"Biodiversity and linked natural resources and ecosystem services in Myanmar provide the foundation for human development and well-being. Ecosystem health equates to human health and productive economic sectors and livelihoods. Maintenance and enhancement of ecosystem health is a prerequisite for sustainable, resilience and acceptable hydropower development. This chapter provides a national overview of the status and trends in biodiversity, identifying some of the main themes and issues, and the drivers of change which are shaping ecosystem health and their capacity to maintain ecosystem services. A summary of baseline biodiversity in the eight main river basins1 in Myanmar is presented. Important spatial layers used to define and describe high priority biodiversity areas are ecoregions, Keys Biodiversity Areas (KBAs), Protected Areas (PAs) and biodiversity corridors. The chapter assesses the status of ecoregions that fall within each basin and the distribution of KBAs and PAs. Ecoregions, KBAs and PAs for each basin are analysed and mapped to describe the distribution of biodiversity areas by basin and for 58 sub-basins. Also, maps and plots are presented to visualize key trends in forest degradation over the past 15 years as a foundation indicator for trends in biodiversity health overall - ie in species, habitats and genetic resources. For each basin, a line plot of cumulative forest loss was derived using data from Hansen et al., (2013)2 , where forest loss was determined for open forest (greater than 10% and less than or equal to 40% canopy cover), medium-closed canopy cover (more than 40% and less than or equal to 80% canopy cover), and intact forest (greater than 80% canopy cover). Maps and tables are supplemented with descriptions of the biodiversity status of each basin, along with drivers of change. Each basin biodiversity profile highlights key PAs that fall within basin boundaries, as a way drilling down so that overall trends are illustrated through location specific case examples. While this chapter is intended as a baseline of terrestrial biodiversity for later assessment of planned hydropower projects, it provides a baseline to inform biodiversity conservation and development planning across all sectors. Hydropower development could play a very important role in supporting the Government of Myanmar implement the Aichi targets on biodiversity conservation. The tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity Conservation, held in October 2010, in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, adopted a revised and updated Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, including the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, for the 2011-2020 period. As Myanmar is a party to the Convention, this Plan provides an overarching framework on biodiversity management as a foundation for sustainable development and livelihoods and for community and ecosystem wellbeing. At this outset of this baseline assessment chapter on biodiversity it is important to keep a number of the Aichi Biodiversity targets in mind as a framework for analysis and assessment throughout the SEA. Relevant targets include: • Target 5: By 2020, the rate of loss of all natural habitats, including forests, is at least halved and where feasible brought close to zero, and degradation and fragmentation is significantly reduced. • Target 6: By 2020 all fish and invertebrate stocks and aquatic plants are managed and harvested sustainably, legally and applying ecosystem based approaches, so that overfishing is avoided, recovery plans and measures are in place for all depleted species, fisheries have no significant adverse impacts on threatened species and vulnerable ecosystems and the impacts of fisheries on stocks, species and ecosystems are within safe ecological limits..."