Journal of Forest and Livelihood 17 (1) December 2018 Journal of Forest and Livelihood 17 (1) December 2018 Community Based Management for Forest Conservation and Livelihood Improvement: A Comparative Analysis from Forests in Myanmar Shambhavi Basnet1, Prashanti Sharma1, Niroj Timalsina1, Inkyin Khaine2 1 International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, 2Forest Research Institute, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Conservation, Myanmar Corresponding author: [email protected] Abstract Myanmar has the world’s third largest deforestation rate with one of the major causes being peoples’ dependency on forest products. Fuelwood is still used in large amounts for various household activities in rural areas of Myanmar. This paper deals with the categorization of forest into conserved forest and open access and the study of fuelwood dependency in these two access regimes in the Taunggyi district of Myanmar. A significant difference is observed in the aboveground biomass levels and fuelwood consumption in these two access regimes. Various socio-economic parameters and forest indicators were also evaluated using field derived information. The study recommends the establishment of community forestry management system for improving forest condition and livelihood opportunities. Keywords: Community forestry, fuelwood dependency, forest condition, Myanmar, REDD+

INTRODUCTION Reducing emissions from deforestation and In the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) forest degradation, along with sustainable region, forests cover around a quarter of forest management, conservation and the total area, making it an integral part of enhancement of carbon stocks (REDD+) rural as well as urban environment. Forests is a climate change mitigation strategy are responsible for conserving biodiversity, which provides compensations for connecting various ecosystems, providing reductions in the rate of deforestation forest products and protecting against and forest degradation and paves way probable natural disasters. Despite for lower carbon emissions and higher acknowledging the importance of forests carbon storage. REDD+ is also a climate in adapting and mitigating the impact of climate change, forest ecosystems have change adaptation strategy that supports continued to degrade and fragment in the rural livelihoods while maintaining vital last couple of decades (ICIMOD 2018a). ecosystem services and preserving globally significant biodiversity. The purpose DEFORESTATION AND of the REDD+ strategy is to guide the FOREST DEGRADATION IN development of a set of policies and MYANMAR programs for addressing the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation and Myanmar has the highest forest area in improving the carbon sink capacity of the Asia-Pacific with 48 per cent of forests forests (MoFSC 2015). covering the total land area (FAO/

16 Journal of Forest and Livelihood 17 (1) December 2018 Journal of Forest and Livelihood 17 (1) December 2018 Basnet et al. RECOFTC 2016). Unfortunately, • Infrastructure development according to Global Forest Resource • Mining Assessment the deforestation levels in • Forest fire Myanmar has been reported as the third highest in the entire world, following According to the fuelwood consumption Brazil and Indonesia (FAO 2015).Between study paper in the Taunggyi district, 2010 and 2015 Myanmar had the third it was found that the main causes of largest forest loss in the world, equivalent deforestation and forest degradation is fuel to an annual loss of 546,000 hectares (1.7 wood collection (60 per cent) and others per cent annual rate) (UNODC 2015).A including agricultural expansion, wildfire, substantial loss such as this is sure to leave mining, increased population, illegal devastating outcomes at its wake. Forests logging, shifting cultivation (Myint 2017). also have a major role in limiting climate change as they have the potential to absorb Myanmar has 0.6 ha of forest land per about one-tenth of global carbon emissions person and it has been estimated that projected for the first half of this century. more than 70 per cent of rural households Continuing to lose such an important are dependent on forests for basic needs size of land every year — more than half (FAO/RECOFTC 2016).The per capita a million hectares of forest coverage each forest in Myanmar is equal to that of the year since 2010 — would put the country world average. There are, however, large in even more vulnerable condition to differences among countries. Asia has very climate change and the extreme weather little forest per capita, whereas Oceania and events that have already caused a lot of South America have a substantial forest area damage to the country (FAO 2016)With per person (FAO 2000). The demand for the introduction of growth-oriented fuelwood for the whole country is about targets to generate foreign exchange under 18 million tons within which only 900,000 the socialist era from 1962-1988, forest loss tons is supplied by the government, which accelerated as commercial logging of teak means that the remaining 17.1 million tons increased above the annual allowable cut, of fuelwood is harvested from unknown driving roads into formerly inaccessible and potentially unsustainable sources areas, and exacerbating conversion for food (Myint 2017). Agriculture is considered to and wood energy production from primary be a key driver of Myanmar’s economy as subsistence agriculture (Macqueen 2012). this sector contributed around 36 per cent of Myanmar’s Gross Domestic Product According to a report on the drivers (GDP) in 2010 and still contributes to of deforestation and forest degradation around 70 per cent of total employment (Myint 2017) there are seven major direct drivers of deforestation and forest as well 30 per cent of the country’s degradation in Myanmar. These are: exports (Faust 2016). The Government of Myanmar still relies on forest resources • Agricultural expansion for foreign exchange earnings and most of • Shifting cultivation its forest areas are under intense pressure • Over exploitation of timber from timber harvesting and extraction • Fuelwood consumption (including of various other forest products (FAO/ charcoal) RECOFTC 2016).

