Urgency and Conservation
Major Threats to the Amphibians and
Reptiles of Myanmar
Habitat Loss-Although Myanmar has the greatest
amount of pristine habitat in southeast Asia, it faces persistent habitat
destruction and fragmentation mainly due to heavy logging.
![](Myanmarforest.jpg) |
Courtesy of Conservation
and Research Center, Smithsonian Institute |
Most low-lying areas of Myanmar have supported large
human populations and have been intensely farmed since the eleventh century
(Phayre 1883). Population growth and environmental exploitation have increased
dramatically since the mid-1800s and nearly exponentially so since the
1960s.
In that respect, Myanmar has few pristine habitats;
however, relative to surrounding nations, environmental exploitation has
proceeded at a slower rate. For example, in the early 1980s, satellite
imagery, studied as part of the FAO-assisted National Forest Management
and Inventory Project, showed the amount of intact forest in Myanmar to
be 276,250 sq. km or 42 % of the total area in 1979-1981.
A more recent national report (Shwe Kyaw 1988) to FAO
suggested a reduction of forest cover to 36% by 1988. Brunner (1998) has
documented a more recent and dramatic increase in logging in the northern
Kachin State, where much of Myanmar's remaining forest occurs.
This map (at left) based on satellite imagery depicts
evergreen and deciduous forests in shades of green, shrublands and grasslands
in shades of brown and croplands and urbanized areas in shades of pink
and purple.
In addition to the legal logging, there is a recent
upswing in illegal logging by Thai companies on the eastern border (triggered
by Thailand's recent ban on logging (Hill 1994)) and by the Chinese in
northeastern Kachin State along the western slope of the Gaoligon Mountains
(Vindum per. obser. 2002). Although the 1,320 km border with India has
poor transport infrastructure, making large-scale logging difficult, there
are published reports (ITTO, 1996) of increased timber exports to India.
An illegal timber trade is already flourishing between Manipur State,
India and Sagaing Division and Kachin State, Myanmar.
Our field work has revealed that a large portion of
the forests in forest reserves are being selectively logged, and charcoal-makers
rapidly follow to complete the job of decimation. Charcoal production
prevents forest regeneration by encouraging its replacement by bamboo
thicket or weedy grasslands. The remaining forests in Myanmar are now
considerably less than that 36% estimate of a decade ago. The urgency
noted by Dinerstein and Wikramanayake (1993) concerning the amount of
existing forest and the lack of protected areas in Myanmar is even greater
now than when they warned of the loss of species through continuing forest
degradation and loss.
Illegal Trade of Animals-Many species of reptiles
and amphibians face increased threat due to illegal animal trade with
China. There is an enormous illegal trade in snakes in the central dry
zone that is centered in the Mandalay, Magwe and Sagaing Divisions. The
species exploited are primarily: Russell's viper (Daboia russelii),
rat snake (Ptyas mucosus), and copperbelly racer (Elaphe radiata),
as well as cobras (Naja kaouthia and N. mandalayensis).
The snakes are captured by collectors who sell them at distribution points.
From there, the snakes are sold to Chinese merchants. Many distribution
points exist; we estimate there are 30 throughout the dry zone. Each week,
the snakes are picked up and driven to China where they can be purchased
for food or "medicine". We estimate that 1.6 million pounds
of snakes are being exported each year (Slowinski unpublished data 1999).
Turtles are also suffering alarming exploitation. In
five years of surveys, we have encountered only 9 terrestrial and freshwater
turtle species in Myanmar, out of 29 known from the literature. More data
on the trade of turtles is needed. Chinese markets are the primary harvesters
of Asian turtles as have been documented by the New York Turtle and Tortoise
Society.
Conservation Efforts
The Southeast Asian Global Amphibian Assessment, hosted
by IUCN and DAPTF, was attended by project representative Guin Wogan.
The addition of data for Myanmar species helped determine the population
status and major threats to amphibian species in southeast Asia. This
is the first time new data from Myanmar has been available for most species
since before the Second World War.
Weekly market surveys are now being carried out in two
regions of Myanmar in the hopes that these surveys will help determine
the extent of trade and usage of animals. Many species of reptiles and
amphibians are used within Myanmar for food and folk medicine. Amphibian
species, such as Glyphoglossus molossus, Rana tigerina and Rana
rugulosa, are sold for use in curry, and the only known salamander
in Myanmar, Tylototriton verrucosus, can be found dried, packaged,
and for sale as remedies for "childhood diseases."
Recently, members of the Myanmar Herpetological Survey
Project field team have assisted law enforcement officials in identifying
rare and endangered reptile species being sold illegally in Chinese restaurants
in Yangon. Although just a small start, jail sentences and heavy fines
imposed on the restaurant owners may help discourage the illegal trade
in animals throughout Myanmar.
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