Mizzima awarded global JTI certificate for reliable news on Myanmar

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Mizzima Mizzima, one of Myanmar ’s most prominent news outlets and a press freedom advocate, obtained the Journalism Trust Initiative ( JTI ) certification from global audit firm Bureau Veritas , JTI says in a press statement 5 January.  Operating in clandestine mode within Myanmar and supported by an exiled team, Mizzima strives to fulfil its role as reliable source of news and information for the Myanmar public. “Your Journalism Trust Initiative certification affirms what audiences already know: that principled, transparent journalism matters. Congratulations on this achievement and on your continued contribution to informing citizens about Myanmar,” says Benjamin Sabbah , director of Journalism Trust Initiative “Myanmar’s ongoing conflict has created an intensely contested media landscape, where mis- and disinformation are increasingly deployed to reinforce state propaganda and the prevailing “official” narrative. Although Mizzima is already regarded as one of the most trusted ...
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Burma rapidly losing forest coverage

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Thursday, 23 August 2012 13:22 Mizzima News    

Burma’s forest coverage has been reduced to about one-fifth of the country’s total area, the Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation Committee of the Lower House of Parliament said this week.

A section of Burmese forest being cut and cleared. Photo: Mizzima

The total area of forest coverage was down to 24 per cent in 2008 from 51 per cent in 2005, and 57 per cent in 1962, the committee’s secretary, Thein Lwin, told a recent national seminar workshop on energy, environment and climate change held in Naypyitaw, according to local media.

The main cause of forest depletion was due to excessive cutting of timber, illegal logging, less replanting, changing ecological conditions and the increased use of firewood.

One result has been an insufficient supply of hardwood to manufacture finished-wood products, say businesspeople.

Burma’s export of finished wood logs amounted to US$ 453 million in the fiscal year 2008-09 while it was $ 641.87 million in the fiscal year 2011-12.

Burma produced nearly 283,000 cubic meters of teak and 1.98 million cubic meters of hardwood annually. Forest products are about half-owned by the private sector.

Burma is a major exporter of teak in the world, with 75 per cent of the world market. It exports teak mostly to India, followed by China, Bangladesh, Thailand and Malaysia.

In March, Mizzima reported that Burma is the only country in the world that currently harvests quality teak trees from natural forests, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Natural teak forests grow only in Burma, India, Laos, and Thailand. In 2010, the combined worldwide area of natural teak forest was estimated at about 29 million hectares, almost half of which is in Burma.

Burma is the only country that currently produces quality teak from natural forests; India, Laos and Thailand have bans on logging in natural forests or log exports.

Asia holds more than 90 per cent of the world's teak resources, and India alone manages 38 per cent of the world's planted teak forests.

Planted teak forests are increasing in area and producing high quality wood, the report said, when good management practices are applied.

On average, it takes between 20 and 80 years for planted teak to grow to harvestable size, according to a FAO report.

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