17 Journal of Forest and Livelihood 17 (1) December 2018 Basnet et al. Journal of Forest and Livelihood 17 (1) December 2018 Such high rate of deforestation and level understand the importance of forest forest degradation calls for an effective conservation. Observing various cases forest monitoring and conservation of forest management from around the efforts. Monitoring, reporting, and world, we understand that community verification (MRV) is included in the forestry system has been successful in Cancun Agreement under the United managing forest and its resources in a Nations Framework Convention on sustainable manner. In the mid-hills of Climate Change (UNFCCC) as one of Nepal, community forestry programs the critical elements necessary for the have played an important role in successful implementation of any REDD+ improving forest condition by adopting mechanism. MRV involves both collection better forest protection and management of baseline information and measurements measures. Through forest management, over time to identify changes in the forest users are generating incomes that are used carbon stocks, both locally and nationally. in community development activities. The amount of carbon stored in a forest (Joshi n.d.) By handing over the reins depends on a number of factors including of managing the forest resources to the the total area and the biomass per hectare. forest dependent communities, this In general, forest biomass consists of system has achieved in lowering the levels above-ground and below-ground living of deforestation, while simultaneously, mass, including trees, shrubs, vines, roots, improving local livelihoods, making it and the dead mass of fine and coarse litter a best practice to be followed in forest associated with the soil. Most research dependent communities. In community on biomass estimation focuses on above forestry, Forest User Groups (FUGs) are ground biomass (AGB), which contains responsible for controlling and managing almost 80per cent of total biomass (Gilani the local forests along with harvesting and et al. 2015). pricing of all forest products. Local forest INTRODUCTION TO BEST users can gain membership that encourages them to practice sustainable conservation. PRACTICES Community-based forestry emphasizes Best practices in forestry refer to those collaborative, participatory and holistic activities that ensure the conservation of management in local stewardship, local forest values as well as a continuous flow needs and local knowledge (K.C. 2016). of forest products through minimizing Community forest management (CFM) environmental damage during tree has been recognized over the past two harvesting which will bring short-term as decades as a potential approach for well as long-term economic benefits to the achieving forest sustainability (Little, landowners (The Regional Municipality of 1996). It can be said that community Halton 2006). The main aim of REDD+ forestry can be regarded as an effective tool has been the overall, long-term sustainable towards ensuring best practices in forestry. conservation of forests and carbon stock Thus, community forestry based practices enhancement, and this objective will come should be encouraged and replicated in to a fruition only when users at the local areas with higher deforestation rates.

18 Journal of Forest and Livelihood 17 (1) December 2018 Journal of Forest and Livelihood 17 (1) December 2018 Basnet et al. The study region of Taunggyi in Shan METHODOLOGY state of Myanmar has two distinct forest- Study Area use practices and management systems. After the consultation with the Forest Some of the forests were managed under Research Institute (FRI), Myanmar, the conservation regime of safeguarding the Taunggyi district of Shan state was water resource and are considered as selected as the study area (Figure 1). The areas of religious significance is termed as deforestation rate of Shan state was 0.93 conserved forest while the others followed per cent per annum which is higher than no such conservation or management the national average and had the largest scheme is called open access forest in net forest loss (5647.7 km2) during 2001- our study. These two broad contrasting 2010 (Wang and Myint 2016). Due to characteristics observed in the field have deforestation and forest degradation, Shan been analyzed in the study. State was responsible for emitting 6.86 million tons of carbon per year from 2005 to 2015 (FAO/RECOFTC 2016).

Figure 1: Map of the Study Area

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Taunggyi district has been listed as the Data Collection Procedures first priority district for organizing and In order to assess the forest conditions and establishing REDD+ activities by the dependency of the local population on ICIMOD-GIZ REDD+ Project report forest resources, a survey was undertaken (Myint 2017).The total area of Taunggyi between 9-24 December 2017 in 10 different district is approximately 9317.9 sq. miles. villages and their respective forests of the (MONREC 2016) According to the Taunggyi district (Table 1). A stratified 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing random sampling was applied to collect Census, the total population of Taunggyi the forest data whereas random sampling district is 1,701,338. was used for the household survey.

