The ecoregions of Burma/Myanmar

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Description: "... Without local support, the long-term existence of PAs is not assured (Wells and McShane 2004). Local people are unlikely to support PAs if they have negative perceptions and attitudes toward them (Alkan et al. 2009). An attitude is a cognitive evaluation of a particular entity with favor or disfavor, and it reflects the beliefs that people hold about the attitude object or entity (Eagly and Chaiken 1998). Beliefs are the associations that people establish between the attitude object and various attributes (Allendorf 2007). Attitudes toward PAs, conservation, or wildlife may be influenced by PA staff or management interventions, local economic needs and history, or other indirectly related socioeconomic factors such as government policy. The cognitions or thoughts that are associated with attitudes are typically termed beliefs by attitude theorists (Eagly and Chaiken 1998). Perception refers to people?s beliefs that derive from their experiences and interaction with a program or activity. Xu et al. (2006) argue that local people?s perceptions are related to costs and benefits produced by PAs, their dependence on PA resources, and their knowledge about PAs. The influences of socioeconomic characteristics on local people?s perceptions and attitudes toward an adjacent PA are often site-specific and inconsistent (Allendorf et al. 2006; Baral and Heinen 2007; Mehta and Heinen 2001; Rao et al. 2003; Shibia 2010; Shrestha and Alavalapati 2006; Xu et al. 2006). Some studies report that education is a strong predictor of attitude (Allendorf et al. 2006; Mehta and Heinen 2001; Shibia 2010; Shrestha and Alavalapati 2006; Xu et al. 2006), while others have found no correlation between educational status and people?s perceptions and attitudes (Baral and Heinen 2007; Mehta and Heinen 2001). Mehta and Heinen (2001), Allendorf et al. (2006), and Xu et al. (2006) reported that women were less likely to hold positive attitudes, whereas Baral and Heinen (2007) and Shibia (2010) found no correlation between gender and attitude. Allendorf et al. (2006) and Shrestha and Alavalapati (2006) found that individuals from larger families have negative attitudes to PAs, whereas Xu et al. (2006) reported that individuals from larger families hold positive attitudes toward PAs. Jim and Xu (2002) and Alkan et al. (2009) argue that local people?s perceptions and attitudes are shaped by their knowledge about the neighboring PA. This knowledge might include objectives, activities, size, regulations, or location of the boundary of PAs (Jim and Xu 2002; Rao et al. 2003; Xu et al. 2006). The knowledge is gained empirically through one?s perceptions, and it is the recognition of something sensed or felt (Ziadat 2010). It is important to investigate whether more knowledge of PAs would be associated with positive perceptions and attitudes toward them. We examined the effects of both knowledge and socioeconomic factors on the perceptions and attitudes of local people toward Popa Mountain Park, in central Myanmar, and its management through a questionnaire survey. Myanmar is one of the biodiversity hotspots in the world, and its PAs play a crucial role in conserving the country?s rich biodiversity (Myers et al. 2000). During the last 10 years the number of protected areas in Myanmar has increased from 20 to 42, covering 7.3% of total land area of the country (Nature and Wildlife Conservation Division 2008). The Nature and Wildlife Conservation Division (NWCD) of the Forest Department, Ministry of Forestry, is mainly responsible for PA management in Myanmar. Generally, PAs in Myanmar can be categorized into national park, marine park, wildlife sanctuary, nature reserve, and zoo park. Although Myanmar?s PAs do not fully conform to PA categories of the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN), they are most similar to IUCN category IV (Aung 2007). Myanmar?s PA management rules and regulations prohibit local people from using resources within PAs. Conflicts arise as local people often have no other source of resource than the PA. Rao, Rabinowitz, and Khaing (2002) reported that nontimber forest products were extracted from 85% and fuelwood was collected from more than 50% of PAs in Myanmar. The mean annual population growth rate is 2.1% (Central Statistics Organisation 2006) and is highest in rural areas where most Myanmar PAs are located. Population increase is linked to an increase in the number of people seeking land for grazing, collecting fuelwood, and extracting timber and other forest products. The rapid growth of PAs and the huge pressures placed on them by the increasing human population are a great challenge for sustainable PA management. Popa Mountain Park (PMP) possesses a diverse forest ecosystem in central Myanmar where most forests have already disappeared. PMP was selected for the present study for two reasons: (1) a historic relationship between PMP and local communities and (2) high people?s pressure on the park resulting from the high population density together with resource scarcity in the surrounding area. The Forest Department has had great success in the reforestation of Popa Mountain, which is a high priority for forest conservation. It is important to understand local people?s perceptions and attitudes toward PMP for its sustainability. The objectives of the present study were (1) to examine the responses of local people toward the park and its management and (2) to study how local people?s perceptions and attitudes toward the PA and its management relate to their socioeconomic status and knowledge about the park..."
