Forest Trends Comments on Myanmar Draft Forest Rules (2019) Regarding Land Rights
By Gabrielle Kissinger View PublicationIn May, 2019, the Myanmar Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (MONREC) released its Forest Law Draft Rules which elaborate on how the Forest Law of 20181 will be implemented. The MONREC Forest Department (FD) is conducting state and regional publication consultations in Summer and Fall 2019 before proceeding to national-level public consultations by September 2019, with all revisions expected to be completed by the end of 2019. This brief summarizes Forest Trends’ analysis and comments on key aspects of customary land rights under the current Draft Forest Law of 2019.2 A review of the Rules from the perspective of sustainable forest management, timber legality, forest sector governance, oversight and accountability, and regulation of forest products would be a useful addition. Though necessary, these are outside the scope of this review.
