Untitled Document

Welcome to Myanmar

Introduction

Myanmar supports some of the most extensive and intact natural habitats, and communities of species now remaining in the Indochina region, including many globally threatened and endemic species. However, current levels of conservation investment in Myanmar are insufficient to ensure the conservation of globally important elements of biodiversity, and, thus, the country represents a major conservation opportunity for BirdLife.

Lying at the western extremity of the Indochinese Peninsula, The Union of Myanmar embraces Sundaic fauna and flora in its southern lowlands to the southern frontier of the Palearctic region in the extreme north at 677,000 km2 Myanmar is the largest country in our sub region (almost twice the size of Vietnam). Elevation ranges from sea level to the summit of Mount Kha Ka Borhazi (5,881 metres). The country is drained by three north-south flowing river systems of the Chindwin, Irrawaddy and Salween.

Forests cover around 50% of the land area and the annual rate of deforestation is estimated to be 1.4%. Protected area coverage currently stands at 4.7%, although it is a government policy goal to raise this to 10%. The estimated human population is currently about 50.5 million, with a mean population density of 75/km2. The human population growth rate is about 2.3%. About 73% of the human population live in rural areas and depend on subsistence agriculture. In 2001 Myanmar was ranked 44th out of 88 developing countries on the United Nations development index. On the human development index Myanmar was ranked 127th from 173 countries. 23% of the human population is estimated to live below the poverty line.

The Government of Myanmar has made a number of major commitments to conserving the country's biodiversity, including ratifying the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), establishing a national protected areas system, and introducing environmental protection legislation, including the 1994 Protection of Wildlife and Protected Areas Law. The government is, furthermore, investing significant resources in conserving natural habitats and wildlife populations, for instance through protected areas management. In the future, it is expected that the level of government investment in conservation will increase, in line with its commitment under Article 20 of the CBD. In addition, it is anticipated that, at some stage in the future, this investment will be complemented by increased investment from other sources, including bilateral donor agencies, multilateral development banks, GEF, private foundations, and the corporate sector. Indigenous civil society is showing healthy growth from small beginnings and the Biodiversity And Nature Conservation Association (BANCA), Forest Resources, Environment and Development Association (FREDA) and the Myanmar Bird and Nature Society have all become established in recent years. BANCA and FREDA both implement a portfolio of conservation projects. The Government of Myanmar and the aforementioned NGOs are keen to expand their conservation work and work ever more closely with international NGOs and donors.

Why is BirdLife working in Myanmar?

Four Endemic Bird Areas are located within Myanmar. One of these the Irrawaddy Plains EBA occurs entirely within Myanmar. Three other EBAs occur in part, the Eastern Himalayas EBA, Yunnan Mountains EBA and Andaman Islands EBA. In addition a significant part of the Sundaic Lowlands Secondary Area is located in southern Tanintharyi Division in the far south. Representation of these hotspots in the national protected areas system is mixed. Habitats from within the Eastern Himalayas EBAs are well represented, especially in north-west Kachin State, but the protected areas system in the Sundaic Lowlands requires urgent expansion in the face of wholesale and rapid replacement of lowland forest by oil palm estates. There are currently about 50 Important Bird Areas described for Myanmar. However, there is a bias towards freshwater sites, especially along the Irrawaddy River. This situation is beginning to change, reflecting greater current survey emphasis on forest sites, particularly in the Sundaic Lowlands. Myanmar supports 43 bird species with an IUCN category of threat. This includes five species that are considered Critically Endangered comprising White-shouldered Ibis Pseudibis davisoni, White-rumped Vulture Gyps bengalensis, Slender-billed Vulture Gyps tenuirostris, Pink-headed Duck Rhodonessa caryophyllacea, and Gurney’s Pitta Pitta gurneyi. Recent survey work by BirdLife and the Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association (BANCA) has revealed that most of the world population of Gurney’s Pitta is in Myanmar and the country also supports globally significant populations of the two vulture species. The other two species remain wholly unknown and await rediscovery.

Current Programme

BirdLife began to explore the opportunities for supporting conservation in Myanmar in 2001. Our current project portfolio includes two projects themed around sites and species. BirdLife and our local partners the Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association (BANCA) are presently implementing a three year Darwin Initiative funded project entitled Building Constituencies for Site Based Conservation in Myanmar. This project aims to identify networks of Important Bird Areas in the Eastern Himalayas Endemic Bird Area and the Sundaic Lowlands Secondary Area and promote community based approaches to the conservation of selected sites, at the same time expanding the capacity of BANCA to undertake conservation. The project has already identified new IBAs in both hotspots and significantly, is now proceeding with a project development for a site based initiative in southern Tanintharyi Division with funding from the Global Conservation Fund of Conservation International. This site, the Ngawun Reserve Forest and the adjacent proposed Lenya National Park supports the world’s largest population of Gurney’s Pitta.