Creator/author: Naing Zaw Htun, Nobuya Mizoue, Shigejiro Yoshida
Source/publisher: Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry (MOECAF)
2015-10-13
Date of entry/update: 2016-04-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 351.69 KB
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Description: Biome: Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests... Size: 11,500 square miles... Conservation Status: Relatively Stable/Intact..... "The Chin Hills-Arakan Yoma Montane Rain Forests [IM0109] are globally outstanding for bird richness, partly because they acted as a refugia during recent glaciation events. This ecoregion still harbors many taxa characteristic of the Palearctic realm and a diverse assemblage of subtropical species distributed across its elevational gradients. Much of the southern Chin Hills remains biologically unexplored. Location and General Description: This ecoregion represents the montane moist forests along the length of the Chin Hills and Arakan Yomas mountain ranges along the west coast of Myanmar. The Koeppen climate zone classifies this ecoregion in the tropical wet climate zone (National Geographic Society 1999)..."
Source/publisher: World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
2001-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Biome: Montane Grasslands and Shrublands... Size: 46,800 square miles... Conservation Status: Relatively Stable/Intact..... "The Eastern Himalayan Alpine Shrub and Meadows [PA1003] represent the alpine scrub and meadow habitat along the Inner Himalayas to the east of the Kali Gandaki River in central Nepal. Within it are the tallest mountains in the world-Everest, Makalu, Dhaulagiri, and Jomalhari-which tower far above the Gangetic Plains. The alpine scrub and meadows in the eastern Himalayas are nested between the treeline at 4,000 m and the snowline at about 5,500 m and extend from the deep Kali Gandaki gorge through Bhutan and India?s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, to northern Myanmar. The Eastern Himalayan Alpine Shrub and Meadows [PA1003] ecoregion supports one of the world?s richest alpine floral displays that becomes vividly apparent during the spring and summer when the meadows explode into a riot of color from the contrasting blue, purple, yellow, pink, and red flowers of alpine herbs. Rhododendrons characterize the alpine scrub habitat closer to treeline. The tall, bright-yellow flower stalk of the noble rhubarb, Rheum nobile (Polygonaceae), stands above all the low herbs and shrubs like a beacon, visible from across the valleys of the high Himalayan slopes. The plant richness in this ecoregion sitting at the top of the world is estimated at more than 7,000 species, a number that is three times what is estimated for the other alpine meadows in the Himalayas. In fact, from among the Indo-Pacific ecoregions, only the famous rain forests of Borneo are estimated to have a richer flora. Within the species-rich landscape are hotspots of endemism, created by the varied topography, which results in very localized climatic variations and high rainfall, enhancing the ability of specialized plant communities to evolve. Therefore, the ecoregion boasts the record for a plant growing at the highest elevation in the world: Arenaria bryophylla, a small, dense, tufted cushion-forming plant with small, stalkless flowers, was recorded at an astonishing 6,180 m by A. F. R. Wollaston (Wollaston 1921, in Polunin and Stainton 1997)..."
