Seizure of large quantities of illegal timber continues
With a crackdown announced on the illegal timber trade—and a proposed nationwide logging ban by the end of the fiscal year in March 2017—seizures of illegally cut logs have exceeded 10,000 tons in the first quarter from April to June. Myo Min, director of the Forestry Department in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation, maintains, however, that trends are continuing to move in a positive direction. Based on the current figures, he expects seizure quantities for this fiscal year to be lower than the 46,153 tons seized during the 2015-16 fiscal year. Baba Cho, a consultant to the Myanmar Timber Merchants Association, said the government needed to enhance law enforcement to prevent illegal logging, which continues at significant rates across the country.
