Resource information
... Protected areas (PAs) are important tools for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. PAs safeguard ecosystems and their services, such as water provision, food production, carbon sequestration and climate regulation, thus improving people’s livelihoods. They preserve the integrity of spiritual and cultural values placed by indigenous people on wild areas and offer opportunities of inspiration, study and recreation. Due to a long period of isolation, Myanmar has conserved an extraordinary natural and cultural heritage that is in part represented in its protected area system. The expansion of agriculture and industry, pollution, population growth, along with uncontrolled use and extraction of resources, are causing severe environmental and ecosystem degradation. Loss of biodiversity is the most pressing environmental problem because species extinction is irreversible. Realising the urgency of Myanmar environmental challenges, several stakeholders, at national, international and regional level, have committed to support conservation and management of PAs. However, baseline information on natural resources, threats, management, staff, infrastructure, land use, tourism and research in Myanmar PAs was hardly ever updated and not systematically organised, thus limiting the subsequent planning and management of resources. Therefore, the aim of this publication is twofold: to raise awareness on the condition of the conservation of PAs and to mobilise national and international support for cost-effective initiatives, innovative approaches and targeted research in priority sites. The document provides background information on Myanmar natural features, environmental,
government and non-government frameworks (Chapter 1).
The core section makes available the information retrieved in the period 2009-2010 on the status of Myanmar PAs (Chapter 2) and the results of the research conducted in Lampi Island Marine National Park (Chapter 3) and Rakhine Yoma Elephant Range Wildlife Reserve (Chapter 4). Data collection, analysis and organisation were part of the larger Myanmar Environmental Project (MEP) managed by Istituto Oikos in partnership with BANCA. Conclusion and recommendations for the management of Myanmar PAs (Chapter 5) were jointly formulated by stakeholders during the MEP closing workshop held on March 17th 2011 in Yangon. The information presented in this publication is also organised in a database available to stakeholders that will be updated with new data provided by PA managers, academic institutions, environmental organisations and community-based groups working in Myanmar PAs to fill the existing gaps...
