Myanmar's Natural Environment Goes Dark with the COUP

Myanmar's Natural Environment Goes Dark with the COUP

            On the morning of Feb. 1, as soon as we heard the news of the military coup, we all felt like we had returned from dawn to midnight. At the same time, our country's environmental initiatives, which are just beginning, have disappeared. In fact, our country has never had a real democracy, and environmental performances are the lowest even among in ASEAN. Despite the abundance of natural resources, why're the people of Myanmar still living in poverty until now? After the end of Senior General Than Shwe's military dictatorship in 2010, the natural resources of Myanmar include petroleum and natural gas, timber and forest products, mineral resources, including jade and gold, remained relatively low even at their worst. However, Myanmar is a country that relies on raw materials to earn a living. As a country dominated by the military group's multibillion-dollar profits over natural resource areas, environmental management and natural resource issues have always been in question.

➥...  Myanmar military group begins to violate international norms after the COUP

            Myanmar's 2021 coup has not only violated human rights justice, but also causes epidemic on the country's natural resources. Since the past six decades, there has been evidence of the military group's illegal activities on the natural resources field. With 2021 coup, Myanmar's dictatorship returned to the post- Senior General Than Shwe activities of 1992 after 1988 uprising. The current coup isn't the official government of Myanmar, but U Khin Maung Yee - ( Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation ), U Win Shein ( Ministry of Finance and Industry ), U Aung Naing Oo ( Ministry of Investment ) such as the administration of ministers to former of military group members also casts a shadow over the country's remaining natural resources and environmental problems. Myanmar has been deteriorated by decades of corruption by the junta's vast cooperations, which has caused a great deal of damage to the country's environment and natural resources. In addition, the exploitation and illegal exploitation of natural resources by crony community groups has had a devastating effect on ethnic groups and deprived them of the human rights they deserved for decades. Local investment projects under military group-owned enterprises have suffered the ethnic nationalities, as well as the cultural heritage of the ethnic groups, and the natural resources and livelihoods had also been scarce. Large hydropower projects throughout the military dictatorship; With decades of investment projects that have caused more harm than good to Myanmar people, it's worrying that the coup will bring the local people back to the past. (Examples: Letpadaungtaung project, Myitsone hydropower project). Currently, ethnic groups are worried that the coup regime will repeal existing environmental regulations and create new investments.

            Myanmar Forest Products and Timber Merchants Association ( MFPTMA ) was planned to export timber two days after the military announced the coup. The program was declared legal. This statement violated the law, it violates some of the timber trade laws passed by former junta member President Thein Sein. At the same time, Environmental Investigation Agency ( EIA ) declared that " Myanmar has violated European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR) Agreement that they have agreed to."  Europe's Timber Trade Association (TTF) itself closed the timber trade to Europe, which was approved in 2017. However, Myanmar military group wasn't shocked because the main export market for Myanmar forest products wasn't Europe field.

➥... Have these sanctions stopped Myanmar military group from exporting timber?

            A statement issued by Myanma Timber Enterprise (MTE) on March. 17 demanded 300 million kyat from the military group for exporting timber. Timber trade from ports owned by the Myanmar military group; profits from private timber companies and annual illegal trade generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. In the past two months alone, news hasn't surfaced on international social media, but the situation in the region has been mixed with the military group and the timber industry. According to local eyewitnesses, some of the cities have seen shifts, piles of timber, and trees being cut down in a short period of time since the coup in February. What're the moving timber trucks for? Behind the scenes...in March, the news of timber trucks passing through Mohnyin ( Kachin State ) and Lashio ( Shan State ) became a source of grief for Indigenous people. And the public became aware that their timber exports had not stopped when reports emerged that the military group was cutting down old trees in the forest area of ​​Alaungdaw Katthapa National Park, one of Burma's most iconic pagodas. Two weeks after the coup, the new issue came after news of wildlife product smuggling and some illegal logging in ethnic areas.

➥... Myanmar's 21st Century and Disaster of Forest Resources

            Myanmar has the potential to become a developed country after independence, but it has gone through some bad systems. The issue of deforestation in the region has deteriorated from the time of dictator U Nay Win to the time of U Than Shwe. Before U Than Shwe's coup, Myanmar's timber exports were only 4%, and after the coup, they rose to 42%. Under U Thein Sein, only 1.34 million acres (550,000 hectares) of forest were cut down and only 2% of the country's forest area was lost. Under Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD government, reforms were initiated and 143,000 tonnes of illegal timber were seized within three years of the new government taking office. However, under the NLD government, Myanmar's environmental management has not changed significantly. NLD government has been weak focus on EIA procedures and on the environmental impact of some investment projects. This is because Myanmar wasn't a 100% democratic country even after the introduction of the people's party system. Even under the NLD government, the country's natural resources and environmental change remained under the military group. However, NLD government has begun to follow international environmental regulations. Now these initiatives have collapsed. At the same time, the issue of returning people's farmland confiscated by military group-owned cooperation groups ( including Myanma Economic Holdings Public Company Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation Limited (MEC) ) has also disappeared. Therefore, 2021 Myanmar coup has not only led to human rights abuses and acts of violence, but also to worsening Myanmar's future ecosystem. Myanmar's environmental degradation, concern for the environment, corruption on the part of natural resources, pollution issues, climate change is one of the worst countries in Asia. For now, the world's second-worst Environmental Perfomance Index ( EPI ) ranked country is on the brink of collapse in two months.

