Myanmar is home to a rich array of natural resources, with various types of forests and biological diversities found throughout the country. Forests cover about 42.92% of the country’s land area, equivalent to 29 million hectares. ¹ There are seven primary types of forest found in Myanmar. Mangrove forests possess a great variation of resources along the coastal line, with about 1% of forests in Myanmar being mangrove forests. ²

Myanmar mangroves consist of 4% of the world’s mangroves and 8.8% of the mangroves found in Southeast Asia.³Myanmar is one of the most mangrove-rich countries in the world, with 44 mangrove tree species ⁴ around the nation. After Indonesia and Malaysia, Myanmar has the largest expanse of mangroves in Asia, covering about 500,000 hectares along its 2,832 km coastline. Mangrove forests in Myanmar can be found in the Ayeyawady, Bago, Tanintharyi, Yangon division, and Mon, Rakhine State. Among them, the Ayeyarwady Delta is the largest mangrove patch, with 28 ⁵ species found in the Ayeyarwady River delta.  Due to its wide latitudinal range and diverse ecology, Myanmar is home to 34 out of the world’s 75 ‘true’ mangrove species, ranking second in Asia after Indonesia.

Myanmar mangroves are also a home for global and local wildlife, which support several endangered species, the local economy, and society, including storing carbon, protecting people, nature, and businesses from storms and coastal erosion, providing habitat for coastal and marine wildlife, and supporting the livelihoods of coastal communities. Sadly, these forests have been subject to massive levels of deforestation. 

The mangrove forests in Myanmar are highly fragmented and facing threats from both human and natural factors, resulting in rapid deforestation and degradation of the forests. The UNDP Nature stated that “Myanmar is facing a significant loss of mangroves, with estimates pointing to it having one of the highest rates globally”. ⁶ For the Mangrove species, it decreased from 45 to 30 within 37 years ⁷ from 1981-2017. Among the mangrove ecosystems, Ayeyarwady Delta is known to have one of the highest deforestation rates in Myanmar. The 2008 Cyclone Nargis damaged 80% of the Ayeyawady mangrove. ⁸ The loss of the mangrove ecosystem threatens endangered wildlife inhabitants, community livelihood and income, and coastal protection from extreme weather, erosion, and global warming. 

Mangroves Sites Overview

Figure: Gross mangrove change over three time periods (1996, 2007, 2016) in selected sites (orange points) within each of the coastal regions/states in Myanmar, specifically (a) Ayeyarwady Region, (b) Rakhine State, (c) Tanintharyi Region, (d) Bago Region, (e) Mon State, and (f) Yangon Region. 

Source: Jose Don T De Alban et al 2020 Environ. Res. Lett. 15 034034. License under the CC BY 3.0.

The country has numerous mangrove areas scattered along its coastline, including in regions such as the Ayeyarwady Delta, the Tanintharyi Coast, and the Rakhine State, among the most extensive in Southeast Asia. 

   A. Ayeyarwady Delta

Ayeyawady delta is located in Ayeyarwady division, bordering Rakhine state, Bago, and Yangon region. It is also bordered by Bay of Bengal to the south and west. The Ayeyarwady delta is the lowest land in Myanmar which is a vast alluvial floodplain and full of rivers and streams. It is also one of the two largest delta systems in Southeast Asia, covering over 270,000 ha. ⁹ Ayeyarwady Delta, where land meets sea, has a high concentration of mangroves. 

The Ayeyarwady Delta, in particular, is one of Myanmar’s largest and most biodiverse mangrove areas, containing significant stretches of mangrove forests. It was once home to an extensive tract of mangrove forests. However, the aquaculture, agriculture, and cutting activities degrade the mangrove forest in the Ayeyarwady delta. The 2008 Cyclone Nargis destroyed an estimated 35,000 ha of mangrove forest in two divisions in Ayeyarwady region. ¹⁰ The satellite imagery study estimated that the delta lost 1,685 km2 (651 mi2) from 1978 to 2011. ¹¹Furthermore, the FAO 2023 study revealed that the mangrove area remained stable between 2016 and 2021, losing 16.6 hectares and gaining 12.5 hectares. ¹²

