Myanmar - Pondaung anthropoid primates palaeontological sites

"The Pondaung Formation is a geologic formation which consists of layers of red beds alternating with grey sandstones sediments, dated to about 40 million years ago. Several of these outcrops around Bahin village, located in the Dry Zone of central Myanmar, contain fossils of the oldest representatives of anthropoid primates, which correspond to the class that includes monkeys, apes and humans. Therefore, mankind’s earliest primate ancestors are documented from these Paleontological sites which are unique in Asia, and believed to be the oldest in the world. The significance of these sites lies in the fact that for many years it was generally considered by the scientific community that anthropoid primates originated in Africa. But more than thirty years of international research has suggested that the earliest anthropoids arose in South East Asia and subsequently dispersed to Africa at about 40 million years ago during the Middle Eocene. The fossil specimens from the Pondaung Formation contain the oldest knowns anthropoids yet discovered anywhere in the world. These fossil sites have delivered 6 distinct forms of these earliest anthropoids, distributed in two families, the Eosimiidae and the Amphipithecidae. Bahiniapondaungensis, a member of the family Eosimiidae, is the most primitive known anthropoid primate, universally considered as the ancestor of modern anthropoids."

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List

Myanmar - Hukaung Valley Wildlife Sanctuary

The Hukaung Valley Wildlife Sanctuary (HVWS) and its extension are located in northwest Myanmar and falls in both Sagaing Division and Kachin State and cover a total area of 17,890 km2. HVWS and extension form a doughnut whose unprotected center covers the floodplain of the Chindwin River, the largest tributary of the Ayeyarwady River. The floodplain is inhabited by some 50,000 people. Established in 2001, HVWS covers 6,371 km2. In 2004, the extension was established, adding 11,519 km2. Hereafter, the two sites are referred to as the HVWS. To the east and northeast, it is contiguous with Bumhpabum WS and Hponkan Razi WS. To the north, it abuts Namdapha National Park (NP), which was put on India’s TL in March 2006 (UNESCO World Heritage Centre 2013a). Forest areas within HVWS are primarily evergreen. At higher elevations, mixed deciduous forest, evergreen hill forest, and pine forest are present. Globally threatened wildlife includes the Asian Elephant, Tiger, and White-bellied Heron.

Myanmar - Taninthayi Forest Corridor

The Taninthayi Forest Corridor (TFC) is one of the largest remaining areas of unprotected low and mid-elevation, seasonal evergreen forest in Southeast Asia. It is located in the Taninthayi Range that straddles the southern Thai-Myanmar border and contains a multitude of globally threatened species. Taninthayi and Lenya National Parks (TNP, LNP) were proposed in 2002, followed by LNP Extension in 2004, but none have been gazetted. Between TNP and LNP Extension there is a 65-km gap. This gap, which is partially covered by the Thagyet Reserved Forest (TRF), covers 290,100 hectares. If this and the other proposed NPs were gazetted, they would form a contiguous 1 million-hectare corridor stretching from TNP in the north to LNP in the south, a distance of 280 km. The TFC lies within the northern section of the Indochinese-Sundaic zoological transition zone, which divides Indo-Chinese flora and fauna from Sundaic species (Hughes et al. 2003). The corridor contains some of the southernmost dry seasonal evergreen forests before they transition to aseasonal wet evergreen forest further to the south. It provides habitat for several EN species including the Asian Elephant, Gurney’s Pitta, and Sunda Pangolin. The four parts of the corridor are described summarized below: TNP Location: 12°41'16” N, 98°10'32” E; Area: 364,284 hectares The northernmost of the four parts, TNP was proposed in 2002. It consists primarily of evergreen forest. It is home to the world’s smallest known mammal, the VU Kitti’s Hog-Nosed Bat (Craseonycteris thonglongyai). This species is only known from in small colonies in southern Myanmar and adjacent Thailand (Bates et al. 2008; Pereira et al. 2006-10). TNP is contiguous with 482,225-hectare Kaeng Krachan NP, which was added to Thailand’s TL in 2011 for criterion x (UNESCO World Heritage Centre 2013). The eastern boundary follows the Taninthayi River, which also forms the border between Myanmar and Thailand. TRF Location: 12°05'31” N, 99°21'24” E, Area: 290,100 hectares The 65 km gap between TNP and LNP is unprotected. It is partly covered by the TRF. From inspection of satellite images, the forest cover is in good condition and the area is believed to have similar values to TNP. But no biodiversity surveys have been carried out here for security reasons. It would lie next to Kuiburi NP in Thailand. LNP Extension Location: 11°35'37" N, 99°19'30 E, Area: 185,258 hectares L NP and LNP Extension were proposed following the discovery of a large population of Gurney’s Pitta (Pitta gurneyi), which resulted in its conservation status changing CR to EN. LNP Extension (also known as the Nawun Reserved Forest) contains 99% of the global population of the species (the other 1% is in Thailand). The extension includes similar habitat to both TNP and LNP. LNP Extension is contiguous with Thailand’s Sadeth Naikrom-Krom Luang Chumporn (North) Wildlife Sanctuary. LNP Location: 11°08'47” N, 99°03'01" E, Area: 184,792 hectares L NP shares a border with Namtok Huai Yang NP in Thailand and is composed of seasonal lowland and mid-elevation seasonal evergreen forest. It shares the natural values and characteristics of the other parts of the corridor. Some of LNP is being used for logging and has been allocated for palm oil plantations.

