Local villagers setting out to catch fish in the coastal area of the Ayeyawady Region. Photo: Aye Min Soe
Vice President U Myint Swe is taking steps to reverse the degradation of the eco-system of Myanmar’s coastal areas due to man-made errors, stressing the need for cooperation among international bodies in order to save the delicate eco-systems.
In his remarks at the second work coordination meeting of the State-level Central Committee on Management of Natural Resources in Coastal Areas held in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday, the Vice President also stressed the need to assess land use inland and their impacts on sea and coastal areas before drawing up a plan to save the country’s natural resources.
He said the coastal areas of Taninthayi, Ayeyawady and Rakhine are abundant with coral reefs, mangroves, seagrass beds, mudflats, estuaries and sand dunes and that they all play an important role in the people’s socio-economic development and environmental diversity. More specifically, they are vital for the development of the agricultural, forestry, fishery and tourism sectors, he said. “Mangroves are an important asset in dealing with global climate change. They are being damaged by people clearing areas of mangrove forests for prawn breeding, using small-scale explosives for catching fish, mining, waste disposal and oil spills. Deforestation and chemicals from pesticides and herbicides also decrease the layers of alluvial soil along the coast,” said U Myint Swe.
The Vice President also said that as areas of mangrove forests cleared for prawn breeding and rice plantation have decreased production after a certain period, farmers and breeders move to new areas and cut down more mangroves, thus leaving behind barren areas of land.
The Vice President said the bio-diverse ecosystems in Taninthayi Region are being damaged as rainforests in the area are being cleared away.
He stressed the need to establish forest reserves in the country’s coastal areas as they play an important role in controlling climate change.—MNA