The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) this week issued a new directive banning all forms of logging in its territory, Kachin News Group has learned.
The new ban nullifies logging permits previously issued by Burmese authorities to local militias in the Munggu (Mongkoe) and Hpawng Seng (Poungsai) regions of Northern Shan State, said Du Zawng, a KIA commander based in Munggu.
The KIA recently sent a letter to Hpawng Seng militia leader Lau Yawng informing him of the ban, which is effective immediately. Lau Yawng, who is heavily involved in the logging trade, is the brother of the Kutkai militia group leader, Hkun Myat.
The KIA has made it known that those who violate the new ban will face strong action against them, Du Zawng said.
The KIA commander added that the ban was necessary because local people in Hpawng Seng do not want any more deforestation in the area.
In Hpawng Seng, most of the logging is done for timber, while in Munggu, timber is cut to make charcoal. The vast majority of both the timber and charcoal is sent to China, where some of it is later resold to buyers in Japan and Korea.
On Thursday, the KIA prevented approximately 20 large Chinese logging trucks from crossing into Munggu from the Chinese town of Manghai, eyewitnesses said.
Munggu residents say that the since the end of the rainy season in September, a team of about 300 Chinese woodcutters and 50 bulldozers have been busy clear-cutting a large area west of the Salween River.
Fighting in the Munggu area between the KIA and the Burmese army has been sporadic since a 17-year ceasefire with the central government ended in June. The KIA continues to control a significant portion of the Munggu area.