➥... Environmental Situation in Myanmar Before the Coup in 2020

            In 2020, during the Covid 19 period, environmental concerns among the Myanmar people were moving in the right direction. With the news of Yangon's rising air pollution index, more people are joining the Stop Open Burning Campaign. The Irrawaddy Dolphin issue, which is facing extinction, has also received public attention with positive changes. There's also a growing understanding of KBAs, IBAs and the pollution of the Irrawaddy River issue. But in the aftermath of the coup, all of this collapsed and raised serious environmental concerns.

➥... Local entrepreneurs behind Myanmar military group's natural resources's operations

            U Tay Za, who was recently blacklisted by the international community, was one of many businessmen who had worked with Myanmar military group for many years. The main sources of revenue for the Myanmar military group's vast economy are from natural resources and mining projects. There're many businessmen who have been secretly involved behind these activities. MEC and MEHL cooperations owned by Myanmar military group have dominated Myanmar's mining sector for decades, further undermining the ecosystems of underdeveloped ethnic areas. Myanmar military group's lack of transparency in natural resources has been a major culprit in the destruction of Myanmar's ecosystem, and now, with the coup, Myanmar's future ecosystem is in danger.

            According to the survey, the military group's illegal activities include U Htun Myint Naing's ( also known as Steven Law and Lo Ping Zhong ) AWC Group ( also known as Asia World Cooperation ) and U Tay Za ( Air Bagan Airline and Htoo Cooperation ) has been involved. UNHRC also said that these groups were involved in the Bengali issue in Myanmar. Similarly, some local businessmen were involved in the military group's illegal activities. According to current statistics, the military group seized nearly 10,000 tonnes of illegal timber, including 2,000 tonnes of teak, by 2020, according to the EIA Statement. And the military group's actions and affiliates, which have seized natural resources for years, has been the main culprits in the loss of land by the grassroots farmers.

➥... Environmental Disaster After the COUP

            As Myanmar has previously ignored the Environmental Policy Act Law ( EPA ), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Chemical Safety Information: Site Security and Fuels Regulatory Relief Act Law,Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), Water Law (WA), Comprehensive Environmental Response: Compensation and Liability Act Law ( CERCLA ) and Environmental Impact Assessment ( EIA ) procedures, the current coup is heading in the direction of the country's environmental degradation. Currently, 2021 Myanmar Coup's illegal activities and acts of violence in the region are on the rise. An environmental concern is the links between foreign countries that could cooperate with the Myanmar military group during the coup and some of the countries that could offer timber exports. On the other hand, Xi Jinping's Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) network, an agreement between Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD government and China government, also exists. Including one of the BRI projects, the Kunming - Kyaukphyu railway project. Kunming - Kyaukphyu project is one of the most important projects in China's BRI. There's a link from Yunnan - Mandalay to Kyaukphyu Port to cross to the Indian Ocean. This link could extend China's BRI strategy to the Strait of Malacca. The most worrying thing is that at the moment, the coup regime currently has only one main contact with China regarding natural resources products. Currently Myanmar is EPI Rank 172. Local Wildlife that is being stolen and killed every day. With deforestation and illegal activities, it is up to Myanmar to decide whether this coup will bring Myanmar's EPI Rank to the end of the world.

➥... A Situation Behind the COUP

            As an environmental activist and author, I love traveling. That's why I love exploring the natural environment in every place I visit. When I arrived in Mong La ( Shan State ) in 2019, I was surprised. There's a market that sells rare wildlife products. Myanmar is a signatory to the international convention on the prohibition of wildlife trafficking. However, in some cities in Myanmar, such illegal trafficking and illegal activities were rampant. At Mong La market, rare leopard skin ( 4,000 yuan per kg ), ivory ( 850 yuan per stick ), rare snake skins ( 1100 yuan per skin ), tiger skins, monkey, rare birds and many other rare species were sold. Similarly, when I arrived in Putao in early 2020, there were similar sales. During the current coup, some local ethnic friends contacted me. In the past two months,  they sent me proof of illegal wildlife product shipments along with photos, about illegal logging and wildlife gangs in Kachin and Shan states. I do not know all the illegal activities that have taken place during these two months, but as far as I know, such incidents are unfortunate. At the same time, the smuggling of natural resources in Myanmar is being heard all over the country.

            During the military coup in Myanmar, illegal logging, wildlife smuggling and exports of wildlife products have risen. And the military group's subordinaters are involved in this problem. It's a violation of internationally banned wildlife smuggling law. Now myanmar citizens and local wildlife species were day by day losing freedom. Currently, motto of Myanmar military group is "get a uniform and start killing Innocent citizens and local nature, create every act of injustice". And international environmental community should know Myanmar's plight. During the military governments, a long civil war broke out in Myanmar, this period incidents of human rights abuses, animal abuses reached its peak. Now Myanmar is facing the worst injustice in six decades.