Timber Trade Flows and Actors in Myanmar

Timber Trade Flows and Actors in Myanmar

By Kevin Woods

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This report on Myanmar’s political economy of timber trade highlights five different sources and flows of timber destined for export. The purpose is to bring to light the different actors, geographies, and politics embedded within the web of timber flows because each inter-connected stream has its own degree of legality, sustainability, land rights regimes, and ethical sourcing. To date, much of the dialogue on the sourcing of Myanmar timber – particularly the world-famous Burmese teak – has focused on just one of these streams: the government-managed teak forests located in the central plains. However, the other timber sources and actors need to be highlighted, too – and their legality, sustainability, and ethics – as exported timber is an amalgamation of all possible wood sources. The complicated wood trade dynamics outlined in this report need to be made more transparent by the Myanmar government and the domestic private wood sector to provide more clear guidelines for overseas buyers demanding legal, sustainable, and ethical wood sourcing. This, in turn, will provide further impetus for the on-going forest sector reform process in the country.