Table 1: Description of the Number of Households/Forest Plots Surveyed in Each Township

S. Villages Township Estimated Households Participatory forest survey N. no. of surveyed Plot No. of foresters/ house- surveyed locals involved holds 1 KyaukTae Taunggyi 120 34 9 1 Forester, 5 locals 2 SanPhoo Hopong 200 12 3 4 Foresters, 4 locals 3 KyaukNi Taunggyi 382 20 4 4 Foresters, 2 locals 4 NamPan North Pinlaung 70 10 2 2 Foresters, 3 locals

5 LwePhwe Pinlaung 83 15 6 3 Foresters, 3 locals 6 LwePya Pinlaung 90 11 3 2 Foresters, 2 locals 7 TaungChun Yaksawk 140 8 3 4 Foresters, 4 locals 8 VanMauk Yaksawk 244 15 3 4 Foresters, 4 locals 9 Phekung Yaksawk 102 12 3 4 Foresters, 4 locals 10 Myinka Kalaw 140 13 6 2 Foresters, 2 locals, 1 University Student Altogether, 150 household questionnaires a sub-plot with a 1m radius was established were completed to understand the trend for counting regeneration. of firewood collection and the economic status of the households. Similarly, a The forest type identified were: Moist participatory forest survey was conducted Upper Mixed Deciduous Forest, Dry to collect forest biomass related data from Upper Mixed Deciduous Forest, Evergreen 42 samples. The guidelines for measuring Forest, Dry Hill forest, Indaing forest and carbon stocks in community-managed Pine forest. forests, published by Joshi et al. (2012) has Data Analysis and Interpretation been followed for determination of plot size and calculation of above ground tree Considering management status of forest, biomass. A circular plots of size 8.92m the study area was divided into two broad were laid down for trees, sub plots with a access regimes viz; i) Conserved forest and 5.64m radius were established for saplings; ii) Open access forest.

20 Journal of Forest and Livelihood 17 (1) December 2018 Journal of Forest and Livelihood 17 (1) December 2018 Basnet et al. Conserved Forest R= the biomass stock density is attained in kg/m2 This included community forest, proposed community forest, and reserved forest. The Equation. (i) is good for moist forest stand villages were involved in the conservation and equation. (ii) is for dry forest stand. of their surrounding forests using it as a RESULTS AND DISCUSSION sustainable source, and thus contributing to higher quality of their forests. Fuel Wood Consumption and Household Characteristics Open Access Forest The average household firewood collection This included natural forest without any specific conservation and management. In for all the ten villages from this study is 1 these forests, there are no restrictions for ton with 46.3 per cent of these respondents locals to use the forest and its resources. collecting even less than one ton (Figure 2). Among these, 40.8 per cent of respondents Subsequently, the whole data sets of both collect an amount more than 1 ton but household and forest are segregated into less than 2 tons. Fuelwood consumption these access regimesand analyzed. carries 80 per cent of total energy use in Villages with conserved forest: Myanmar. Previous studies have stated MyinKa, Vanmauk, Nam Pan a slightly higher fuelwood collection in North, San Phoo, and Lwe Pya Taunggyi district as households have estimated annual household firewood Villages with open access forest: consumption of 1.34 tons (Sein et al. 2015). Taung Chun, LwePhwe, Kyauk Ni, Kyauk Tae, and Phekung From the chart, it is seen that 8.8 per cent of respondents do not consume fuelwood Data collected from household surveys at all. The reason for a lower fuelwood were coded and analyzed using Statistical consumption amount is the availability Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)- of electricity in some of these villages. Version 14. MS-Excel has also been used More than 50 per cent of the respondents for graphical descriptions and additional stated using electricity for daily household analyses. activities. Biomass Estimation Villagers in Taunggyi district use fuelwood The above ground tree biomass (AGTB) mainly for cooking purposes. In townships is calculated by using (Chave et al. 2005) like Pinlaung where the temperature goes 0 equation as: below 15 C, households use wood for space heating. In most of the villages, 2 AGTB=0.0509*r*D *H……………. (i) harvesting took place only once a year AGTB=0.112*(r*D2*H) 0.916………… (ii) (summer season) with villagers storing Where, AGTB= above ground tree fuelwood for later use in the year. In biomass r=tree specific gravity (g/cm3) some villages, however, households collect H= Height of the tree (in meters) firewood from the nearby forest in small D= Tree diameter at breast height (in clusters which increased the frequency of centimeters) forest visits up to twice in one month.

