Text Box: Destruction and Degradation of the Burmese Frontier Forests Text Box: # Text Box: rate bribes to the forestry department, the police station, and all the army posts around.” One logger interviewed in Man Win village saw his trucks loaded with timber confiscated by Burmese Army troops in 2001. “I didn't have enough money to bribe them”, he reported. Introduction Karen State, home to what were once lush and richly diverse forests is in the Southeast of Burma, sharing its eastern border with Thailand and other borders with Mandalay Division, Shan, Mon, and Karenni States. There are seven districts in Karen State. Three of the four northern districts: Mu Traw (Papun), Toungoo, and Doo The Htoo (Thaton), are the areas where research on the forest situation has been conducted. (see MAP on page 42) Northern Karen State is comprised of both flatlands and mountainous areas. The Karen depend on flat rice paddy agriculture, traditional rotational farming in the highlands, and integrated orchard farming. These practices are suitable for the use of sustainable agricultural techniques and have been used for many generations. The research shows that all three districts are facing similar situations and problems with respect to the degradation and destruction of forest resources. The areas were once rich in biodiversity, but now some species have become completely extinct, and many others are disappearing at alarming rates. In Karen State, forests are officially classified in two categories: reserved and unreserved forest land. The reserved areas were set up by the British during their colonial rule and remain under government control. The unreserved areas are supposed to be community forests belonging to villages. However in most places this is no longer the case and community forests are logged by other parties. Several factors are a hindrance to the practice of traditional agricultural methods and are causing major depletion of the forests: The war. All conflict parties have relied on the extraction of natural resources to finance their armies during the decades of civil war. This has been the primary cause of forest destruction in Karen State. The majority of the villagers in the three districts face forced relocations by the SPDC and have had to abandon their homes and traditional lifestyles. They have little choice but either to go to the concentration camps where they must deal with forced labour, forced demand of food and supplies, unofficial taxes, and other human rights abuses; or to hide in the forests. The influx of Internally Displaced People (IDP’s) into the forests has put a great stress on forest management and conservation. In the forests, the villagers have few options for their survival and most resort to non-traditional forms of shifting cultivation. Where in Text Box: Chapter 4 KAREN STATE by KESAN Text Box: Transporting logs by cattle Text Box: