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Protected Areas Under Threat: Unravelling the Protected Areas Downgrading, Downsizing, and Degazettement (PADDD) Events in Myanmar in a Global Context: 1989–2020

by Zaw Min Thant, Eivin Røskaft, Glenn Hunt, Myat Su Mon, Thaw Zin Tun, Patrick Oswald and Henri Rueff

Land 2025, 14(9), 1800; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14091800 - 3 Sep 2025

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Abstract

Though global efforts are increasingly being urged to expand Protected Areas (PAs), PA Downgrading, Downsizing, and Degazettement (PADDD) events have been widespread worldwide to date. However, such events may often be poorly understood, as is the case in Myanmar, due to limited awareness of PADDD’s role and inadequate reporting. To fill this information gap, this study aimed to examine the enacted PADDD events and their impacts. A comprehensive dataset was developed for the enacted Myanmar PADDD events by compiling relevant PA documents. We identified 73 enacted PADDD events in 20 PAs (in Myanmar), affecting 1231.4 km² between 1989 and 2020, with downsizing as the sole type of PADDD in Myanmar. While rural settlements, other proximate causes, and infrastructure were highly associated with PADDD events, degradation contributed to the highest reduction in PA extent. Case studies demonstrated that PA habitats were more fragmented and deforested in the post-PADDD era. Land cover changes were more severe in PADDDed areas than in unPADDDed areas, while ranges of threatened species remained unprotected in PADDDed areas. Our results underscore the importance of comprehensive evaluations of the proposed PADDD and firm PADDD policy in safeguarding the PA estate and mitigating future potential PADDD events. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Land, Biodiversity, and Human Wellbeing)

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15 pages, 5207 KB

Open AccessArticle

What Is Behind Land Claims? Downsizing of a Conservation Area in Southeastern Ecuador

by María Fernanda López Sandoval, Andrés Gerique and Perdita Pohle

Sustainability 2017, 9(9), 1519; https://doi.org/10.3390/su9091519 - 26 Aug 2017

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 5985

Abstract

While an increase in the size and number of conservation areas is expected as part of global environmental commitments, at the same time, Protected Area Downgrading, Downsizing, and Degazettement, or PADDD, is becoming more frequent worldwide. This paper analyzes the causal relationships between land claims and human settlements on the one hand and the downsizing process of a protective forest in southeastern Ecuador on the other. Industrial-scale commodity production, extraction, infrastructure development, and local land claims or existence of human settlements constitute the main drivers, but a deeper understanding of PADDD causality requires detailed documentation of the history of PA growth and loss. We analyzed official documents, conducted qualitative research through semi-structured interviews with stakeholders, and carried out a thematic analysis. We found that institutional and legal changes at the national level drive downsizing, and that local demands to land titles are a proximate cause. Our analysis demonstrates how driver and cause operate in an intertwined, multi-scalar relationship, and concludes that there is a need for more detailed understanding of PADDD causality, either to prevent such events or to define alternative tools, which can replace the idea of having areas with fixed borders to promote conservation, especially in inhabited zones. Full article

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