A government ban on the export of raw timber went into effect on Tuesday, less than a week after a new report revealed that illegal logging continues in the country on a massive scale. According to the Environmental Investigation Agency, an international NGO that released a new report on March 26, official figures from the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry for 2000-13 account for just 28 percent of all Burmese timber exports. “The clear concerns is that, regardless of wider political reforms, opaque and unaccountable forest resource allocations mean Myanmar still continues to hemorrhage valuable natural resources for the benefit of a small elite,” the report said.
Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang
Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army troops are opening roads and pathways through forests for people to flee Kokang’s capital as...
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