The Juntaminister for natural resources and environmental conservation (MONREC) admittedthat the areaof forest cover inRakhine State has been decreased in recent years.

Minister  Khin Maung Yi, while addressing a meeting withtownship level officials atRakhine State forest department's director office on 2 July said that the trees and mangroves must be conservedand replanted.

He also declared that 204,200 trees will be planted during the rainy season as a special initiative.

The minister pointed out that as many trees were destroyed by the cyclonic storm in the State, more treesshould be planted which are suitablefor the region.

However, he did not comment on the local authorities which are cooperating with the timber smugglersto export it to other countries likeBangladesh.

Environmental activists assert that the decline in Rakhine's forest cover was due to the government'sforest policy.

Ko Myo Lwin, an environmental activist from Ann township, alleged that as the government was not properlymaintaining the guidelines, the negativeimpact reflected on the ground.

“The government is indirectly destroying the forest. Now if they admit that forest areas are disappearing, wecan say that it did not perform properlyin accordance with the law,” he added.

He also pointed out that the decrease of forest areas in Rakhine State was not only due to local consumption,but the illegal felling of treeswhich are smuggled to neighbouring countries.

"Deforestation on the Rakhine border areas has taken place as the government did not strictly deal withthe illegal timber smuggling. Theythemselves formulated the policies but avoid implementing. Moreover, the government cooperateswith the people who cut the trees. Thetree felling activities are still going on,” he stated.

Similarly, the disappearance of mangrove areas from the Rakhine coastal region was due to cutting downof trees from the charcoal & brickkilns. Due to clearing of the mangroves from the shrimp and fish breeding ponds, the mangrove areasstart shrinking.

"Mangroves have destroyed after the military coup as the the electricity supply went erratic and thepeople depended on charcoal andfirewood for daily activities. The charcoal and firewood came from
the mangrove trees. Moreover, the shrimp farming businesses expanded using various machineries and itfinally affected on the mangrove areas,”he added.

In Rakhine State, more than 1,800 tons of smuggled timber wereseized in the fiscal year2019-2020, and over 5,000 tons were seized in 2020-2021, said the State forestry department.

Speaking to Narinjara News, it also added that from Januaryto August in 2021, 43 boatscarrying smuggled timbers were seized. Moreover, 16 vehicles and 288 defendants were also seized.

According to the statistics of the State forest department,there are more than 2,760,000acres of forest areas in Rakhine State during 2020. TheMangroves forest areas wasover 400000 in Rakhine the past but it was reduced to 100,000 acres only in 2021.

Despite the initiative of the government for plantation activities every year, the environmentalists reveal that it does not succeed as theapproach does not get support from the local people.