FD initiates reforestation efforts and combats timber smuggling

As part of the reforestation project, the Forest Department has established forests to 25.88 per cent and natural landscapes to 6.42 per cent of the country’s area.
Myanmar’s forested area was 42.19 per cent in 2020. The annual deforestation rate was 0.96 per cent, or over 700,000 acres, between 2010 and 2020. The department’s goal is to establish 30 per cent of the nation’s area as forests and 10 per cent as natural landscapes.
The department aims to grow over 22 million trees in the coming rainy season. This will be achieved through State-owned tree plantations, roadside trees, and private-owned plantations. Each village will have to grow two acres of trees in the rainy season.
Similarly, the department will try to supply wood for furniture and sculpture businesses in line with procedures.
Combat against timber smuggling through cooperation between the government and the public has yielded results, as authorities seized 7,742 tonnes of smuggled timber in the financial year 2023-24 and 493 tonnes in April 2024. — ASH/NT