Source/publisher: World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
2001-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Biome: Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests... Size: 53,400 square miles... Conservation Status: Vulnerable..... Introduction: "Like many of the region?s lowland forests, the Irrawaddy Moist Deciduous Forests [IM0117] ecoregion has been intensively cultivated and its forests converted over hundreds of years. As a consequence, most of the region?s biodiversity has been extirpated, and because of political forces over the past few decades very little current information on the biodiversity status of this ecoregion is known. Description Location and General Description This ecoregion is located within the Irrawaddy River Basin, the catchments of Bago Yoma, and the foothills of Rakhine Yoma. The soils belong to the Irrawaddian series, which consists of the fluvial sands with terrestrial and aquatic vertebrate fossils. Silicified wood fossils are found among ferruginous, calcareous, and siliceous concretions, with quartz pebbles. The Irrawaddian rocks are distinct from other Tertiary rock groups. Their occurrence reaches up to the Kachin State in the north and in Chindwin districts in Sagaing division. The southern distribution is down to Rangoon..."
Source/publisher: World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
2001-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Biome: Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests... Size: 46,100 square miles... Conservation Status: Relatively Stable/Intact..... Introduction: "The Kayah-Karen Montane Rain Forests [IM0119] ecoregion harbors globally outstanding levels of species richness. Among the ecoregions of Indochina, it ranks second for bird species richness and fourth for mammal species richness. The world?s smallest mammal, Kitti?s hog-nosed bat (Craseonycteris thonglongyai), equal in mass to a large bumblebee, resides in the limestone caves of this ecoregion. Because the ecoregion remains unexplored scientifically, especially the parts that lie in Myanmar, it probably will yield more biological surprises. Description Location and General Description This ecoregion includes the northern part of the Tenasserim Mountain Range, which forms the border between Thailand and Myanmar. Much of the region consists of hills of Paleozoic limestone that have been dissected by chemical weathering. The overhanging cliffs, sinkholes, and caverns characteristic of tropical karst landscapes are all present in this ecoregion. Large patches of limestone forest are associated with the tropical karst. The flora and fauna here is distinct and includes several endemic species. Because complex habitats are little explored, it is likely that they contain undescribed endemic species..."
Source/publisher: World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
2001-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "This region contains Indochina�s largest block of moist forest, one of its richest plant diversities, and its largest number of mammals. This Global 200 ecoregion is made up of these terrestrial ecoregions: Tenasserim-South Thailand semi-evergreen rain forests; Kayah-Karen montane rain forests. If you?re interested in Asian mammals, you should visit the Kayah-Karen/Tenasserim Moist Forests. For here live tigers, Asian elephants, gaurs, and clouded leopards--species that conjure images of dense, gloomy forests. Other species, such as the Fea�s muntjak -- a small deer with prominent, vampire-like canine teeth -- are rarely found anywhere outside of these forests. In the evenings a host of different bats, ranging in size from small to tiny, will begin to flit through the sky feasting on the large variety of insects, while white-bellied rats scurry across the ground..."
Source/publisher: World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Stand on the Shan Plateau, and you?ll see mountains everywhere, stretching far and wide. Under your feet lies rocky soil rich with silver, rubies, and sapphires. But the real gem here is Lake Inle. One of Myanmar?s few freshwater lakes, Inle contains many unique species of fish. Lake Inle lies 2,952 feet (900 m) above sea level on the Shan Plateau, an extensive region of high mountain ranges crisscrossed by streams and the mighty Salween River. Inle is a shallow mountain lake that contains several islands and is fed by mountain streams..."
Source/publisher: World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Biome: Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests... Size: 25,700 square miles... Conservation Status: Vulnerable..... Introduction: "The Myanmar Coastal Rain Forests [IM0132] are a diverse set of climatic niches and habitats that include flora and fauna from the Indian, Indochina, and Sundaic regions. Though low in endemism, this ecoregion has a tremendous species diversity. However, the forests have been increasingly destroyed to make way for agriculture, and poaching has become the dominant threat to the remaining wildlife populations. Description Location and General Description This ecoregion represents the lowland evergreen and semi-evergreen rain forests of the western side of Arakan Yoma and Tenasserim ranges along the west coast of Myanmar. A small area extends into southeast Bangladesh. It falls within the tropical wet climate zone of the Köppen climate system (National Geographic Society 1999)...."
