Understanding the Surge of Deforestation during the COVID-19 Lockdown: Local Perception of Illegal Timber Trade in Karen (Kayin) State, Myanmar

Abstract

Around 2020 and 2021, a popular claim emerged suggesting COVID-19 lockdowns implemented by countries around the world have meaningfully slowed global climate change. Such claim advanced behind published reports highlighting the decline in greenhouse emissions from their respective territories. Against this recurring narrative, this article weighs on the contrasting account of the role of the COVID-19 lockdown in mitigating the acceleration of climate change. It looks into Myanmar, one of the Southeast Asian countries consistently experiencing deforestation surge across its territories despite enacting lockdown measures. To understand the opposing experience of Myanmar, this article conducted moderately structured interviews among locals living in Kawkareik township, a region in the Karen State, Myanmar, with a relatively high presence of forest areas. In collecting stories from the locals, this paper discovers three recurring narratives: 1) economic distress has become a strong motivator for the locals to be involved in illegal timber harvesting across the region; 2) forest oversights were considerably weaker in this period due to indiscriminate movement restrictions and reduced governmental support to facilitate forest monitoring activities; 3) lockdown is an enabler of an already flawed forest monitoring system in Karen State.