Publication: Myanmar Country Forest Note
Loading...
Files in English
1,193 downloads
Date
2020-06
ISSN
Published
2020-06
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Myanmar’s rich tropical forests have historically sustained a sizeable timber industry serving domestic and international markets. Rates of timber extraction rose significantly after 1990, peaking between 2010 and 2015, when controls over forests were weak. Much of the remaining forest estate in government reserves, including areas transferred for community forestry, is now degraded or encroached, and illicit timber harvesting continues, despite a ban on unprocessed log exports and other recent control measures. Ongoing sector reforms and strong government commitments under the Myanmar Restoration and Rehabilitation Program provide a sound basis for moving away from an extractive and inefficient timber industry to a more inclusive and integrated model of forest landscape restoration with greater community ownership and private sector engagement, to ensure that Myanmar’s forests continue to provide sustainable economic, social, and environmental benefits. This requires more diverse management approaches and the collaboration with partners who can expand forest management capacity and coverage, including commercial plantations, community forestry, and engagement with ethnic groups who aspire recognition of rights to forest under customary tenure. It also requires new sources of finance. This Country Forest Note (CFN) summarizes the status of Myanmar’s forests and the investments and policies relevant to the forest sector. It aims to inform a strategic, programmatic approach for the management of forests, built on an understanding of the cross-sectoral challenges that the sector faces. It builds on the Forest Sector Report of the Country Environmental Analysis by filing gaps in data and knowledge, including from new studies on private sector plantations, woodfuel, and forest tenure. The CFN takes a uniquely cross-sectoral perspective that considers how other sectors impact forests, and vice versa, and where opportunities lie for better cross-sectoral coordination.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2020. Myanmar Country Forest Note. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34095 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Mexico - Country Note on Climate Change Aspects in Agriculture(Washington, DC, 2009-12)This country note briefly summarizes information relevant to both climate change and agriculture in Mexico, with focus on policy developments (including action plans and programs) and institutional make-up. Mexico is the only developing country to have submitted three national communications to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), indicating strong commitment by the government for addressing climate change across sectors. Agriculture contributes little, in relative terms, to total green house gas (GHG) emissions and the emission reduction potential in the sector is small and primarily focused on methane reduction, though more diversified carbon trading opportunities can be pursued. Agriculture is highly vulnerable to weather extremes, in particular in the Northern parts of the country, where water scarcity is an issue, or the Southern parts of the country, where tropical storms caused extensive damage to crop and livestock production. Reducing vulnerability to climate change is of utmost importance in the agricultural sector in Mexico, considering the role the sector plays in food security and livelihoods of rural populations.Publication A Legal and Institutional Framework for Sustainable Management of Forest Resources in Southern Sudan : Policy note(World Bank, 2010-02-01)This policy note was prepared in response to a request from the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) for World Bank assistance in developing legislative and institutional policies and strategies that will take advantage of the potential of the region's forest resources to contribute to poverty alleviation, food security, sustainable agriculture, economic growth, and to protection of forest-related environmental services such as climate, biodiversity, water, and wildlife resources. The note is intended to: (a) take stock of the current situation on the ground, including identifying the legislative, institutional, governance, and policy reforms needed to create an enabling environment for both public and private-sector investment. This should help in contributing to improved understanding of the currently underutilized potential of Southern Sudan's forest resources; (b) analyze what has worked and what has not worked prior to and since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA); and (c) suggest priority solutions and actions towards revitalizing the forestry sector. Key policy issues addressed in this note include: 1) strengthening forest resource information and knowledge base; 2) developing a coherent legislative and policy framework, organizational structure, and capacity for the sector; 3) promoting participatory forest and woodland management; 4) enabling forest-based industries to thrive; 5) creating an enabling environment for attracting private-sector investment; 6) protecting and enhancing forest-related environmental services; 7) using technical approaches to conservation and sustainable management of forest resources; and 8) introducing predictable and sustainable long-term financing mechanisms.Publication Bulgaria : Forest Policy Note(Washington, DC, 2009-03-10)This focus note presents key findings of a 2008 report on implementing Financial Action task Force (FATF) standards in developing countries The Financial Sector Reform and Strengthening(FIRST) Initiative funded a five-country study to analyze the effects of anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) regulation on access to finance, especially in low-income populations. Standard AML and CFT measures promote financial integrity and support crime fighting, but they can also exclude low-income people from financial services through onerous regulations. The study identifies factors that may intensify this impact, provides approaches on the design of appropriate AML/CFT controls that complement financial access policies, and suggests key design principles for AML/CFT controls.Publication Forestry Administration of Cambodia : The Forest Concession Management and Control Pilot Project(Washington, DC, 2005-06)The Forest Concession Management and Control Pilot Project (FCMCPP) overall objective was developed in the early 2000s and aims at 'testing and demonstrating, through implementation, a comprehensive set of forest planning and management guidelines and control procedures and establishing an effective forest management compliance monitoring and enforcement capability'. According to the planning handbook a separate and specific document was supposed to be prepared with regard to the social issues of the forest concession planning process in order to complete the planning process. The purpose of this document is clearly for the benefit and use of forestry administration agents, concessionaires' staff, local communities and all other stakeholders who will be involved in any