Text Box: Destruction and Degradation of the Burmese Frontier Forests Text Box: # Text Box: Burma, or Myanmar as it was renamed by the military government in 1989, is the largest country on the mainland of South-East Asia, covering an area of 678,580 square kilometres. It is bordered by India, Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal to the west, by China in the north-east, Laos and Thailand in the east, and by the Andaman Sea to the south. Despite the fact that Burma is rich in resources, the country is very poor. Decades of destruction through armed conflict, political repression, human rights abuses, and government mismanagement have created great hardships for the peoples of Burma; especially in ethnic minority areas. It has left the country in a deep economic, social, and humanitarian crisis. Burma, once one of the wealthiest, developed and modern nations of Southeast Asia, had to apply to the UN for Least Developed Country (LDC) status in 1987. Climatic conditions differ from region to region, and there is a wide variety of ecosystems. These include the snow-capped mountains of northern Kachin State, the rugged bare hills of the Wa region, the Shan highland plateau, the rice growing areas in the irrigated dry zone of the central plains, mangrove forests in the Irrawaddy Delta, and the rainforests and tropical islands of southern Burma. Burma is rich in minerals and natural resources, is one of the most fertile countries of Asia, and has wide biodiversity. Kachin State in particular has been listed as one of the worlds remaining ‘biodiversity hotspots’ (Moncreif and Myat, 2002). Burma is inhabited by a wide range of different ethnic groups, including Burman, Mon, Karen, Karenni, Shan, Wa, Kachin, Chin and Rakhine. Ethnic minorities make up over 30% of the population, which stands at some 50 million in 2003. Reliable statistics on population and ethnic groups are not available; the last comprehensive population census dates back to 1931. Since the constitution of 1974, the country is administratively divided into 7 divisions and 7 ethnic minority states; Yangon, Irrawaddy, Magwe, Tenasserim, Mandalay, Pegu, and Sagaing Divisions, and Rakhine, Chin, Kachin, Shan, Karenni, Karen, and Mon States. These ethnic minority states make up 55% of the land area, but represent only a few of the largest ethnic groups. The majority of the Burman Buddhist population lives in the central plains and valleys, where they practise wet-rice paddy cultivation. These include the river basins of the Irrawaddy, Sittaung, Salween, and Chindwin rivers. In contrast, the ethnic minority groups live in the hills and mountains that surround the central lowlands, where they have developed their own distinctive cultures and traditions, and Text Box: Chapter 2 The Politics of Burma and Deforestation Text Box: Text Box: