RECOFTC Myanmar Community Enterprises and National Industry
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Copyright © 2017 by The Nature Conservancy and RECOFTC-The Center for People and Forests. Cover Photo: © Brent Lewin / Workers assemble parasols in Pathein, Ayeyarwady Region. Graphic Design: Antonella Bocchetti ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This report was produced by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and RECOFTC-The Center for People and Forests, with support from the United States Government, under the Responsible Asia Forestry and Trade (RAFT) partnership. The content and the opinions expressed are those of the authors and no official endorsement by TNC, RECOFTC, RAFT or any of our financial supporters should be inferred. TNC and RECOFTC extend our appreciation for the time and knowledge contributed by members of the informal advisory group set up to guide and inform the development of this report as well as other stakeholders consulted over the course of our research, without whom this document would not have been possible. We also recognize the many other valuable dialogues and reports published on this topic, which we have attempted to capture and reflect in the comprehensive overview of production forestry in Myanmar. I CONTENTS Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................I Executive Summary...............................................................................................01 Abbreviations .......................................................................................................17 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................18 2 Study context and approach ............................................................................23 3 Current forest cover status, historical change and future trends .......................26 26 3.1 Current forest cover status .................................................................... 3.2 Historical changes .................................................................................28 3.3 Drivers of change .................................................................................32 3.3.1 Forestry sector ......................................................................................32 3.3.2 Agriculture sector ..................................................................................39 3.3.3 Energy sector .........................................................................................43 3.3.4 Mining sector .........................................................................................44 3.3.5 Infrastructure development ...................................................................45 3.3.6 Fiscal and taxation drivers ...................................................................45 3.4 Future threats and conclusions ..............................................................46 4 Status of Production Forestry and Trade ...........................................................48 4.1 Contribution of the forestry sector to the national economy ...... .............49 4.2 Log export ban ......................................................................................49 4.3 Production forestry before the log export ban .......................................50 4.4 Production forestry after the log export ban ..........................................52 The new national logging ban ................................................................55 4.5 Conclusions ............................................................................................55 5 Timber Production and Trading Stakeholders ..................................................58 5.1 State-owned sector ........................................................................................59 5.1.1 Forest Department ................................................................................59 5.1.2 Myanmar Timber Enterprise .................................................................61 5.2 Private sector ...........................................................................................62 Myanmar Forest Products Merchants Federation ..................................63 5.3 Community forestry .. ...............................................................................64 5.4 Stakeholders and their roles and responsibilities in reforming the timber industry .........................................................................................64 5.5 Conclusions .............................................................................................68 II 6 Regulatory Framework and Implementation ..................................................69 6.1 Existing regulatory framework ...........................................................70 6.1.1 Forest Policy (1995) ..........................................................................71 6.1.2 Forest Law (1992) ............................................................................73 6.1.3 Forest Rules (1995) ...........................................................................75 6.1.4 National Forest Master Plan 2001–2031 ..........................................75 6.1.5 Community Forestry Instruction (1995 and 2016) ...........................77 6.1.6 MTE Extraction Manual (1948) .........................................................78 6.1.7 Land Use Policy (2016) .....................................................................78 6.1.8 National Export Strategy ....................................................................79 6.2 Implementation ..................................................................................80 6.3 Conclusions .......................................................................................82 7 International Mechanisms to Promote Sustainable Forest Management .....84 7.1 Forest law enforcement, governance and trade .................................85 7.2 Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation ... .......85 7.3 International market-based forest certification schemes ....................86 7.4 Challenges and lessons learned ........................................................86 7.5 Conclusions .........................................................................................89 8 Recommendations and Conclusions ..............................................................90 8.1 Recommendations for MONREC .......................................................91 Leadership responsibilities .................................................................91 Strengthening the capacity of the Forest Department .........................92 8.2 Technical reform recommendations ..................................................94 8.3 Conclusions .......................................................................................107 References 111 ............................................................................................................ Annex A: Study terms of reference ......................................................................115 Annex B: Informal advisory group terms of reference and mebership ..............118 Annex C: Results of key informant interviews during the FLEGT-VPA process .................................................................................................................120 III CONTENTS Figures Figure 1. Classification of Myanmar's forest lands ... .......................................27 Figure 2. Forest cover change in Myanmar, 1990–2015 ... ...............................28 Figure 3. Myanmar forest cover change, 2002–2014 ....................................31 Figure 4. Annual allowable cut for teak and its production, plus esti- mated wastage and estimated illegal extraction, 1918–2014 ..........34 Figure 5. Annual allowable cut for other hardwood and its production, plus estimated wastage and estimated illegal extraction, 1918 - 2018 ......................................................................................34 Figure 6. Historical levels of State and private plantation establishment 1981–2013 .... .....................................................................................38 Figure 7. Timber product exports from Myanmar (quantity in 1,000 cubics meters) ................................................................................51 Figure 8. Value of timber product exports from Myanmar (value in US$ millions) .....................................................................................51 Figure 9. International markets for roundwood products from Myanmar, 2010–2014 . ................................................ ....................52 Figure 10. Timber flows and main actors in the Myanmar timber trade ......... ....59 Figure 11. MONREC divisions and their responsibilities .................................. 60 Figure 12. Stakeholder power and influence in Myanmar ..................................67 Tables Table 1. Forest cover change in Myanmar, 2002–2014 .... ............................29 Table 2. Area and targets for Myanmar's permanent forest estate .. .............33 Table 3. Available cultivable land and agribusiness concessions in Myanmar, 2020/11–2012/13 .... .........................................................40 Table 4. Estimated consumption of fuelwood in Myanmar, 1990–2005 ........43 IV Table 5. UN-REDD assessment of possible future trends in forest degradation and deforestation in Myanmar ......................................47 Table 6. Production of teak and other hardwoods from State-managed forests and plantations