APFNet projects help improve multi-level capacities of sustainable forest management in Myanmar
APFNet projects aim to pilot and demonstrate best practices for sustainable forest management and rehabilitation, and help member economies in the Asia-Pacific region improve their forest management capacities and local livelihoods. In ground-level projects, capacity-building components are usually incorporated for policymakers, researchers and local communities, to improve their capacities by “teaching them how to fish” and maximize project demonstration effects and impacts. To date, APFNet in-project training has benefited over 10,000 people in a wide variety of forest-related areas, such as community forest management, agroforestry, close-to-nature forestry, forest fire management, and forest-based ecotourism.
The Paung Laung watershed, one of the most important watersheds in Myanmar, has been faced with severe forest loss, which has led to land degradation, soil erosion, polluted water, and needless to say, poverty. To raise awareness of and demonstrate forests’ roles in restoring watersheds and improving management, APFNet has financed the project “Integrated Forest Ecosystem Management Planning and Demonstration Project in Greater Mekong Sub-region” (Myanmar site) since 2019, focusing on integrated and scientific planning, watershed restoration with trees, and livelihood alternatives and market approach development.
Figure 1 Project site map
Figure 2 Shifting cultivation and deforestation practiced along the stream
banks have led to soil erosion and forest degradation in the Paung Laung watershed.
From June 2021- 2024, 10 in-project training courses were organized for 275 people around the following three project components.
Ⅰ.Economic empowerment for villagers: Natural resource management, livelihood alternatives, and community development
Most of Myanmar’s population is in rural regions and highly dependent on natural resources for subsistence. This is no exception for Pin Laung Township people. The project team has provided target communities with training in agroforestry practices, sustainable harvesting and processing of natural resources, and value chain theory, enabling them to be aware of watershed management and environment conservation, and securing their livelihoods with NTFP production and selling.
Figure 3 On-site demonstration of topography and soil conditions of Taungya
Cultivation(L) and frame construction for terrace farming（R）
Figure 4 Training in bamboo culm care(L) and bamboo shoot boiling(R)
Figure 5 Training in grass broom making
Figure 6 Training in turmeric processing(L) and tree seedling and nursery practices(R)
Training case 1: Bamboo silviculture, shoot production and market status
Why the training
The Paung Laung watershed is known for bamboo shoot and grass broom production. In Pin Laung Township alone, the annual output of fresh (non-processed) bamboo shoots amounts to about 480,000 kg. However, it’s found that natural bamboo forests are shrinking and degraded, and actions are necessary to help the local people improve the quality of bamboo shoots, manage natural bamboo forests sustainably, and establish commercial bamboo plantations at manageable scales.
Who were trained
25 trainees from 8 villages in the Paung Laung watershed
● What was trained
● Natural bamboo forest management
● Bamboo plantation
● Systematic bamboo harvesting methods
● Production of pickled, dried, and fresh bamboo shoots
● Bamboo product marketing
The course was given by local forestry officials and private sector representatives, supported with field practice.
What’s achieved
Trainees have
● realized the loss of natural bamboo forests due to expanded shifting cultivation
● became aware of the importance of bamboo planting to sustain bamboo shoot yields and conserve ecosystems
● improved their skills of good-quality bamboo shoot production
A female villager from Leinli village said that she didn’t understand the value of vegetation in the watershed, noting that “people used to treat plants as weeds and cut them away”. After the training, she realized the cutting would result in soil erosion, and now took care of vegetative cover, including the climbing plants.
Ⅱ.Mindset improvement for local leaders: Watershed management and conservation
Village leaders are responsible for mobilizing wide participation in multi-level watershed management activities and play exemplary roles in conserving and managing watershed and natural
Training case 2: Watershed conservation for village administration members
Who were trained
25 local officials from 8 villages under the Htein Pin Village group, Pin Laung Township
What was trained
● Concepts and knowledge of watershed, integrated watershed management, and water quality monitoring
● Watershed management in Myanmar
● Conservation efforts, international cooperation and benefits gained in the Paung Laung watershed
● Discussion on
■ general ecological issues faced with watersheds
■ Inlay Lake watershed conservation project
■ Difficulties encountered in watershed conservation and possible solutions
■ Proposed actions for future watershed conservation
● Field practice of watershed conservation, including construction of stone check dams and silt fences, etc.
What’s achieved
Trainees have
● mastered the policies and regulations on watershed management adopted by the Forestry Department
● became aware of values of forest ecosystems to watershed conservation
● gained knowledge of fresh water, scientific watershed management and conservation approaches
resources, and that’s why they are also targeted trainees under this project.
Figure 7 Indoor lecture for village leaders(L) and field practice on bio-fencing for soil erosion control (R)
Ⅲ.Skill level-up for forestry professionals: Science-based watershed planning and management
To facilitate the development and implementation of an integrated watershed management plan for Leinli village, local forest officers and researchers have received training in mapping techniques to ensure their decision-making, planning, and implementation of agroforestry demonstration and conservation actions based on the accurate digital representation of the watershed.
Training case3: 3D mapping and QGIS map composition
Who were trained
20 range officers of Forest Department, research assistants and, project staff members and observers from the Forest Research Institute
What was trained
● Using Google Earth Pro, producing 3D maps and importing them into Microsoft Publisher
● Labelling, downloading shapefiles from Micro Inertial Measurement Unit (MIMU), using Dissolve and Select by Attribute methods, performing Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) map georeferencing, and applying Elevation and Contour Map techniques
What’s achieved
Trainees have mastered skills in making 3D maps.
Figure 8 Training in Three-dimensions mapping and map composition
By the early 2025, another 4 training courses will be organized in Turmeric value-added product production, silviculture practices, maintenance of agroforestry demonstration plots, etc.
APFNet has funded USD 1.12 million to the project, which aims to conserve forest germplasm resources and rehabilitate forest ecological services and forest productivity through the establishment of an arboretum on FRI and implementing integrated watershed forest management in Palaung watershed, Southern Shan State in Myanmar, to contribute to sustainable forest management in the Greater Mekong Sub-region. The project is supervised by the Forest Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (FD) and implemented by the Myanmar Forest Research Institute (FRI). For more information about the project, please refer to Integrated Planning and Management of Forest Ecosystem in Greater Mekong Sub-region - Myanmar site
