Impact on livelihoods No proper all-inclusive land-use policy

93 Economically, teak plantations in Myanmar in general are expected to achieve a cost-benefit ratio of 8.4 at 8 percent discount rate after 50 years of plantation establishment. However, forest plantation establishment needs high investment. The current cost for forest plantation establishment mostly teak by private companies on average is about US1 000-1 300 per hectare in the first year alone. Average government expenditure for plantations currently is about US300 per hectare per year. It is also a labour-intensive activity and a long-term investment. Therefore, many possible risks have to be taken into consideration. These include natural disasters such as forest fire, drought, floods, pest outbreaks and human- induced problems such as fire, grazing, illegal cutting, theft and land conflict. From environmental and ecological points of view, plantations, mostly monocultures in Myanmar cannot replace all the functions of natural forests, even though the production of plantation forests is usually higher than that of natural forests. Commercial plantations mostly teak can yield an average of 15-30 m 3 hayear against 1-5m 3 hayear in natural forests. However, forest plantations are worth establishing on productive sites as they can maintain green cover, provide basic needs and can be replanted. Technical information on species and planting techniques: Commercial plantations, mainly established by the Forest Department and private companies, employ the following species and methods: •฀ Tree species – mostly teak Tectona grandis and other hardwood species such as pyinkado Xylia dolabriformis, padauk Pterocarpus macrocarpus, yemane Gmelina arborea and yinma Chukrasia tabularis. •฀ Planting techniques mainly use the taungya method as these plantations are usually established in degraded forest areas with favourable climatic and edaphic conditions. The planting steps include slashing and burning bushes and stumps, preparing seedlings or stumps in a nearby nursery in advance and planting them at the beginning of the rainy season usually the end of May or beginning of June. Spacing of 12 by 12´ is quite common with planting density of 300 trees per acre Figure 5. Following planting, weeding, fertilization, fire protection and protection from grazing animals and human beings is essential. Mechanical and silvicultural thinnings are applied as necessary before commercial exploitation or final cutting. Figure 5. Commercial teak planting activity in Myanmar For dry zone plantations established by the DZGD and communities living in the Central dry zone: •฀ Tree species: Drought-resistant, life-supporting for fodder, fuelwood, greening of sites and soilwater improvement indigenous species such as tama Azadirachta indica, kokko Albizzia lebbek, sha Acacia catechu, dahat Tectona hamiltoniana, htanaung Acacia leucocephala and mezali Cassia siamea. Drought-resistant Australian species such as Eucalyptus camaldulensis are also widely planted in highly degraded areas of the Central dry zone. Land after slash and burn Nursery establishment Sapling planting