Reforestation Management and Socio-economic Condition of Landless Taungya Cultivators of Pyinmana Kaing Reserved Forest in Myanmar Thanda Kyi 1 and Khin Lay Nandar Aung 2 ABSTRACT The deforestation may lose not only the national economy but also faced the many kinds of environmental problems. In 1995, Myanmar Forest Policy ensures the sustainable development of forest resources and paves the way for prudent use and enhanced benefit from the forest while maintaining ecosystem integrity and environmental balance. Since, Myanmar is an underdeveloped country and over 70% of total population is rural dwellers. Some of them are still heavily dependent on forests for food, fuel, fodder and timber for their livelihood. Several deforestations occurred primarily as a result of land clearing for agriculture. To solve the challenge of deforestation, it needs to find effective ways of using and managing forest land resource on sustainable basis to meet the demands of growing population. The specific objectives of this study are as follow; 1. To understand the management of reforestation in the losses of forests 2. To assess the socio-economic characteristics of Taungya cultivators in selected areas. Kaing reserved forests, located in the Western slope of Bago Yoma, are considered as a sample area. Total of (37) sample households were randomly selected with the help of local forest officers. Taungya method of reforestation system was the rehalibilitation to forest with the collaboration of forest department and Taungya farmers and can provide the national economy. The households got mainly their income from farm, off-farm, non-farm, and Norn from the forest department. The farm income was 52% of total income. Taungya cultivators had grown the groundnut as the major crop. If the profitability of the cultivated crops were compared, the profit of the rice production (upland) has the negative value in unit area. However, it is not assumed as loss because opportunity cost (family labour cost) is used in profit calculation. The net profit of paddy (lowland) and groundnut were not different and that of sesame has incentive to grow. 1 Lecturer, Department of Agricultural Economics, Yezin Agricultural University, Myanmar. 2 Demonstrator, Department of Botany, Yadanapone University, Mandalay.
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Reforestation Management and Socio-economic Condition of Landless Taungya
Cultivators of Pyinmana Kaing Reserved Forest in Myanmar
Thanda Kyi1 and Khin Lay Nandar Aung2
ABSTRACT
The deforestation may lose not only the national economy but also faced the many kinds of environmental problems. In 1995, Myanmar Forest Policy ensures the sustainable development of forest resources and paves the way for prudent use and enhanced benefit from the forest while maintaining ecosystem integrity and environmental balance. Since, Myanmar is an underdeveloped country and over 70% of total population is rural dwellers. Some of them are still heavily dependent on forests for food, fuel, fodder and timber for their livelihood. Several deforestations occurred primarily as a result of land clearing for agriculture. To solve the challenge of deforestation, it needs to find effective ways of using and managing forest land resource on sustainable basis to meet the demands of growing population. The specific objectives of this study are as follow;
1. To understand the management of reforestation in the losses of forests 2. To assess the socio-economic characteristics of Taungya cultivators in selected
areas. Kaing reserved forests, located in the Western slope of Bago Yoma, are considered as a sample area. Total of (37) sample households were randomly selected with the help of local forest officers. Taungya method of reforestation system was the rehalibilitation to forest with the collaboration of forest department and Taungya farmers and can provide the national economy. The households got mainly their income from farm, off-farm, non-farm, and Norn from the forest department. The farm income was 52% of total income. Taungya cultivators had grown the groundnut as the major crop. If the profitability of the cultivated crops were compared, the profit of the rice production (upland) has the negative value in unit area. However, it is not assumed as loss because opportunity cost (family labour cost) is used in profit calculation. The net profit of paddy (lowland) and groundnut were not different and that of sesame has incentive to grow.
1 Lecturer, Department of Agricultural Economics, Yezin Agricultural University, Myanmar. 2 Demonstrator, Department of Botany, Yadanapone University, Mandalay.
