Stricter Logging Policies ‘Devastate’ Myanmar Milling Industry

A private teak plantation in Myanmar. Source: Myanmar Forest DepartmentAs much as 80 percent of Burmese logging mills have shut down in the wake of stricter logging policies imposed by the Myanmar government, according to conservation news service Mongabay.

New enforcements to curb the country’s illegal logging trade include an independent certification system managed by the Myanmar Forest Certification Committee, which oversees documentation-based auditing practices on independent milling operations.

The country is also fresh off a 2016–17 ban on domestic logging for export on anything other than certified and stockpiled wood, a move that drastically limited the amount of available timber for lumber mills, according to the country’s Timber Merchants Association.

The government claimed the ban greatly reduced the amount of illegal logging in the country, but other reports have claimed the year-long ban made little impact on the illegal trade, according to Mongabay.