21 Lower Higher standard fuelwood of living dependency

Lower Lower forest savings quality

Larger efforts Scarce and costs forest in resource firewood collection

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50 45 40

35 30 25 20

% of respondents 15 10 5 0

0 to 1 1 to 2 2 to 3 more than 3 No consumption

Figure 2: Annual Household AnnualFirewood household Consumption firewood consumption (in tons) (in tons) Table 2: Comparative Analysis of the Socio-economic Status and the Trend of Firewood Consumption between the Two Regions

Conserved forest Open access forest Villages Taung Chun, Taung Chun, LwePhwe, Kyauk Ni, LwePhwe, Kyauk Ni, Kyauk Tae, Phekung Kyauk Tae, Phekung Number of households 744 827 Income Range <=1200 USD 65.5 71.0 (%) >1200 to <=2400 USD 25.9 16.0 >2400 to <=3600 USD 5.2 8.0 >3600 to <=4800 USD 1.7 4.0 >4800 USD 1.7 1.0 % of respondents engaged in firewood 75.9 90.0 collection % of respondents who buy firewood 5.2 8.0 Annual household firewood collection 0.89 1.08 (Ton) Cost of firewood collection per ton (USD) 20.70 23.14 Days taken for a local to collect firewood 0.77 3.52 Price of firewood (USD per ton) 8.66 18.49

Availability of electricity (%) 70.7 22.0

Availability of solar panels (%) 19.0 37.0

22 Journal of Forest and Livelihood 17 (1) December 2018 Journal of Forest and Livelihood 17 (1) December 2018 Basnet et al. Some villagers stated that they used corn through individual T-tests, is showed in cobs as a substitute for firewood whenever it Table 3. Although the annual household was deemed necessary. Corn was observed firewood collection in the conserved forest to be the most favorable crop in Myanmar is lower than that in the open access forest, as corn production and consumption the difference is found to be insignificant occurred in 7 of the 10 villages studied (p=0.22 at 95 per cent confidence interval). for the survey. In a similar fashion, some One of the reasons for lower household villages involved in green tea production firewood consumption in the conserved used firewood for processing of the tea forest is the availability of electricity in leaves. However, a significant difference the villages defined for this region, since in fuelwood consumption cannot be 70 per cent of respondents stated having observed between households involved in electricity in their homes. either corn or green tea production. Most forest dwellers collected firewood Segregating the villages surveyed into two for consumption from the nearby regions according to the access regimes forest on their own or by hiring extra helped to understand whether there is any help. However, some villagers bought difference in the annual consumption of the required amount of firewood from firewood in these two regions, and if there accessible markets. The amounts of are, then what are the probable reasons firewood bought and collected is slightly behind those. Table 2 shows a general higher in the conserved forest, but their summary of the data related to household differences are insignificant (Table 3). The income and annual firewood consumption labor days invested for firewood collection in the two distinguished regions. and its subsequent cost, however, is higher for the open access forest. These differences By comparing the average fuelwood are still insignificant (p=0.16 and p=0.55). consumption of these two categories, The reason for the higher labor cost is the there is not a significant difference in higher frequency of forest visits that locals annual firewood collection between the make in the open access forest. In Phekung two groups of villages. The data collected village, respondents stated that they visit through household questionnaire show us the local forest up to 5 times in a month that the annual collection of firewood in to collect small clusters of firewood. The the conserved forest is merely 0.89 ton per locals in the open access forest have to household. The collection for the other collect small clusters of firewood because group of villages is 1.08 ton per household. of the lack of high quality timbers found The difference between this, as analyzed in their neighboring forest.

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Table 3: Results of T-tests of Various Factors in Conserved and Open Access Forest (at 95% Confidence Interval) Differ- Annual aver- Amount of Amount of fire- Cost of fire- Days taken ences in age fuelwood firewood wood collection wood collection for a labor consumption bought for from the forest ($/tons) to collect per household household for household firewood (tons) consump- consumption tion (tons) (tons) CONSERVED OPEN ACCESS CONSERVED OPEN ACCESS CONSERVED OPEN ACCESS CONSERVED OPEN ACCESS CONSERVED OPEN ACCESS

