Text Box: Destruction and Degradation of the Burmese Frontier Forests Text Box: # Text Box: traditional forms forest areas are left to fallow for longer periods, enabling the soil to recover, non-traditional forms are non-sustainable methods of farming that clear large areas of forest after inadequate fallow periods, producing low yields, and providing little food security. This situation has been pushed further because of a new SPDC strategy that allows the regime to maintain control of logging through local intermediaries, in this way ensuring cooperation on both sides of the front lines in Karen State. Closely related to the first point is the impact of commercial logging. It has been a common practice for many years, with notable acceleration in the 1990s. Logging that should be done only in the reserved areas that are under government control is now encroaching and destroying the traditional community forests. The KNU also makes deals with the loggers, and villagers have lost their forest resources from their traditional community forests as well as have restricted access to reserved forests, resulting in conflicts with the KNU. Recent migration from the cities to the countryside has had great impact on the local communities. Uncontrollable migrants from the cities collect fuel and timber for trade in the city, and clear forest areas for unsustainable vegetable gardens. The routine setting of forest fires by the SPDC army to clear hiding areas of the KNU. Charcoal production. Land confiscation by the SPDC to set up commercial monoculture plantations, to build camps, and to develop infrastructure. When farmers shift from traditional agricultural practices to monoculture, the forest-use system changes from common property ownership to individual ownership; encouraging people to encroach on community forest areas, and causing more damage to already degraded forests. Logging has had serious impacts on the Karen people and their traditional ways of life. The villagers rely on the community forests for timber, and non-timber forest products (NTFP) such as food, herbal medicines, and other plant resources. Women especially depend on the forest. They need to collect firewood, wild vegetables and other products daily, but the logging makes this more and more difficult, increasing time spent on travel and resulting in less time available for other daily responsibilities. Diminishing biodiversity threatens the practices of traditional healers who rely on forest resources. In addition, the forests have a very important role in religious beliefs and practices. When they are destroyed, the Karen can no longer practice their traditional beliefs. Deforestation has had great ecological impact on water quality and availability, and on meteorological conditions. Farmers who depend on irrigation from the rivers are facing the problem of poor soil quality due to nutrient-deprived water, with lower yields as consequence. In the dry season, there is a water shortage, and the rivers are at low levels during the rainy season. Integrated orchards and gardens are traditionally set up along the streams, however with the changed conditions; the plants cannot survive and die from lack of water. The quality of the water is greatly affected by the logging. Elephants and buffalos are used by loggers to pull the logs along the course of the streams (that villagers use for drinking water and household needs) and pollute the water with earth and dung. Soil erosion on the banks alters the course of the rivers, and destroys gardens and orchards along the banks. The villagers have noticed an increase in air temperature and the weather can be quite irregular with increased droughts and flooding. These impacts jeopardise food security; farmers can no longer rely on their traditional agricultural practices. The unsustainable logging sets off a downward ecological spiral. Many are forced to abandon their farms and become daily labourers and elephant drivers for the logging companies, work in gold mining, practice unsustainable non-traditional forms of shifting cultivation and commercial mono-plantations, or cultivate temporary vegetable gardens.

Key points:

 

(1)         A new strategy allows the SPDC to maintain control of logging through local intermediaries, ensuring cooperation across frontline conflicts.

(2)         There is some conflict between local villagers and the KNU over deforestation and lack of access to the forests.

(3)         Deforestation by means of logging, monoculture and forest fires has led to water shortages, which has affected farming. This has forced people to change their livelihood from farming to casual labour in logging, gold mining, on mono-plantation and other temporary jobs