   B. Rakhine State 

Rakhine State is situated on the western coast bordering Chin State, Magway, Bago, and Ayeyarwady Region. The mangrove forests in Rakhine State cover 154,200 hectares (381,036 acres) and 35,296 hectares (87,219 acres) are owned by the state government. ¹³There were 51 hectares (125 acres) planted in the Wan Bai area on Yanbu Island last year. The mangrove forests in Rakhine State are essential for marine life such as fish, and shrimps, and also protect coast erosion. 

The development projects including deep seaports, gas pipelines, infrastructure, and hotels threaten mangrove forests in the Rakhine state, as well as the impact of shrimp farming. According to the 2002 study, there was a loss of approximately 30% of Rakhine coast mangroves between 1974 and 1995, ¹⁴ though, up-to-date data is limited. Due to the loss, remote sensing data indicates, based on time-series assessment from 2000 to 2025, about 40% of the ecosystem may be reduced by 2025.¹⁵ However, again, the data has limitations. 

   C. Tanintharyi Region 

The Tanintharyi Region, located in the southern part of Myanmar, is another significant area known for its mangrove ecosystems. Mangroves in Tanintharyi region comprises large areas of mature mangroves, with more than 150.000 ha. ¹⁶ The Tanintharyi mangrove forests have been quite resilient over time, because the local communities live near or within the mangrove forest and maintain it. Unfortunately, they have been recently facing some instances of deforestation. Approximately 248.4 hectares of mangrove have remained stable between 2016 and 2021, and 6.7 hectares have been lost and 9.1 hectares gained.¹⁷ The primary reasons for these are agricultural activities like palm oil cultivation, aquaculture, and rice production conversion. ¹⁸ In comparison with Ayeyawady and Rakhine, Tanintharyi has historically experienced relatively low deforestation rates. 

   D. Bago Region

Bago region is located in the southern central part of Myanmar and has coastline along the Gulf of Mottama or Gulf of Martaban which is a part of the Andaman Sea. Bago region is bordered by many states and regions. In the Bago region, the mangroves can be found in Kawa township. Kawa is situated between the Sittaung river and Bago river. However, the study of mangroves is limited in the Bago region. 

The primary threats to mangroves in the Bago region are a conversion into rice cultivation and the limitation of community land-use decisions. 

   E. Mon State

Mon State, is located in the southern part of Myanmar. The mangroves are found along the Gulf of Martaban and the Andaman Sea, along the coastline of the Paung and Chaung Zone townships, in Mon State. 

The biggest threat to the Mangroves forest in Mon State is conversion into agricultural land. For instance, the removal of mangrove forest and conversion into a crab conservation zone and rice fields threaten mangroves forests. Furthermore, extension of external businesses risks the mangrove forests in Mon State. For example, In 2003, the Setse mangrove in Mon State was completely transformed into a shrimp farm.

   F. Yangon Region 

Yangon is the capital city of Myanmar, and also the largest city, located in lower Myanmar at the convergence of the Yangon and Bago Rivers about 30 km (19 mi) away from the Gulf of Martaban. Mangroves forest exist along the coastal areas, particularly in areas bordering the Yangon River and the Gulf of Martaban.

Map: Mangrove Sites along the Coast of Myanmar.

Created by Open Development Myanmar, 2024. License under CC BY SA 4.0.

Deforestation and Habitat Loss

Myanmar is not only one of the most mangroves populated countries, it is also among the  world’s highest areas for rate of cutting. In a study between 2000-2012, it was reported there was around 27,957 ha of mangroves loss in Myanmar. ¹⁹ Between 1996 and 2016 United Nations Development Programme records, an average of 3.6 to 3.9 percent per year of the mangrove ecosystem in Myanmar disappeared.²⁰ In Myanmar, mangrove deforestation occurs mainly in three different regions: Rakhine State, Ayeyarwady Delta, and Tanintharyi Region. However, Tanintharyi has historically experienced lower levels of deforestation than other areas of Myanmar. The main drivers of mangrove degradation consist of both direct and indirect drivers.

Drivers of mangrove degradation

Conversion for Agriculture A 2016 study states that agriculture, especially rice expansion, has been a major driver of mangrove loss in Myanmar. Between 2000 and 2012, about 87.6 percentage of the total deforested mangroves were converted into rice plantations,21 particularly in the Ayeyarwady Delta area.22	Aquaculture Expansion Aquaculture development is one of the recent developments that threaten the mangrove ecosystem. Since 1980, brackish shrimp ponds have expanded to the mangrove forests in the northern part of Rakhine, Yangon, and Ayeyarwady region. Approximately, about 1.6 percent of the deforested mangroves forest turn into aquaculture.23
Logging and Timber Extraction  Overexploitation of timber for charcoal and fuelwood for cooking and drying, including legal and illegal, causes major forest deforestation and degradation. Mangroves forest is a charcoal source for local people around mangroves site. Furthermore, electricity shortage and insufficient electricity energy results in mangrove deforestation. Prior to the military coup, mangroves deforestation in Rakhine state significantly increased due to locals in rural parts of Rakhine state increasingly cutting down firewood for cooking. “75 percent of mangroves have been deforested across Arakan State” , said conservationists.24	Urbanization and Infrastructure Development Expansion of coast development activities like urbanization, industry zones and tourism facilities often threaten the destruction of mangrove ecosystems. In Rakhine, oil and gas terminals have been constructed alongside roads, heavily impacting the existing coastal mangrove areas on the Ramree Island.25Furthermore, the expansion of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Dawei, and Myeik regions results in the loss of mangrove forests.
Mining Activities Extraction of sand like gold and jade mining in coastal areas can result in the direct destruction of mangroves.	Population Pressure Human activities, like accumulation of waste materials leading to the death of mangrove trees and the decline of the ecosystem. Moreover, the growth of population requires more assets. For instance, the high population in Yangon demands about 700,000 tons of firewood every year. 26
Climate Change and Natural Disasters The frequency and intensity of storms can damage mangrove forests, although healthy mangroves help mitigate their effects. Extreme weather events, such as Cyclone Nargis in 2008, have also contributed to losses of 35,000 ha.	Policy and Governance Issues The lack of effective enforcement of existing regulations and weak governance allow illegal logging, land conversion, and other destructive activities to continue unabated. For instance, wood cutting and bark peeling have taken place in the Wunbaik Reserved Mangrove Forest in Rakhine State, where 40% of the mangroves have been converted to shrimp farms and rice paddies. 27Furthermore, the political crisis in 2021 increased illegal logging including a 12% reduction in forests in Rakhine state.28
Poverty and Low Literacy Rate  In many coastal communities, poverty forces people to exploit mangrove resources in order to survive. Among these activities are charcoal production, logging, and agricultural conversion of mangrove areas

Carbon Credits Scheme or Carbon Financing

Mangroves are highly effective at sequestering carbon, and helping mitigate climate change.  There are a few mangrove forests remaining with only approximately 3% of Myanmar mangrove areas being legally protected. Losing forest is linked to the losing carbon stock from the forest land. Mangroves store a large amount of carbon in their biomass and in surrounding soil, with the majority sequestered deep into their associated soils. Mangroves in Myanmar are estimated to store 119 million tonnes of carbon in their biomass and soils. ²⁹ The Myanmar National Forestry Master Plan aims to increase 10% of mangroves forest protected area by 2030. However, the pressure on the remaining is increasing. 

The following programs ³⁰ including; Myanmar Reforestation and Rehabilitation Program (2017-18 to 2026-27), Re-establishing Natural Habitats Program (2019-20 to 2028-29), National REDD+ Strategies, MTLAS, FLEG T Program were launched to address national needs for goods and services and to fulfill international commitments. These include the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Aichi Targets, Bonn Challenges, New York Declaration on Forests, etc.

Myanmar aims to benefit from the carbon market mechanism through the implementation of the REDD+ program, which was initiated in 2012. As a Party to the Paris Agreement, Myanmar has developed key policy documents relating to climate change, including the Myanmar Climate Change Policy (MCCP) (2019), Myanmar Climate Change Strategy (MCCS) (2018-2030), and Myanmar Climate Change Master Plan (MCCMP) (2018-2030). Furthermore, Myanmar’s National Adaptation Program of Action (NAPA) to Climate Change was developed in 2012, identifies four priority projects in the forest sector with the proposed budget of USD 11.5 million. One of these priorities is the community-based mangrove restoration for climate-resilient ecosystems and rural livelihoods in vulnerable and degraded coastal regions, which has a budget of USD 2.5 million over three years. ³¹  

The UN-REDD Myanmar program’s initiative, ³² “Integrating mangroves into REDD+ Implementation in Myanmar”, aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by emphasizing the role of mangroves. This initiative seeks to fulfill its international voluntary commitments to the UNFCCC while aligning with the goals of the national REDD+ strategy and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). 

Mangrove Protected Areas

Given the increasing pressure of climate change, there is an urgent need to preserve Myanmar’s remaining mangrove forests. However, only small fractions of these mangroves are currently protected, with just 1% of Myanmar’s overall mangrove stands located within the Meinmahla Kyun Reserve and Lampi Marine National Park.

In 2017, Ramsar sites were established for the first time in Myanmar, designating two coastal wetlands. In addition to the Meinmahla Kyun site, parts of Gulf of Mottama were also designated as Ramsar site, adding another 90,000 hectares of intertidal mudflats as coastal protected areas. ³³

The Meinmahla Kyun Wildlife Sanctuary, covering 13,000 hectares, was established in 1993 and is protected and managed by the Forest Department. In 2017, the sanctuary’s area was expanded to approximately 50,000 hectares, and it was designated as Myanmar’s third Ramsar site.

The Lampi Island Marine National Park (MNP) is located in the Myeik Archipelago. It was designated in 1996. It includes Lampi, the largest island in the park, along with 20 smaller surrounding islands. The park protects a rich biodiversity, including mangroves, beaches, dunes, coral reefs, and seagrass beds.

According to the Forest Law ³⁴ in 2018, under Section (6), subsection (e), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Conservation has designated “Sakhan Thit Kyun Mangrove Protected Forest”, an area of 1594 acres that falls within Kyunsu Township, Myeik District, Tanintharyi Region on July 24, 2024. 

Mangrove Restoration

The UN-REDD restoration project helps to restore degraded mangrove areas and improve blue carbon by extending mangroves plantation and preservation of the existing. The recent restoration activities are quite successful due to involving local forest users, government and non- government actors. The Forestry Department’s rehabilitation programmes, improved some mangroves areas including reforestation and the protection of natural mangroves in Ayeyarwady and Tanintharyi regions.³⁵ Since the 1980s, 13,000 hectares of mangroves have been restored in the Ayeyarwady Delta. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, in partnership with Denmark, launched a mangrove conservation project in Rakhine and Tanintharyi regions in 2018. Coordinating these efforts, including establishing UNESCO Biosphere Reserves and Ramsar Wetlands, is crucial to address mangrove habitat loss and ensure the continued provision of essential ecosystem services.³⁶

Forest Classification 

Land designated by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (MONREC) has three classifications within this: Reserved Forest (RF), Protected Public Forest (PPF), and Protected Area (PA). Reserved Forest (RF) has the best quality and high commercial value, but it is not available for public acquisition. And Protected Public Forest (PPF), with lower commercial value, is more accessible and provides some public acquisition rights. RF and PPF are always combined and structured as Permanent Forest Estate (PFE). The Protected Area (PA) aims to preserve the species richness and diverse ecosystems of Myanmar.  ³⁷

Status of Reserved Forests(RF), Protected Public Forests (PPF), and Protected Area System in Myanmar (Source: Forestry in Myanmar 2020)

A total of 34% of mangroves are found in areas that fall under the legalization of ‘Forest Land’, also known as Permanent Forest Estates (PFEs). Thus benefiting from some level of legal protection in Myanmar. ³⁸ About 3% of the mangrove ecosystem is located in protected areas. ³⁹ However, many mangroves remain as “Unclassified Forests” which are not legally protected.