Mean 0.89 1.08 1.17 1.06 1.09 1.00 20.70 23.14 0.77 2.63

Variance 1.14 0.51 0.33 0.31 1.25 0.88 305.93 461.67 0.95 79.33

P(T<=t) 0.22 0.79 0.70 0.55 0.16 two-tail

t Critical 1.987 2.78 1.99 1.99 2.01 two-tail

Forest Condition The most common type of trees observed are observed. Dipterocarpus tuberculatus in the case of moist deciduous and mixed is an important species of Myanmar evergreen forest of Sang Phoo, Nampan, that falls within the “Near Threatened” Lwe Pya are Thit-e (Castaneopsis spp) category of International Union for and Gaw (Quercus spp). These species of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. chestnut have moderate to high wood The species is threatened by habitat loss as specific gravity ranging from 0.63 to 0.82 a consequence of agricultural expansion. g cm3. (Hidayat and Simpson 1995) These It is also at risk from selective logging species have been reported to be used for for the timber trade (IUCN 2017). These construction of agricultural equipment woods are used to produce furniture, like spades. In drier regions of TaungChun, flooring and construction (Meier 2015). LwePhwe, KyaukTae and KyaukNi This species is also used as firewood. The Indaing forest of species Inn, Ingyin species can be tapped for oleoresin (Shiva (Shorea siamensis) and Yindaik (Dalbergia and Jantan, 1998), this is of particular cultrata) and Thit-ya (Shorea robusta) commercial importance in Myanmar (The

24 Journal of Forest and Livelihood 17 (1) December 2018 Journal of Forest and Livelihood 17 (1) December 2018 Basnet et al. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, The comparative data (Table 4) revealed 2017). Ingyin (Pentacme siamensis), Inn higher number of tree and regeneration are (Dipterocarpus tuberculatus) teak (Tectona present in conserved forest than in open grandis), pyinkado (Xylia xylocarpa), access forest and the difference is significant and nabe (Lannea coromandelica), zibyu at p<0.05. Similarly, the case is same for (Phyllanthus pomiferus) are frequent saplings but the difference is not significant species. An undergrowth of grass is at p<0.05. Canopy cover is an important common in some areas where the forests indicator that is becoming commonly used are open (Davis 1964). Species of Thit-ya to understand the forest health (Barron et (Shorea robusta) was observed in mostly al. 2016). Canopy cover as a stand-alone open forest of LwePhwe, KyaukTae and indicator measures the proportion of KyaukNi villages in combination with the forest floor covered by the vertical other Dipterocarpus trees. This specimen projection of tree crowns. Canopy cover, falls under the category of “Critically when combined with other indicators, can endangered” list of IUCN Red list. The provide valuable information for forest specimen has also been widely reported structural conditions and how current in the use as fuelwood and household stands compare to a desired condition construction during the field survey. (Huffman and Meador). Large portions of conserved forest showed characteristics Forest health conditions are determined of high percentage of canopy cover using indicators such as tree species during the survey. The average canopy diversity, number of tree, sapling and of conserved forest was calculated to be regeneration presence, canopy coverage 70 per cent whereas it measured only 40 and existing biomass. The tree species per cent in the open access forest. Canopy diversity is significantly higher in conserved cover may have varying significance on forest than open access forest at p<0.01. underlying soil and vegetation conditions. Knowing tree species diversity is useful to Because different sites will have different understand the health of forest ecosystem environmental constraints, they will (Naidu and Kumar 2016) and it may vary therefore have different optimal levels of with location, biogeography, habitat, and tree canopy cover, and these levels must disturbance (Whitmore 1998). Biodiversity be identified for each afforestation species indices are generated to bring the diversity and site through site-specific research (Cao and abundance of species in different et al. 2017) habitats to a similar scale for comparison Many naturally regenerated forests and higher the value, the greater the species are primarily managed for timber or richness. (Naidu and Kumar 2016) The environmental services such as soil and water Shannon’s index values for tree species protection (e.g. watershed management) diversity for this study ranges from 0.71 (FAO n.d). Forest regeneration can in conserved whereas 0.48 in open access therefore be regarded as a good measure of forest with a significance of 0.0001 at health of forest habitat. It provides proof p<0.05. Documenting the patterns of tree that the forest is capable of producing diversity and their distribution provides young trees in case of the canopy trees a good database, useful for management being cut down which gives an indication measures in these forests. that the forest is vibrant and sustainable.

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Table 4: Results of T-tests of Various Factors Between Conserved and Open Access Forest Tree species No. of No. of No of Canopy Biomass Diversity Trees Sapling regen- Coverage (ton/hec) Shannon’s (per hec) (per hec) eration (per (%) Index* hec)

CONSERVED OPEN ACCESS CONSERVED OPEN ACCESS CONSERVED OPEN ACCESS CONSERVED OPEN ACCESS CONSERVED OPEN ACCESS CONSERVED OPEN ACCESS Mean 0.71 0.48 1089.411 684.70 455.70 358.59 104705.9 34705.88 71.88 47.05 142.53 34.24 Standard Deviation 0.13 0.18 457.93 333.43 356.55 201.98 51734.62 34117.01 7.30 16.20 108.85 30.96 P(T<=t) two-tail 0.0001^ 0.003^ 0.16 0.000035^ 0.00000861^ 0.00086^ t Critical two-tail 2.04 2.04 2.05 2.04 2.07 2.093

