Dawei Road - The Beginning of the End
This project is part of a WWF Myanmar initiative to mitigate the threats and disastrous effects the construction and development of the Dawei road is having on the primary forests and wildlife of the Tanintharyi region in Southern Myanmar bordering Thailand.
Deforestation along the planned Dawei road, close to the Thai border is now rapidly increasing. Roads increase access to landscapes, leading to human colonization which drives deforestation and poaching. Along the planned Dawei road in Tanintharyi, deforestation has been extensive since the access road for the project was put in place about a decade ago. Land use change along the road will impact communities living downstream as a decline in forest cover will lead to an increase in erosion.
Myanmar’s Tanintharyi Region is part of one of the most biologically diverse places on the planet. The landscape connects forests in Thailand with forests in Myanmar, providing a safe passage for wildlife to migrate, feed and mate. It also provides the communities who live here with countless benefits such as food, water and livelihoods.
Myanmar is one of the most biologically diverse places on earth. Millions of people depend on its forests, rivers and coastal habitats for food, water, livelihoods and other vital services such as protection against floods and coastal storms. As Myanmar is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to the effects of climate change, the role that these ecosystems play in protecting against natural hazards and rising temperatures is even more important.
Before the February 2021 military coup, Myanmar was poised for rapid social and economic development. It now finds itself with a rapidly collapsing economy and widespread civil war. How can the country now lift its citizens out of poverty while protecting its forests, rivers and other natural assets? And how can it do so before its natural capital is degraded and overexploited in exchange for the short-term economic gains the military regime now desperately need to cling to power?
