NEW YORK -- Since brutally assuming direct power in 1988, the Myanmar military has been conducting a sustained assault on the environment in one of Asia's richest and least-developed lands. The country's ecosystem, which ranges from tropical reefs along the Bay of Bengal to the mountains of the Himalayas, is home to numerous endangered flora and fauna, making Myanmar one of the richest depositories of natural resources worldwide. Called "the last frontier of biodiversity in Asia," Myanmar has 300 known mammal species, 370 reptile species, 1,000 bird species and 7,000 plant species. All are now imperiled by mining, logging, and pipeline and dam projects carried out by the military.
Although the human rights abuses of the Myanmar military are well known, the harm done to the country's environment is frequently overlooked because the military keeps a tight rein on all information, prohibiting public discussion of environmental issues and punishing those who try to question its development policies.
The very existence of the regime rests upon the exploitation of natural resources. The generals have allowed massive logging -- particularly of teak -- and the construction of gas pipelines and other development projects that have caused serious environmental damage. Highly prized teak forests, which provided livelihoods for many ethnic minorities, are being destroyed by Thai loggers at a very fast rate, causing erosion, floods and landslides and threatening the survival of endangered animal species. From the 1970s to the mid-1980s, Myanmar had the lowest deforestation rate in Southeast Asia. But today timber is the country's leading export, and the rate of deforestation has more than doubled since 1988.