^Significant at 95 per cent confidence interval Shannon’s Index formula H=−∑ik=pi the categories. Most of the trees observed log (pi),where pi denotes the proportion in open access forest saplings resulting in group k. (National Institute of Standard from rotational cutting of the forest for and Technology, 2016). It is clear from firewood once they reach a certain age and Task 4 that the forest health conditions is diameter. Species diversity shows higher statistically proven to be better in case of trends in conserved forest resulting for conserved forest than open access forest. fair competition and subsequent growth The distinction observed between the of different types of species. The AGB categories in turn supports our concept calculated from the two forest regimes of having forest under the two categories. are also highly different, determined by The marked difference of P (t<=0.05) type of forest management, fuelwood two tailed was observed in all categories extraction and conservation practices in except the sapling numbers. The number the forest. These ecological indicators can of trees with Diameter Breast Height hence give a quantitative idea about forest (DBH) less than 5 cm was similar in both condition and provide for design of forest

26 Journal of Forest and Livelihood 17 (1) December 2018 Journal of Forest and Livelihood 17 (1) December 2018 Basnet et al. management and conservation strategy biomass resulting from level of fuelwood to be made by local community, stake extraction and conservation strategy holders and policy-makers. followed. It is also seen from above Table 4 how the forest indicators also significantly Establishment of community forestry in differ between the two regimes. Also, the the areas priotized by the indicators can open access forest has a higher fuelwood prove to be beneficial in controlling and consumption with higher cost of collecting improving of forest conditions. A recent fuelwood and higher number of days spent paper by Gurung et al. (2012) revealed for firewood collection. In other words, that the intervention of forestry projects in the studied CFUGs (Community the fuelwood dependency of the open Forest User Groups) has improved the access forest is higher than the conserved forest conditions as well as increasing forest resulting from lower forest health the awareness of forest degradation conditions and limited biomass. The higher among local users in selected areas of fuelwood dependency has caused a decline Nepal. Restoration of degraded land and in the quality of the forest resources. improving forest conditions are the major Scarce forest resource induces the forest benefits of community forest. Apart from dependent communities to look for environmental services, improved forest alternative opportunities, causing them to conditions increases the availability of turn to nearby markets for their firewood forest products to the local users thereby demands. As foreseen, the percentage of improving their livelihoods (Gurung et al. respondents buying firewood is higher in 2012).Various studies have demonstrated villages with open access forest (8.0%). At a significant increase in forest conditions the same time, degrading forest quality under community forestry showing that forces the locals to spend longer time in the it is a proven model for deforestation and forest, looking for better quality firewood forest degradation. (K.C et al. 2013) amongst the scarce resources. This increases the cost of collecting firewood, EFFECT ON LIVELIHOOD DUE which means a higher expenditure for the TO LIMITED BIOMASS households, which leads to lower annual savings for these households. The local The major differences in the conserved users, then, will have no option but to use forest and the open access forest are the scarce forest resource for sustenance seen through the differing biomass levels and differing household fuelwood given its easier accessibility as well as consumption. The open access forest has their lower income, thus completing this been seen to have lower aboveground circle of degradation. Figure 3 shows the biomass with mean of 34.2 ton/hec complete cycle of degradation of forests whereas the conserved forest accounts to and local livelihoods described above. average of 142.53 tons/hec of above ground

