Myanmar: Threatened Species Caught in Crossfire of Ongoing Land Conflict in Myanmar

Sep 10, 2020 | Aimee Gabay, Mongabay
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Reaching down into the Malay Peninsula, Myanmar’s southern Tanintharyi region is home to rainforests that support a unique assemblage of endemic and endangered species, including the endangered Malay tapir (Tapirus indicus), critically endangered Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) and endangered lar gibbon (Hylobates lar). But the relative flatness of much of the forest, along with its valuable timber species and its suitability for a variety of commodity crops, renders it extremely vulnerable to large-scale industrial agriculture, logging and other human pressures.