Myanmar - Natma Taung National Park

Natma Taung National Park (NTNP; also known as Nat Ma Taung or Natmataung) is located in Chin State in western Myanmar. The park covers 72,300 hectares of the Chin Hills and contains Mt. Natma Taung, which rises 2,200 m above the surrounding landscape to a height of 3,051 m (Platt et al. 2012). NTNP ranges in elevation from 740 m to 3,051 m. NTNP was established in 1994 primarily to protect the upper watersheds of the Lemro and Myittha Rivers. Dipterocarp, pine, oak, and oak-rhododendron forests are found across the elevation gradient. NTNP is an alpine “sky island” containing a Holarctic floral species assemblage. Chin villages can be found below 2,500 m with the most populated area, Kanpetlet at 1,390 m. The Chin are a Tibeto-Burman group and comprise about 1% of Myanmar’s population. The Chin are comprised of multiple sub-groups with distinct identities. There are 6,000 Chin people living around NTNP and about 100 inside the park. They depend on shifting cultivation, NTFP collection, and hunting (Aung 2012).

Myanmar - Myeik Archipelago

The Myeik Archipelago (MA) comprises about 800 islands of primarily limestone and granite located along 60 km off Myanmar’s southern coast. These islands are covered by lowland wet evergreen forest and surrounded by an extensive coral reef system. Mangrove forests, beach and dune forests, and seagrass beds add to the faunal and floral diversity. The MA contains one protected area: Lampi Island Marine National Park (LIMNP), which was designated in 1996 and is an ASEAN Heritage Park. MA contains two shark protected areas and three small crab protected areas (40, 46, and 121 hectares, respectively). The MA and Andaman Sea are home to about 1,000 indigenous nomadic Moken and more who are no longer nomadic. The MA property may include portions of the coastline of Taninthayi Division and could be extended inland to form a reef-to ridge site. Areas important for wildlife, including breeding beaches for sea turtles, aggregation sites for marine life like manta rays at Black Rock, and group roosting sites, like Hornbill Island with its 150-individual roosts of Plain-pouched Hornbill, could form core zones of the property. The MA and Andaman Sea form a single large marine ecosystem with the corals in Thailand, which were severely bleached 2010, restored by polyps from Myanmar.

Myanmar - Indawgyi Lake Wildlife Sanctuary

Indawgyi Lake Wildlife Sanctuary (WS) contains Indawgyi Lake, the largest freshwater lake in Myanmar, and a substantial portion of the surrounding forested watershed. Established in 1999, ILWS covers 73,600 hectares and ranges in elevation from 169 m at the lake surface to over 1,400 m. The lake drains to the north and includes 12,000 hectares of open water, along with marsh, floating vegetation, and submerged macrophytes. Rice is cultivated adjacent to the lake in some low-elevation areas, while mixed deciduous forest, riverine evergreen forest, and hill pine forest cover the uplands in the watershed. Half of ILWS is forest; one-third is non-rice wetland. Species in ILWS include globally threatened waterbirds and endemic fish and turtle species.