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Lower Higher the government. As deforestation and standard fuelwood forest degradation became apparent in the of living dependency late twentieth century, it was agreed that one of the main causes is lack of forest dwellers’ participation and understanding Lower of forest conservation, management Lower forest savings quality and benefit sharing. To mitigate this weakness, Community Forestry Instructions (CFI) was issued by the Larger Forest Department in 1995. This step was efforts Scarce and costs considered as a major breakthrough in the forest in resource Myanmar forestry sector as it shifted the firewood collection previously centralized forest management system to a more decentralized one Figure 3: Cycle of Degradation of Forest (FAO/RECOFTC 2016). Most CF and Local Livelihoods implementations are located in the Shan state, Mandalay, Magway and Ayerwady From this observation, we can obtain important insights about the next steps divisions, where severe deforestation and fuelwood shortage have been a prevalent that can be50 taken by the local communities as forest users, and how REDD+ can play and persistent problem (Lin 2004). 45 an important role in supporting them. Forest Rules and CFI 1995 regulate Compared40 to the conserved forest and 35 sustainable forest management and forest its local inhabitants who are faring well, plantation, and promote community 30 given the various conservation activities participation. Importance is given to taking place25 in and around this forest, public participation in forest management there is 20an immediate need for carrying and private sector involvement is out conservation% of respondents 15 activities in the open highlighted in CFI (FAO/RECOFTC access forests.10 Thus, in order to improve 2016). Community Forest Management the quality of the degraded forest and to 5 initiatives are often the manifestation of reduce the ongoing emissions, one of the 0 rural communities’ response to forest solutions is in relation to proper forest degradation, meaning degradation creates 0 to 1 1 to 2 2 to 3 more than 3 No consumption management practice and encouraging an incentive for forest communities local level participation. Annual household firewoodto consumptioninvest (intraditional tons) knowledge and IS COMMUNITY BASED FOREST practices in conservation, reforestation, control of forest fires, and fighting illegal MANAGEMENT AN EFFECTIVE forest exploitation and encroachment. SOLUTION TO CONSERVE Communities are in the best position FOREST RESOURCE AND to manage and protect forests if they IMPROVEMENT IN LIVELIHOOD? participate in decision-making about the sustainable use of forest resources Until recently, all types of forests in (Jashimuddin and Inoue 2012). Myanmar were owned by the state except for some community forests which are Establishment of Community Forests under long-term lease agreements with has been a promising way to rehabilitate

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degraded landscapes, improve farming regulating itself for the last three decades. through enhanced soil and water quality According to the Department of Forests in to supply the basic needs (fuelwood Nepal, about 29.2 per cent of forest area has and fodder) of the rural poor. Since been managed and is benefitting 40 per cent participatory forest management has of households through local employment been widely applied in many developing generation and enhanced empowerment countries, the local communities and of many civil society organizations management of their forest and resources (FAO/RECOFTC 2016). Community should be treated within a decentralized forests have increased the participation framework and appropriate regimes and incomes of the rural poor, women such as secure land tenure and well- and Dalits (lower-caste groups). It has defined forest user rights (Lin 2004). also enhanced the capacity of local people According to Myint (2017), establishment for planning and implementing forestry of community forestry is one of the top and other development work. Similarly, three priorities to address the drivers community forests have created natural of deforestation and forest degradation capital in the form of new forests, and in Taunggyi. It further goes on to state improved existing forest conditions and that to address forest degradation, it is biodiversity. According to (MoFSC 2013), reduction in the dependency on natural forest conditions have improved overall resources. In particular, it is essential to since the handover to CFUG with 86 tackle poverty and provide alternatives to per cent showing improvements in forest local communities, in order to sustain the conditions (Pandey and Paudyal 2015). forest resources. With some conservation activities at Compared to other Asian countries, the hand, the biomass observed from Lwe implementation of community forestry Pya village, from this study, turns out in Myanmar has been slow. At the end of to be the highest (354.42tons/ha). San 2003, the coverage of community forestry Phoo village has established a proposed established across the country had reached community forestry system and it has the only 34,000 ha, representing a mere 0.1 potential of storing 254.5tons of carbon per cent of the country’s forestland (Lin per hectare. These villages however have 2004). This last decade, however, has seen the lowest annual household income increased commitment by the state to (USD 618.32 and USD 408.5 respectively), community-oriented forest management. drawing the need for improvement in Till 2012, a total of 47,203 ha of CF had living standard of the rural population. been established under the 1995 CFI This will be possible by providing income (FAO/RECOFTC 2016). generating opportunities to these villages Nepal’s community forestry program through establishing a sustainable forest has achieved notable successes in terms of management system. improving the forest conditions and rural Villages with open access forest have livelihoods. (Acharya 2002) Myanmar can the potential of converting into a CF learn vital lessons from Nepal’s community management and improving livelihoods forestry program as it has been successfully of local people. This will improve the