Source/publisher: World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
2001-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "This ecoregion is one of the richest areas for birds and mammals in all of Asia. This Global 200 ecoregion is made up of these terrestrial ecoregions: Northern Triangle subtropical forests; Mizoram-Manipur-Kachin rain forests; Chin Hills-Arakan Yoma montane forests; Meghalaya subtropical forests; Northeast India-Myanmar pine forests..."
Source/publisher: World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Biome: Tropical and Subtropical Coniferous Forests... Size: 3,700 square miles... Conservation Status: Critical/Endangered..... Introduction: "The Northeast India-Myanmar Pine Forests [IM0303] ecoregion is one of only four tropical or subtropical conifer forest ecoregions in the Indo-Pacific region. All of these ecoregions contain less biodiversity than the forests that surround them. However, they contain processes and species unique to these ecosystems. This ecoregion contains moderate levels of biodiversity but remains largely intact, providing opportunities to conserve and protect this ecoregion?s biodiversity into the future. Description Location and General Description These forests are found in the north-south Burmese-Java Arc. The Arc is formed by the parallel folded mountain ranges that culminate in the Himalayas in the north. Moving south are the mountain ranges of Patkoi, Lushai Hills, Naga Hills, Manipur, and the Chin Hills. The outer southwestern fringe of mountain ranges forming the Arc is the Arakan Yomas, the southern continuation of the folded mountain ranges branching off from the Himalayas. Geologically the ecoregion has gley and black slates. Dark-colored serpentine and gabbro also are found interstratified within the shales..."
Source/publisher: World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
2001-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: " Biome: Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests... Size: 168,700 square miles... Conservation Status: Vulnerable... Introduction: The Northern Indochina Subtropical Forests [IM0137] are globally outstanding for their biological diversity; this ecoregion has the highest species richness for birds among all ecoregions in the Indo-Pacific region and ranks third for mammal richness. The ecoregion sits astride a major zoogeographic ecotone, where the northern Palearctic and the southern Indo-Malayan faunas mix, allowing langurs to mix with red pandas and muntjac and musk deer to mingle. It is also a crossroads for the south Asian and east Asian floras as well as some ancient relicts that have found refuge here during the turbulent and variable geological past... Description: Location and General Description This large ecoregion extends across the highlands of northern Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam and also includes most of southern Yunnan Province. A complex network of hills and river valleys extends south of the Yunnan Plateau into northern Indochina to include the middle catchments of the Red, Mekong, and Salween rivers. Mountains in this area are composed of intrusive igneous rocks or Paleozoic limestone and approach but seldom exceed 2,000 m, and major river valleys lie at 200-400 m elevation. The climate throughout northern Indochina is summer monsoonal. Precipitation averages 1,200 to 2,500 mm per year, depending on location, and almost all of this consists of summer rain fetched from the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea during April to October. From November to March, westerly subtropical winds drawn from continental Asia create dry conditions. These are moderated by easterly rain in southern Vietnam (WWF and IUCN 1995). Mean temperatures vary with elevation, but the spring premonsoon period is the hottest time of the year, and January is the coldest. Frost is known from the higher elevations, but it is infrequent..."