kind of forest management planning process in Cambodia. It is hoped that this manual will help to improve the relationship between all the forest stakeholders, and consequently help to decrease conflicts and forest destruction and to strengthen a sustainable management of the Cambodian forests.Publication Republic of Moldova Forest Policy Note(Washington, DC, 2014-12-19)This forest policy note (FPN) offers an outside view of the Moldovan forestry sector, provides some strategic guidance to help define sector goals, and identifies opportunities for consideration in the continued development of the sector and for the implementation of the Moldova and World Bank (WB) country partnership strategy (CPS). This study is based on a number of short visits to Moldova and on a number of background studies undertaken during the implementation of both phases of the European neighborhood and partnership instrument (ENPI) east countries, forest law enforcement and governance (FLEG) program. The WB CPS for Moldova recognizes that the forestry sector plays an important role for competitiveness and climate change but has not received the attention it deserves. This FPN builds on previous work within the forestry sector. It aims to inform the WB project formulation process and the forestry sector by reviewing the sector and highlighting the main policy issues and identifying possible actions.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Lao PDR Forest Note(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-06-05)Natural capital in Lao PDR is a major source of wealth for the country and becomes even more strategic in times of economic stress. While forest products directly benefit vulnerable rural communities, ecosystem services from forests support key economic sectors such as energy, agriculture, industry, and tourism. Forests and downstream industries also offer important job and livelihood opportunities in rural areas in Lao PDR that can be expanded. This country forest note provides an upstream analysis of the status of forests as well as investments and policies relevant to the forest sector in the Lao People’s Demographic Republic. The analysis looks at forests in a programmatic and cross-sectoral manner to strategically position the World Bank Group to support the country in delivering on forest-relevant interventions.Publication Urban Transport in Yangon(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020)Yangon is the largest city and main economic powerhouse in Myanmar. The increased urbanization and economic activity in Yangon in the past decade may be potentially hampered by higher motorization and its negative impacts, particularly for the poor, including longer travel times to jobs and services, and increasing traffic-related injuries and fatalities and pollutant emissions. The report calls for urgent actions to seize the window of opportunity brought by a growing economy and put forward actionable, simple, and affordable strategies aiming to provide efficient, equitable, clean, and safe mobility for the population in two major cities in Myanmar. This overview note presents highlights of the report for Yangon. It aims to support policy discussions on how to improve the urban transport sector performance and match with adequate funding and financing options suited to the bold vision for Yangon.Publication Managing Pesticides for Greener Growth in Lao PDR(World Bank, Vientiane, 2021-03-26)Sound pesticides management and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in particular are widely acknowledged as important mechanisms to mitigate pre- and post-harvest losses and to achieve sustainable agricultural intensification. The recent proliferation of agricultural concessions, contract farming arrangements, subsidies and other mechanisms in the country to stimulate production also mean a facilitated access to inputs that must be regulated. Preserving Lao PDR’s rich biodiversity is not only a conservation goal in itself but also contributes to food security, poverty reduction and development. Sound pesticides management contributes to agricultural competitiveness and trade. Trade in agricultural products, and in particular market access, is affected by the presence of pests in a traded consignment or the presence of excessive pesticide residues in food products that attract the application of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures by trading partners. The Lao PDR Government has made strides in controlling banned, unregistered and illegally imported pesticides in the last ten years.Publication Philippines Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)Climate change poses major risks for development in the Philippines. Climate shocks, whether in the form of extreme weather events or slow-onset trends, will hamper economic activities, damage infrastructure, and induce deep social disruptions. Adaptation to the risks of climate change, including both extreme events and slow-onset problems, is thus critical for the Philippines. Policy inaction would impose substantial economic and human costs, especially for the poor. Adaptation cannot eliminate the costs of climate change, but it can substantially reduce them. Many adaptation responses also contribute to mitigation; conversely, many mitigation measures generate local co-benefits, such as reduced air pollution. Although the Philippines is a relatively low emitter of greenhouse gas (GHG), it can contribute to global mitigation efforts through an energy transition, including a shift away from coal. The investment costs of such adaptation measures and an energy transition are substantial but not out of reach. The Philippines Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) comprehensively analyzes how climate change will affect the country's ability to meet its development goals and pursue green, resilient, and inclusive development. The CCDR helps identify opportunities for climate action by both the public and private sectors and prioritizes the most urgent development challenges impacted by climate change in the Philippines.Publication Energy Sector Decarbonization in Vietnam(Washington, DC, 2022-06)Vietnam has made remarkable economic progress over the past 30 years; however, growth was supported by increasing reliance on coal-based energy. The energy sector would continue the expansion of coal-based energy with the significant increase in the installed capacity of coal power plants under previous plans. Vietnam has committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and gradually phasing out the use of coal for power generation. Selecting lower carbon pathways for the future growth of the energy sector requires the study of interdependencies of the power system through a robust analytical approach. The choice of decarbonization scenario should be based on a careful review of implications and opportunities at the sector level as well as more broadly at the level of the economy. Energy sector decarbonization would require the development of ‘just transition’ oriented policies and regulations to support the people, communities, and businesses. World Bank Group stands ready to provide comprehensive support for designing and implementing a low-carbon future for the energy sector.