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Analysis of Forest Deforestation and its Driving Factors in Myanmar from 1988 to 2017

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  • Rongfeng Yang

    (School of Tourism and Geographical Science, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming 650500, China
    The Engineering Research Center of GIS Technology in Western China of Ministry of Education of China, Kunming 650500, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Yi Luo

    (The Engineering Research Center of GIS Technology in Western China of Ministry of Education of China, Kunming 650500, China
    School of Information Science and Technology, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming 650500, China)

  • Kun Yang

    (The Engineering Research Center of GIS Technology in Western China of Ministry of Education of China, Kunming 650500, China
    School of Information Science and Technology, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming 650500, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Liang Hong

    (School of Tourism and Geographical Science, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming 650500, China
    The Engineering Research Center of GIS Technology in Western China of Ministry of Education of China, Kunming 650500, China)

  • Xiaolu Zhou

    (Department of Geology and Geography, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA 30485, USA)

Abstract

Myanmar, abundant in natural resources, is one of the countries with high forest cover in Southeast Asia. Along with its rapid socio-economic development, however, the construction of large-scale infrastructure, expansion of agricultural land, and an increasing demand for timber products have posed serious threats to the forests and significantly affected regional sustainable development. However, the geographical environment in Myanmar is complex, resulting in the lack of long-term sequence of land cover data products. Based on 30 years’ Landsat satellite remote sensing imagery data and the land cover data extracted by a mixed classification method, this paper examined the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of forest cover in Myanmar and investigated driving factors of the spatio-temporal evolution. Results show that the forest cover has decreased by 110,621 km 2 in the past 30 years with the annual deforestation rate of 0.87%. Cropland expansion is the main reason for the deforestation throughout the study period. The study can provide basic information of the forest cover data to the Myanmar government for ecological environment protection. At the same time, it can provide important support to the “Belt and Road” initiative to invest in the region’s economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Rongfeng Yang & Yi Luo & Kun Yang & Liang Hong & Xiaolu Zhou, 2019. "Analysis of Forest Deforestation and its Driving Factors in Myanmar from 1988 to 2017," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-15, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:11:p:3047-:d:235512
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Edward B. Barbier, 2004. "Explaining Agricultural Land Expansion and Deforestation in Developing Countries," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 86(5), pages 1347-1353.
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    Cited by:

    1. Francis Rathinam & Sayak Khatua & Zeba Siddiqui & Manya Malik & Pallavi Duggal & Samantha Watson & Xavier Vollenweider, 2021. "Using big data for evaluating development outcomes: A systematic map," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(3), September.
    2. Shrestha, Manish & Piman, Thanapon & Grünbühel, Clemens, 2021. "Prioritizing key biodiversity areas for conservation based on threats and ecosystem services using participatory and GIS-based modeling in Chindwin River Basin, Myanmar," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    3. Zaw Naing Tun & Paul Dargusch & DJ McMoran & Clive McAlpine & Genia Hill, 2021. "Patterns and Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Myanmar," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-27, July.
    4. Taher M. Radwan, 2019. "Monitoring Agricultural Expansion in a Newly Reclaimed Area in the Western Nile Delta of Egypt Using Landsat Imageries," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-14, July.
    5. Shuai Chen & Fangyu Ding & Mengmeng Hao & Dong Jiang, 2020. "Mapping the Potential Global Distribution of Red Imported Fire Ant ( Solenopsis invicta Buren) Based on a Machine Learning Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-13, December.

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