Strengthening capacity for forest protection in Myanmar

Abstract

Pests and diseases have been reported by Myanmar foresters and plantation owners as significant challenges to the quality and quantity of wood supply from natural and planted forests. As part of a FAO project on strengthening local capacity in forest health, questionnaire surveys on pests and diseases and a needs assessment were conducted among companies/organizations involved in growing forests. Thirteen and 12 participants responded to the two surveys, respectively. Respondents grew 10 different tree species, namely Tectona grandis, Acacia mangium, Acacia hybrid, Eucalyptus spp., Gmelina arborea, Swietenia macrophylla, Paulownia kawakamii, Xylia xylocarpa, Bruguiera sexangula and Rhizophora apiculata. Growers recognized pests of teak but were less familiar with pests of the other tree species. Diseases were only reported from teak and A. mangium. Weeds were reported only from mature plantations. Workers were mostly educated only up to primary school level. None were trained in pest and disease management and most did not know about invasive alien species (IAS) and integrated pest and disease management (IPM). Based on the needs identified from the surveys, three workshops were conducted for over 100 local participants.