Forest Laws, Regulations and Regulators

According to the Myanmar 2008 constitution, the State owns all land and sea in Myanmar. Forest management is the responsibility of the Forest Department (FD), an agency under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (MONREC). In Myanmar, forests are managed in accordance with a 30-year Master Plan for the period 2001 to 2031, a 10-year forest district management plan, and an annual operational plan. The following chart illustrates the organizational structure of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (MONREC).

Figure: the organizational structure of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (MONREC).

Created by Open Development Myanmar, 2024. License under CC BY SA 4.0. Created with Canva. Source: MONREC.

The Forest Department (FD) and the Environmental Conservation Department (ECD) are two key agencies in Myanmar dedicated to environmental stewardship and sustainable development. The FD is responsible for the protection, conservation, and sustainable management of the country’s biodiversity and forest resources, aligning its activities with the Forest Policy of 1995 to balance protection and production functions.

The Environmental Conservation Department (ECD) is a relatively new department, founded in 2012, which is responsible for implementing the National Environmental Policy and integrating environmental considerations into the national sustainable development process, focusing on environmental management and pollution control across water, air and land for the sustainable environment.

Mangroves Associated Laws, Policies, and Instructions in Myanmar 

The following laws and regulations and strategic master plans, available on the ODI Myanmar platform under the topic “Forest Policy and Administration,” are affected in Myanmar. They aim to ensure the sustainable management of forest resources, protect and conserve natural biodiversity, and address climate change through both mitigation and adaptation measures. The related mangroves conservation laws and regulations include the 2008 Constitution, which includes Article 45 stating that the state shall protect the natural environment of the country, and Article 390 emphasizing that it is the duty of every Myanmar citizen to protect the natural environment, the Forest Law (1992) ⁴⁰ and the Forest Rules (1995), ⁴¹ and the Protection of Wildlife & Conservation of Natural Areas Law (1994) ⁴² and National Land Use Policy (2016), National Environmental Policy (2019), Myanmar Climate Change Policy (2019), enactment of new Forest Law (2018), Conservation of Biodiversity and Protected Areas Law (2018) and issuing Community Forestry Instructions (2019) which focuses on the protection of soil, wildlife, biodiversity, and the environment.

Table: Legislative Surge: Laws Enacted during the Civilian Government.

 Created by Open Development Myanmar, 2024. License under CC BY SA 4.0.

Myanmar Forest Policy (1995)⁴³

The Myanmar Forest Policy (1995) was developed to ensure sustainable forest resource management for social, environmental, and economic purposes while maintaining ecosystem integrity. It identifies six key imperatives, including environmental protection, resource sustainability, meeting basic needs, efficient economic use, public participation, and raising awareness of the forests’ importance. The policy reflects the government’s commitment to balancing development with environmental stewardship.

Environmental Conservation Law (2012) ⁴⁴

The Environmental Conservation Law was enacted in 2012, and it aims to implement Myanmar’s National Environmental Policy by integrating environmental conservation into the sustainable development process, ensuring a healthy and clean environment, and preserving natural and cultural heritage for future generations. The law provides guidance on these principles and mandates the formation of an Environmental Conservation Committee to oversee the country’s environmental protection efforts.

National Land Use Policy (2016) ⁴⁵

The National Land Use Policy, launched in 2016, aims to systematically manage land use and tenure rights across both urban and rural areas, guiding the development of a National Land Law and harmonizing existing laws. The policy’s implementation is overseen by the National Land Use Council, which includes the Vice-President-2 as Chairman, along with relevant Union Ministers and Chief Ministers. This council is responsible for ensuring the policy’s objectives are met and coordinating decisions related to land use and tenure rights.

Forest Law (2018)⁴⁶