forests that collectively constitute the gazetted Forest Lands: the Reserved Forest (RF) and the Protected Public Forest (PPF). The RF is of higher commercial value, and the public has no harvesting rights. The PPF is of lower commercial value, and the public has some harvesting rights. According to the Biodiversity and Conservation of Protected Area Law, the Forest Department also designates Protected Areas (PAs) to preserve diverse ecosystems and species richness (Table 4.3).

4.28. The 10-year Myanmar Reforestation and Rehabilitation Programme was launched in 2017/18. The Government aims to increase the forest cover under Permanent Forest Estates [12] to 30% of the land area, and to 10% under the PA system. The Programme also aims to enhance the restoration and rehabilitation of forest cover related to climate change (...).

[12] Permanent Forest Estate (PFE) = Reserved Forest (RF) + Protected Area (PA).

Table 4.3 Reserved Forests, Protected Public Forests, and Protected Areas, 2019
Legal classification: Reserved Forest (RF); Protected Public Forest (PPF); Total RF + PPF (Forest Land); Protected Area (PA)
Area (million acres): 29.7; 12.9; 42.62; 9.8
% of land area: 17.8; 7.7; 25.5; 5.8

4.29. According to the State-Owned Economic Enterprise (SEE) Law, 1989, the Forestry Policy, 1995, and the Forestry Law, 2018, the MTE has exclusive rights regarding commercial timber harvesting and milling, and marketing of timber and its products. Harvesting under a joint venture with the MTE or by private contract on behalf of the MTE is not permitted. The management of natural forests and forest areas is closed to private investment, except for the reduction of carbon emissions (...).

4.30. (...) The Extraction Department of the MTE extracts targeted round logs annually and transfers them to the Export Marketing Milling Department. Current forestry policy is to extract timber below the Annual Allowable Cut (AAC), which is established based on an area limit, time-limit, and girth limit of the trees. According to the authorities, timber is extracted below the AAC to adjust for excessive timber extraction in the past. Good-quality logs are sold by monthly open tender to local and foreign companies. Inferior-quality logs are transferred to MTE sawmills and wood-based industries for processing; the sawn timber and wood-based products are then sold by monthly open tender. The Pricing Committee establishes a floor price for each lot on sale. Participation in tenders is subject to a bank guarantee of USD 10,000.

4.31. Under the Forest Law, the private sector may invest in forest plantations under long-term lease. The Forest Department is permitted to lease forest land for the establishment of teak plantations of up to 500 acres, plantations of other hardwoods of up to 100 acres, and industrial plantations of up to 100 acres. (...) As an incentive for private-sector investment, a low rental fee is charged for leasing the forest land to establish a plantation (MMK 1,000 per acre per year).