MINBU, Myanmar, Aug 20, 2025 — Myanmar has lost about 7% of its forest cover over the past 20 years, the country’s leader said on Tuesday, pledging new tree-planting efforts to slow the pace of deforestation.

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, chairman of the State Security and Peace Commission, said forest coverage stood at 49% in 2005 but had declined to 42.19% in 2025.

“We are working to increase forest coverage back to around 50%,” he told a tree-planting event in Minbu, central Myanmar, on August 19, part of a nationwide reforestation campaign across 13 districts.

Myanmar has announced a five-year plan to expand tree planting through 2030, which it says will help curb environmental degradation and mitigate the impact of climate change.

Minbu was ranked among the world’s 15 hottest cities last year, highlighting the region’s vulnerability to extreme heat. At Tuesday’s event, officials and residents planted about 1,000 saplings of six species, including teak, tamarind and mahogany.

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