Myanmar - Hkakabo Razi Landscape

The Northern Mountain Forest Complex (NMFC) consists of Hkakabo Razi National Park (NP) and Hponkan Razi Wildlife Sanctuary (WS), along with a proposed Southern Extension of Hkakabo Razi NP. Hponkan Razi WS, Hkakabo Razi NP, and the proposed Southern Extension form a contiguous property of more than 11,280 km2. Elevation ranges from 50 m at the southern end of Hponkan Razi WS to over 5,800 m. The property borders India and China and includes Mt. Hkakaborazi, which at 5,881 m is the highest peak in Southeast Asia. Mt. Hponkan Razi rises to 5,165 m. The Northern Mountain Forest Complex includes a suite of forest types transitioning across 5,830 m of vertical elevation. Subtropical evergreen forest at lower elevations transitions to temperate evergreen forest, mixed deciduous forest, pine-rhododendron forest, alpine meadows, and at the highest elevations into snow-capped alpine peaks. Globally threatened wildlife includes the Black Musk Deer, Red Panda, and White-bellied Heron. Hkakabo Razi NP was established in 1998 and covers 3,810 km2, making it the second largest protected area and largest national park in Myanmar. It is also an ASEAN Heritage Park. Hponkan Razi WS was gazetted in 2003 and covers about 2,700 km2 (Instituto Oikos and BANCA 2011). Hkakabo Razi NP’s proposed Southern Extension covers the area south of the current park boundary to the northern edge of the Putao plain and from Hponkan Razi WS in the west to the N’mai Hka River in the East. This area ranges in elevation from 500 to 2,900 m and covers 4,778 km2, which would more than double Hkakabo Razi NP’s area. The area contained within the proposed extension is of particularly high bird endemism and diversity.

Myanmar - Badah-lin and associated caves

Cave 1, excavated 1969-72, have yielded a rich prehistoric material. Carbon 14 analysis of charcoal pieces has provided dates of 13000 years before present time. Numerous stone implements, ringstones and animal bones were unearthed during excavation. 14 rock-paintings in red ochre (representation of animals and of human hands, and symbolic motives) were discovered on walls and ceiling. The large number of unfinished pieces indicates that the cave was used as a workshop for stone tools. As the cave provides evidence of the transition from Paleolithic to Neolithic implements, it represents a determining milestone in the prehistory of south-east Asia.

Myanmar - Ayeyawady River Corridor

The Ayeyawady River Corridor (ARC) covers a 400 km stretch of one of the last major undammed rivers in Asia. Tributaries originating high in Myanmar’s northern mountains flow south before joining northeast of Myitkyina to form the Ayeyawady River. The river basin lies almost entirely within Myanmar and covers nearly 60% of its land surface. Above the city of Mandalay until Bhamo, the river is home to the globally VU Irrawaddy Dolphin. The CR sub-population of Irrawaddy Dolphin in this river is famous for its cooperative fishing behavior with humans. The ARC provides habitat for these dolphins, as well as for other wildlife including the White-bellied Heron and several species of globally threatened turtle. In total, the corridor covers 400 km and would protect 90,000 hectares of river and riparian habitat. ARC (Lower: Mingun to Kyauk Maung segment) (N22 19 11, E96 0 2) The southernmost segment is the only section that is formally protected. This section is coincident with the Irrawaddy Dolphin Protected Area (PA). This PA was established in 2005 after surveys by the Department of Fisheries (DOF) and WCS estimated that at least 59 dolphins were present (Tun 2005; WCS 2013). The area is managed by DOF but it has yet to be formally gazetted. The PA is 72 km in length and runs from Mingun to Kyauk Myaung. It covers 32,600 hectares and is 10 km at its widest. Surveys have found 35 fish species. Of these, the Bago Labeo (Labeo boga), Aspidoparia (Aspidoparia morar), and Gangetic mystus (Mystus cavasius) are the most common (Tun 2004; Ng 2013). ARC (Middle: Moda Section,Takaung to Shwegu segment) (N24 1 18, E96 21 48) The middle part would extend 160 km from 9.5 km south of Takaung to 4.8 km north of Shwegu, and cover 37,200 hectares. The area provides habitat for the Irrawaddy Dolphin and many fish species (Tun 2005). Although little detailed data is available on this segment, it likely has similar species composition to the lower and upper segments. ARC (Upper: Shwegu to Bhamo segment) (N24 10 55, E97 7 21) The uppermost part would start 9 km to the north of the middle section and continue to the town of Bhamo, 41 km to the north, covering 19,900 hectares. Its northern extent would end at a narrow point in the river that is believed to be impassable to dolphins. Birds found here include the CR White-bellied Heron and VU Lesser Adjutant.