"Political and economic reconfigurations can have large and unpredictable effects on a country's deforestation dynamics. Four major transitions—war to peace, authoritarianism to democracy, centralized to decentralized political authority, and economic deregulation may have profound environmental consequences. For example, Indonesia's transition from “centralist authoritarianism to decentralized patronage politics” (Sindre 2014) is associated with increased deforestation (Stibig et al. 2014), and the Soviet Union's dissolution amplified environmental problems in Central Asia (Freedman & Neuzil 2015). The appropriation of forest resources to establish and maintain political patronage networks following democratization in Kenya and the establishment of peace in Cambodia led to accelerated deforestation (Le Billon 2000; Klopp 2012). Myanmar is undergoing all 4 transition types, and other countries are likely to undergo equivalent transitions in the future (e.g., Colombia, Cuba). Anticipating the likely environmental effects of political–economic transitions can inform proactive policy measures that minimize the risk of negative environmental outcomes. Abrupt transitions (e.g., coups d’états) preclude prior assessments. The gradual nature of Myanmar's transitions, however, provides opportunity for proactive debate and analysis (Webb et al. 2012, 2014; Lim et al. 2017). From 1962 to 2011, Myanmar had a highly centralized, authoritarian state and a command‐and‐control economy relatively isolated from global markets. From 2011 to 2015, there was some political and economic liberalization, followed by openly contested elections in 2015 and further reforms which led to the lifting of U.S. economic sanctions. An end to the civil war, which began in 1948, is a possibility following the 2015 Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement between the government and major combatants. Myanmar's remaining forested area—over 29 million ha, approximately 44% of its total land area and the largest in mainland Southeast Asia (FAO 2015)—is in the globally important and highly threatened Indo‐Burma biodiversity hotspot (CEPF 2012; Hughes 2017). Successfully forecasting the effects of Myanmar's governmental and economic transitions on its forests is therefore key to development of new, integrated policy recommendations. Such recommendations will have greater legitimacy if derived from a transparent and formalized approach that yields expert consensus on priority issues. Horizon scanning harnesses the collective knowledge of experts to define emerging environmental and policy issues (Sutherland et al. 2011). However, it has not been applied in countries undergoing political and economic transitions. We analyzed emerging threats to forests in Myanmar with a horizon‐scanning approach to identify the most important issues likely to affect forests in Myanmar over 10 years (2016–2026). We conducted a national‐level synthesis of top priorities for research, policy, and interventions to conserve Myanmar's globally important forests and biodiversity while the country undergoes transition. Our findings are globally relevant because they provide a case study for transitions in other nations. Finally, we sought to demonstrate a novel and expanded application of horizon scanning for the conservation and development community..."