BURMA'S HARDWOOD DISAPPEARS AND THOUSANDS DIE

Citing a report available at the Ministry of Forestry, the activist said the country extracted 30 percent of its exportable species from 1990 to 2000, primarily referring to the popular hardwood species teak (tectona grandis) and pyinkadoe (xylia xylocarpa).The study, carried out in 2005, also revealed that more than 780 million cubic meters of the top ten listed valuable species have been extracted within the same period.At least 92.51 million cubic meters of teak and 238.79 million cubic meters of pyinkado were extracted during the period, the report said."Forests in Burma are losing those quality varieties, leading to a reduction in foreign income and an unbalanced ecosystem in the long run, unless a sustainable program is introduced," the activist said.The content of valuable species in Burmese forests decreased to 19.51 percent in 2000, from 47.81 percent in 1990, the activist, referring the report, cited.The impoverished Southeast Asian country, according to the activist, earned US$ 578 million from the export of timber and forest products, 22.5 percent of total export earnings, for fiscal year 2007/2008.He added that another major reason for increased deforestation in Burma is the extension of acreage for cultivating crops like jatropha carcus, rubber and edible oil."People continue to burn down forest to make way for such cultivation, that leads to a changed forest environment, a condition in which rare species of flora and fauna find it hard to survive," he said.Similarly, U Ohn, a Rangoon-based environmental expert, said deforestation in Burma has been ongoing since World War II and continues today through illegal trade, forest fires, logging and the cutting of wood for coal and domestic use.He said cultivating only one kind of crop or tree also damages the forest and there is a need for more awareness, such as training, on the impact to the environment of deforestation."Everyone, government, traders and poor people, need to realize the effects of deforestation and how to protect the resources," U Ohn added."There should be long-term and short-term plans for replanting trees if they are being cut down for whatever reasons," he said.He said the quality of forest products is also declining as a result of the decrease in number of good trees and increasing use of lower quality woods. "Since 1990, the top 10 species have decreased to 20 to 50 percent [of their previous levels] while less useful species increased from 50 to 80 percent," he said, citing 2005 research conducted by the FAO.Additionally, at least 37,800 hectares of forest in and around Rangoon and Irrawaddy Divisions were destroyed during Cyclone Nargis this May, threatening many lives along the coastal region due to mangrove deforestation."Effective protection on deforestation requires law enforcement, community participation in awareness training and the replanting of trees with the help of foreign countries," U Ohn articulated.According to him, despite the rampant deforestation – especially among Burma's most valuable hardwood resources – forested land still covers nearly half of Burma's 676,552 square kilometers.

Thousands die because Myanmar's junta spends too little on AIDS, group says

About 240,000 people in Myanmar are infected with the virus that causes AIDS, and about 76,000 are sick enough to need antiretroviral treatment, the group said. But only about 15,000 are getting it, and Doctors Without Borders is paying for 11,000.
The nongovernmental organization, which is allowed to work in only some parts of the country, is overwhelmed and is having to turn new patients away.
"It is unacceptable that a single NGO is treating the vast majority of HIV patients in a crisis of this magnitude," said Joe Belliveau, the charity's operations manager for Myanmar.
Many Burmese cannot afford the $30 a month for the cheapest antiretroviral regimen from private doctors. Myanmar's government, run by a secretive military junta, has a long record of watching indifferently as its citizens die. In May, after a cyclone swept through the Irrawaddy Delta, leaving up to one million people homeless, it refused to let foreign aid workers in. Last year, it brutally put down antigovernment demonstrations by monks.

According to Doctors Without Borders, the Myanmar government spends only 70 cents per citizen for health care each year. Money for AIDS drugs is available from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, but governments, not charities, must apply for it, and they must prove that the money will not be diverted to corrupt ends.