Source/publisher: World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
2001-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Biome: Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests... Size: 4,100 square miles... Conservation Status: Relatively Stable/Intact... Introduction: "The Northern Triangle Temperate Forests [IM0402] ecoregion lies in the extreme northern area of the Golden Triangle of Myanmar. The region is scientifically unexplored, and the biological information, especially of its flora, is still based on the early, pioneering exploration done by Kingdon-Ward (1921, 1930, 1952). There have been no detailed scientific surveys in this area since then, and current assessments of its biodiversity probably are underestimated. In all probability this ecoregion harbors many more species than are now attributed to it. Satellite imagery indicates that the ecoregion is still largely clothed in intact forests and presents a rare opportunity to conserve large landscapes that will support the ecological processes and the biodiversity within this eastern Himalayan ecosystem. Description Location and General Description The mountains originated more than 40 million years ago, when the collision between the drifting Deccan Plateau and the northern Laurasian mainland created the Himalayan Mountains, including these mountains in the Golden Triangle. Therefore, the mountains are young and unweathered; the terrain is rugged and dissected, with north-south-oriented ranges that reach south, toward the central plains of Myanmar. The peaks along this range rise steeply to attain heights of more than 3,000 m. The Chindwin, Mali Hka, and N?mai Hka rivers originate in these mountains and flow south to converge in the lower reaches to form the Irrawaddy River..."
Source/publisher: World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
2001-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "The Salween River originates in the eastern highlands of the Tibetan Plateau and flows through valleys that are at first steep and narrow, then increasingly broad as the river approaches the tropical lowlands. Eventually it enters the Andaman Sea in eastern Myanmar. The 2815 km long Salween river runs parallel to the mighty Mekong River for much of its course and forms part of the border between Myanmar and Thailand. When it flows through Yunnan, it is known as the Nujiang river. About 140 fish live in this river (approximately one-third endemic species) with Minnows (Cyprinidae) being the most diverse group of fish. The area is also home to the world?s most diverse turtle community, with between 10 and 15 genera of turtles represented, many of which are riverine species. For most of its route the river is of little commercial value, and it passes through deep gorges and is often called China?s Grand Canyon. It is home to over 7,000 species of plants and 80 rare or endangered animals and fish. Unesco said this region "may be the most biologically diverse temperate ecosystem in the world" and designated it a World Heritage Site in 2003. The Salween is the longest undammed river in mainland Southeast Asia..."
Source/publisher: World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Biome: Tropical and Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests... Size: 13,600 square miles... Conservation Status: Critical/Endangered... G200: No..... Introduction: "The Irrawaddy Dry Forests [IM0205], like the surrounding moist deciduous forests, have been under intensive conversion pressure for hundreds of years. However, until recently most of its large mammal fauna, such as the tiger, still persisted in the degraded forests. Only recently has the larger mammal fauna been hunted to the brink of extinction in this ecoregion. The little protection afforded this ecoregion has hindered conservation efforts. Description Location and General Description This ecoregion falls in the dry zone of central Myanmar. The region has a harsh climate and is extremely dry. The average rainfall is about 650 mm per year. Rains start in mid-July and last until October. There are rarely more than fifteen days of rain per year. When rainfall does occur, it falls in torrential showers. In addition to rains, the dry zone is subject to southerly winds during the summer, resulting in wind erosion of the topsoil..."
Source/publisher: World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Biome: Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests... Size: 5,900 square miles... Conservation Status: Critical/Endangered... G200: No... Introduction: "In 1929 the Burma Game Manual stated its guiding principle: "A countryside devoid of wildlife is uninteresting and unnatural, and life under such conditions can adversely affect the national character." Therefore, invaluable natural and national assets had to be saved from destruction. This has not happened in large portions of Myanmar, especially the fertile lands of the Irrawaddy freshwater swamp forest. Most of the ecoregion?s original forests, and subsequent wildlife such as Asian elephants and tigers, have been destroyed. Protection of the last remaining bits of habitat and restoration ecology will be key elements of returning this ecoregion to its natural state. Description Location and General Description The Irrawaddy River flows into the Bay of Bengal, and its delta is made up of mangroves and freshwater swamp forests of this ecoregion. This ecoregion is an extremely fertile area because of the riverborne silt deposited in the delta. The southern portion of the ecoregion transitions into the Myanmar Coastal Mangroves [IM1404] and is made up of fanlike marshes with oxbow lakes, islands, and meandering rivulets and streams. Topographically the region is primarily flatlands. The western part of the region is bounded by the Rakhine (Arakan) Yomas, with the highest elevation at about 1,287 m to the north, tapering down to the south to 428 m...."