І. INTRODUCTION
The deforestation may lose not only the national economy but also faced the
many kinds of environmental problems including soil erosion, lack of windbreaks, silting
in reservoirs and natural streams due to water erosion, damage of biodiversity and
ecosystems. Serious threats are weather changing, global warming and subsequently,
becoming to the desert. The forests are not simply a source of timber but they perform a
variety of social and ecological functions and provide a livelihood and cultural integrity
of forest dwellers and a habitat for a wealth of plants and animals. They protect enrich
soils, provide natural regulation of the hydrologic cycle, affect local and regional climate
through evaporation and transpiration, and influence watershed flow of surface and
groundwater. In addition, the poverty condition of the local people and Taungya
cultivators is the more or less responsible to forest degradation.
Since, Myanmar is an under developed country and over 70% of total population
is rural dwellers. Some of rural communities are still heavily dependent on forests for
food, fuel, fodder (pasture land) and timber for their livelihood. Several deforestations
occurred primarily as a result of land clearing for agriculture. Shifting cultivation (land
clearing for agriculture) was included as the important fact in deforestation. To solve the
challenge of deforestation, it needs to find effective ways of using and managing forest
land resource on sustainable basis to meet the demands of growing population.
Myanmar forest resources were administered by the Forest Department in 1998
by using the “Taungya” method. “Taungya” is a typical type of agro-forestry that is
combined plantation of agricultural crops with forest trees. In this method, local people
and shifting cultivators from other community could grow their agricultural crops in
allotted lands; simultaneously they will take part in forest plantation. From this way, not
only the forest department can do the forest plantations programme with low cost but also
the cultivators can get the agricultural land and norn provided by forest department.
Objectives Forest plantation by Taungya has been established in many regions of Myanmar
in 1856. These silvi-agricultural practices helped in solving the national land-use
problems and the development of national economy, i.e. to raise the living standard and
socio-economic condition of shifting cultivators in rural area.
With the development and success of Taungya system in teak plantation, shifting
cultivators need to acquire some advanced knowledge relating to the forest value,
appropriate agricultural practices which will lead to minimizing the shifting cultivation
practice and the clearing of forests. The specific objectives of this study are as follow;
1. To understand the management of reforestation in the losses of forests.
2. To assess the socio-economic characteristics of Taungya cultivators in selected
areas.
To retain the remaining natural forest, Natural Generation method can be used.
But, for the unclassified and degraded forests, New Forest Plantation Programme are
more suitable. In Pyinmana Township, Forest Plantation Programme was started as
Special Teak Plantation Programme in 1998.
Table 1. Special teak plantation programme in Pyinmana
No. Year Reserved forest Compartment No Area (Acre) Successful %
1. 1998-1999 Kaing 9 500 82.5%
2. 1998-1999 Kaing 10 500 86.5%
3. 1999-2000 Kaing 4,7 500 84.8%
4. 1999-2000 Kaing 7,8 500 84.3%
5. 2000-2001 Kaing 18,19 500 86.1%
6. 2000-2001 Kaing 14 500 74.5%
7. 2001-2002 Kaing 17,18 500 74.7%
8. 2001-2002 Kaing 12 500 71.0%
9. 2002-2003 Kaing 3 500 94.8%
10. 2002-2003 Kaing 5 500 93.3%
11. 2003-2004 Kaing 2 500 95.8%
12. 2003-2004 Kaing 5,6 500 92.6%
Source: Forest Department, Pyinmana 2004
II. METHODOLOGY
Data Sources and Data Collection The study was based on primary and secondary source of data. Primary data was
collected at a household level of Taungya cultivators and secondary data from the forest
officers and staff from forest department. Both types of data were collected during the
planting season of 2004-2005 for the investigation of forest management and socio-
economic condition of Taungya farmers. Data included the financial support from the
forest department to Taungya cultivators, intercropping in this agro-forestry type, and
their cropping patterns. The questionnaires were prepared to collect the data from the
local Taungya cultivators after the preliminary survey.
The survey area was in remote area and the population has sparse density. In
Kaing (13), those who participated in Taungya system are (24) and (37) in Kaing (15).
The head of household was considered as sampling unit. Total of (37) sample households
were selected by using simple random sampling method depending upon the list of
population within the study area with the help of local forest officers. Kaing reserved
forest was located on the Western slope of Bago Yoma. Pyinmana Township consisted of