Myanmar approved a nationwide ban on logging and a 10-year logging ban in the beleaguered Pegu Yoma region to restore its forest resource after years of “unchecked exploitation,” according to the Environmental Investigation Agency.
The nationwide ban will run through March 2017, closing forests for the entire logging season. Instead of newly logged material, the country will rely on stockpiled lumber to supply its domestic wood production industries and international market, according to the EIA.
“This is a decision that demonstrates clear intent to tackle corruption within the forestry sector by Myanmar’s National League for Democracy-led government, which only came to power in March,” said EIA Forests Campaign Team Leader Faith Doherty in a statement. “Of course, there is no one-policy solution to the problem and much work remains to be done, but this is a hugely encouraging and an optimistic place to start.”
The EIA said Myanmar lost a “colossal” 546,000 hectares of forest, or around 8.5 percent of its total forest cover, between 2010–2015.
