WILDLIFE PROTECTION IN BURMA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RANGOON 000115 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/MLS, DRL, AND IO PACOM FOR FPA E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2018 TAGS: SENV PREL PHUM BM SUBJECT: WILDLIFE PROTECTION IN BURMA REF: A. A: 07 RANGOON 1118 ¶B. B: RANGOON 35 RANGOON 00000115 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Poloff Chelsia Wheeler for Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. Through its small grants program, Embassy Rangoon funds a Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association (BANCA) mobile education project in the buffer zone surrounding Shwesetaw Wildlife Sanctuary in Magwe Division. The wildlife sanctuary is home to many endangered species that have come under threat because of poaching and habitat destruction. Each year, pilgrims from throughout Burma come to a two-month pagoda festival in the sanctuary, where they are able to see BANCA's biodiversity conservation panels. By the end of this project, BANCA expects to educate more than 180,0000 Burmese on the need for environmental protection and species preservation. End Summary. Life At Shwesetaw Wildlife Sanctuary -------------- ¶2. (C) From February 6 to 8, Poloff and P/E LES traveled to Shwesetaw Wildlife Sanctuary to monitor the progress of BANCA's embassy grant. Shwesetaw Wildlife Sanctuary, established under British rule in 1941, covers several hundred square miles of dry zone forest in Magwe Division. The sanctuary is home to many highly endangered species, including the golden deer and the Burmese star tortoise, a popular pet in Japan because of the unique star pattern on its shell. Poachers capture the tortoises in the area and sell them in Japan on the black market for approximately $200 apiece, said Thin Thin Yu, a ranger in the sanctuary who cares for several tortoises that live at the headquarters. They cannot release any tortoises, she said, because of the dangers of poaching. ¶3. (SBU) Star tortoises are not the only endangered tortoise species in the area. Poachers capture other species and ship them in large numbers to China, where they are used for food and medicine. According to Burmese belief, one can also gain significant merit from releasing previously captured tortoises. Uninformed people often release land tortoises in water and inadvertently kill them. ¶4. (C) Habitat destruction threatens the tortoises, the golden deer and other species living in the sanctuary. While there is a buffer zone surrounding the sanctuary where people can obtain forest products for building, U Uga, chairman of BANCA, lamented that human, financial, and institutional constraints prevent effective management of the area. The government-run park employs only 55 permanent staff who are improperly trained for the job. Severe poverty in the area, combined with the poor management of the park itself, lead to extensive destruction of the core forest. Soe Win, Assistant Director of the Forestry Department's Division on Nature and Wildlife Conservation and warden of the park, came across soldiers illegally logging within the sanctuary just prior to his meeting with us to discuss the park. ¶5. (C) Despite the current poor circumstances in the sanctuary, the situation is improving and both rangers and Soe Win have ideas on how to make further improvements. A decade ago, people could illegally buy golden deer at the annual pagoda festival in Shwesetaw. Now, because of better enforcement practices, meat is no longer for sale. Two rangers at the park said that they could protect the sanctuary by training local villagers to grow perennial crops such as beans, peas, and cotton for sale to domestic markets. The income generated would prevent villagers from cutting the forest for food and shelter supplies. BANCA Raises Awareness to Protect the Forest -------------- ¶6. (C) To instill long-term awareness of the delicate environment in Shwesetaw, BANCA, with Embassy Rangoon funding, developed educational panels targeted at middle and high school students on biodiversity conservation (Ref A). RANGOON 00000115 002.2 OF 002 The project was reaching its completion during our visit and had toured 42 schools and reached over 35,000 students. A close contact of U Uga's in the Forestry Department facilitated getting support to present the panels in local schools from village peace and development councils (PDCs). During the presentations, which last approximately 40 minutes per group of 40 to 50 students, Aung Myint Oo and Khin Maung Zaw, BANCA's mobile educators, passed out biodiversity conservation textbooks to the students and the teachers. ¶7. (C) U Uga, who had visited one of the schools the day before, noted that most of the students were very interested in the topic and even returned after school to ask further questions. If ten of the 35,000 students go into biodiversity conservation, he would consider his work a success. According to Khin Maung Zaw, the topic is important to these students because they grow up in the forests and have a close connection to their environment. U Uga also reported that one teacher from the previous day offered to donate her own personal funds to sponsor an essay contest on the topic of biodiversity conservation. ¶8. (C) In order to improve the project and expand on its success, Aung Myint Oo suggested that BANCA produce a narrated VCD that includes the information given in the sessions. Several students and teachers throughout the project period requested this tool, arguing that VCDs could be shown in village movie houses to educate adults as well as students. Shwesetaw Pagoda Festival -------------- ¶9. (C) The Shwesetaw Pagoda Festival, held annually in the sanctuary from February to April, celebrates the Buddha's footprint rumored to exist at the pagoda. Approximately 300,000 pilgrims from all over Burma visit the festival each year. BANCA has operated a booth at the festival for the past 21 years, where members work to raise environmental awareness among pilgrims. This year BANCA will display the embassy-funded biodiversity conservation panels from the mobile education project. U Uga estimated that at least 150,000 people will see the panels during the course of the festival. Comment -------------- ¶10. (C) Increasing poverty in the area around the Shwesetaw Wildlife Sanctuary threaten not only endangered species in the area but also the livelihoods of future generations of people living there. The regime does nothing to alleviate the situation. It also prohibits all foreign contact, so our grant gave us access to poor Burmese in a place we otherwise have no access. Through its embassy-funded project, however, BANCA conducts invaluable work, in promoting awareness among students on how to conserve their environment for years to come. VILLAROSA