29 Journal of Forest and Livelihood 17 (1) December 2018 Basnet et al. Journal of Forest and Livelihood 17 (1) December 2018 forest condition by passing over some actively participating in activities related to responsibility to the forest users so that sustainable forest management. In addition, they can become more aware about using a higher rate of women participation in the forest resources sustainably and be forest management activities was observed responsible about the type and extent of during the survey which, despite having forest activity that they practice. three decades of community forestry experience, is not even witnessed in Nepal. Role of REDD+ in Promoting Among those interviewed for this study, Community Forestry in Myanmar 50.3 per cent were female respondents, While REDD+ as a results-based proving that women were more payment mechanism focuses on avoiding enthusiastic to engage in participatory deforestation and forest degradation, activities. The observations derived from conservation and enhancement of this study highlight the need of a proper carbon stocks and reducing emissions, participatory management system. As seen it simultaneously also promotes local from above the insignificant difference participation in forest management between firewood consumption, but a large activities as these contribute to emission significant difference in biomass results reductions and enhancement of sinks. shows that the quality of forests could be Conservation of forest and sustainable improved with a sustainable management forest management are now recognized as system similar to a community-based important strategies for sustaining growth. forest management. Providing better livelihood options to CONCLUSION forest-dependent mountain communities through incentives that enhance ecosystem Myanmar is regarded as one of the richest services is now the new paradigm. This countries in Asia in terms of biodiversity. result-based management of forest resources Environmentalists fear that the country’s is the basis for REDD+ (ICIMOD rapid economic liberalization since the 2018b). REDD+ has been helping forest late 1980s will lead to uncontrolled dependent communities in Nepal to environmental degradation. Additionally, improve their livelihoods by providing lack of clear legal frameworks and growth participatory forest management objectives, along with poor governance, opportunities. At this point, it seems vital to could threaten the future of Myanmar’s provide the local communities in Myanmar wealth of resources. Taunggyi district with similar opportunities to participatory is reported to be the top priority in approach in forest management. Only a establishing REDD+ activities since few proposed community forestry systems various drivers of deforestation and forest exist in Taunggyi district and so necessary degradation are prevalent here. steps are required to convert this proposed From this study, we observe that system into a full-fledged management people’s dependency on forests differs system. in conserved and open access forests as It is possible to be optimistic about the households consume 0.89 tons and 1.08 future of community forest management tons of fuelwood respectively. Similarly, system in Myanmar as we see locals the forest conditions in terms of tree

30 Journal of Forest and Livelihood 17 (1) December 2018 Journal of Forest and Livelihood 17 (1) December 2018 Basnet et al. diversity, canopy coverage, regeneration of forest under community forestry and aboveground biomass are significantly is important not only for sustainable better in the conserved forest. There is a management of forest resources but need for effective conservation practices also for livelihood development of local that link community participation to community and long-term improvement forest management, since a majority of in forest conditions. Community forestry, the households (68.71%) surveyed have an in this context has the potential to capture annual household income of less than USD synergies between local community and 1,200. Adopting efficient participatory government bodies Thus, Community forest practices in these areas can bring based forest management system can improvements in local livelihoods as be effectively implemented in the rural well as forest condition. Mobilization of communities of Myanmar to explore the community forestry can lead to enhanced best practices of forestry most suitable for income and revenue generation through these areas. fair and equitable distribution of benefits within the CFUGs which in turn reduces REFERENCES poverty and dependency on forests. Acharya, K. 2002. Twenty-four Years of Community Forestry in Nepal. International REDD+ has been looking for Forestry Review, 4:149–156 opportunities of improvement in forest Barron, S., Sheppard, S. R. and Condon, P. M. management in various rural communities 2016.Urban Forest Indicators for Planning and of developing nations. Taunggyi district Designing Future Forests.Forests, 7(9): 208. of Myanmar is one such place with the doi:10.3390/f7090208 highest potential possible for improved Cao, S., Lu, C. andYue, A. H. 2017. Optimal Tree use of their natural resources. With Canopy Cover during Ecological Restoration: household firewood consumption of 1 A Case Study of Possible Ecological Thresholds in Changting, China. BioScience,67(3): 221–232. ton each year, the villages are dependent https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biw157 on firewood especially for daily household Chave, J., Andalo, C., Brown, S., Cairns, purposes. The local communities who M.A., Chambers, J.Q., Eamus, D., Fölster, are forest dependent are aware about the H., Fromard, F., Higuchi, N., Kira, T., important of forest conservation. Local Lescure, J.P., Nelson, B.W., Ogawa, H., villagers are also conserving their forest Puig, H., Riéra, B. and Yamakura, T. 2005. as a source of water and in the name of Tree Allometry and Improved Estimation of Carbon Stocks and Balance in Tropical Forests. religious beliefs. They are increasingly Oecologia, 145(1): 87-99. using alternative options for firewood like Davis, J.H. 1964. The Forests of Burma. New York corn cobs and pigeon pea plants. There Botanical Garden, New York, USA. is a potential for forest conservation and FAO. 2000. Key Issues in the Forest Sector Today. development in Myanmar, especially with Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, inclusion of the locals. Thus, it is vital in Italy. the case of Myanmar to promote local FAO. 2015. Global Forest Resource Assessment. participation to improve the wellbeing of Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, the forest dependent communities through Italy. improving the wellbeing of the natural FAO. 2016. FAO in Myanmar. Food and forests. To bring increasing number Agriculture Organization, Myanmar.

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