Myanmar

Hosted by Myanmar’s Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry, the 9th Semi-Annual Meeting of the Working Group on Environment (WGE SAM-9) brought together WGE members, ADB representatives and development partners to review the Core Environment Program’s 2014 progress and discuss upcoming priorities.

This CEP technical workshop on strengthening partnerships to increase natural capital investments in the GMS brought together government and development partners to jointly discuss the merits and potential shape of a GMS Natural Capital Partnership.

Transboundary biodiversity landscapes in the GMS are rich in natural capital, but are increasingly under threat from development and climate change pressures, leading to environmental degradation and more vulnerable local communities.

Growing demand for energy goes hand-in-hand with rapid economic development. Since 2005, GDP per capita in the GMS has increased 260% while electricity consumption has nearly doubled. As their economies continue to rapidly grow, all six countries need to utilize additional energy resources to meet increasing domestic demand.  In addition, Lao PDR and Myanmar view energy exports as a major economic opportunity. 

This animation describes the work of CEP in securing natural capital in the GMS.

Tourism in Myanmar has boomed in recent years, with the industry generating nearly $1.8 billion in revenue in 2014 as international tourist arrivals hit the 3 million mark for the first time, nearly triple the number of arrivals in 2012. 

Readily available environmental information and data is an essential prerequisite for government planners to make effective development decisions and realize sustainable development goals.

The industrial sectors of Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar are rapidly growing and are helping drive economic development. For example, in Lao PDR, industry has doubled its proportion of national Gross Domestic Product during the past decade (12% to 25%). While the expansion of pulp industries including paper mills, cement factories, food processing and garment manufacturing, are providing new jobs and economic benefits, there are increasing concerns over industrial pollution, particularly on water and land quality.

ADB’s Sanath Ranawana (and CEP project officer) was a panelist at the Forests Asia Summit on May 6 2014 in Jakarta, Indonesia. During the ‘Investing in Landscapes for Green Returns’ panel, he discussed the role of public financing to support environmentally friendly private sector investments in Asia’s landscapes (3:35–13:25).