Source/publisher: World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Biome: Mangroves... Size: 8,200 square miles... Conservation Status: Critical/Endangered... G200: No.. Introduction: "The Myanmar Coastal Mangroves [IM1404] are some of the most degraded or destroyed mangrove systems in the Indo-Pacific. The sedimentation rate of the Irrawaddy River is the fifth highest in the world. This is largely because of the deforestation that has occurred throughout central Myanmar. The mangroves have also been overexploited from forestry, agriculture, aquaculture, and development projects. The wild species have been severely reduced but hang on in isolated pockets... Description: Location and General Description: Myanmar Coastal Mangroves [IM1404] ecoregion is found in the Irrawaddy delta. The mouth of the Irrawaddy River was some 170 miles inland near Prome 300,000 years ago. On the islands of Twante, Myaungmya, and Bassein, lateritic ridges stood above the water. The delta is composed largely of alluvium, and a large area is occupied by volcanic rocks...."
Source/publisher: World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
2001-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Introduction: The Mizoram-Manipur-Kachin Rain Forests [IM0131] has the highest bird species richness of all ecoregions that are completely within the Indo-Pacific region. (The only ecoregions that have more birds are the Northern Indochina Subtropical Forests [IM0137] and South China-Vietnam Subtropical Evergreen Forests [IM0149] that extend into China.) Except the pioneering explorations of Kingdon-Ward (1921, 1930, 1952) and Burma Wildlife Survey made by Oliver Milton and Richard D. Estes (1963), few scientific surveys have been made in this ecoregion. Once exception has been the recent Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Smithsonian Institution?s reptile survey in northwestern Myanmar. Therefore these rugged mountains? biodiversity remains largely unknown... Description: Location and General Description This large ecoregion represents the semi-evergreen submontane rain forests that extend from the midranges of the Arakan Yoma and Chin Hills north into the Chittagong Hills of Bangladesh, the Mizo and Naga hills along the Myanmar-Indian border, and into the northern hills of Myanmar. It divides the Brahmaputra and Irrawaddy valleys, through which two of Asia?s largest rivers flow. Some areas in this ecoregion receive more than 2,000 mm of rainfall annually from the monsoons that sweep in from the Bay of Bengal..."
Source/publisher: World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
2001-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Biome: Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests... Size: 37,600 square miles... Conservation Status: Relatively Stable/Intact..... Introduction: "The Tenasserim-South Thailand Semi-Evergreen Rain Forests [IM0163] cover the transition zone from continental dry evergreen forests common in the north to semi-evergreen rain forests to the south. As a consequence, this ecoregion contains some of the highest diversity of both bird and mammal species found in the Indo-Pacific region. The relatively intact hill and montane forests form some of the best remaining habitat essential to the survival of Asian elephants and tigers in the Indo-Pacific region. However, the lowland forests are heavily degraded, and many lowland specialists such as the endemic Gurney?s pitta survive in a few isolated reserves... Description: Location and General Description This ecoregion encompasses the mountainous, semi-evergreen rain forests of the southern portion of the Tenasserim Range, which separates Thailand and Myanmar, and the numerous small ranges of peninsular Thailand. This ecoregion also includes the extensive lowland plains that lie between the peninsular mountains and until recent decades supported extensive lowland forest. The southern margin of this ecoregion is defined by the Kangar-Pattani floristic boundary (Whitmore 1984), which separates Indochina from the Malesia. Annual precipitation increases southward as the length of the dry season and the magnitude of premonsoon drought stress declines. The southern mountain ranges receive rain from both the northeast and southwest monsoons so that, unlike in mountain ranges further north, there is no significant rainshadow. The Köppen climate system places this ecoregion in the tropical wet climate zone (National Geographic Society 1999)..."
Source/publisher: World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
2001-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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