The extended conflict in northern Shan and southern Kachin states appears to have sparked a sharp increase in illegal timber extraction and exports, residents and activists familiar with the region say.

One researcher who has been studying deforestation and land rights in Myanmar for the past decade, said he was shocked at what he saw near the Chinese border town of Ruili during a visit in early April.

“For five miles on either side of the road there were nothing but lumberyards,” he said.

When he arrived near the border proper, he said he witnessed “about 50 trucks on the road leading out of the checkpoint, with 15-20 tonnes per truck perhaps. I am told it is much more active during the week. I was told about 200 trucks per day cross from [the] Burma side (Namkhan) into China (Nangdao).”

The researcher, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said his information was based on anecdotal and eyewitness reports, rather than authoritative studies.

But Kachin Development Networking Group official Sai Kher Hseng, who has travelled extensively in both Shan and Kachin states, confirmed the report. He said he had witnessed a dramatic increase in illegal logging over the past 18 months. “We can see [illegal logging] all around the Salween (Thanlwin) River,” he said.

The illegal timber trade has been a problem on the China-Myanmar border for many years.  After 2005, and the publication of a report from watchdog group Global Witness titled “China’s Choice: Ending the Destruction of Burma’s Frontier Forests”, both the Chinese and Myanmar governments took steps to stamp out the trade.

China placed a ban on the importation of Myanmar timber, while Myanmar placed a ban on logging and related transportation in Kachin State. In 2009, Global Witness said in a statement that both bans “have been enforced, albeit inconsistently, and, as a result, illegal logging in Kachin State has decreased dramatically, as has the associated trade with China”.

However, in more recent years – and particularly since the outbreak of fighting between the government and Kachin Independence Army in June 2011 – locals say there has been renewed growth in the illegal timber market, which appears to take place with complete impunity.

The researcher said he believed the two main reasons were that the KIA is using proceeds from illegal timber sales to fund its war with the government, and Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry officials are afraid to enter conflict areas, leaving teak in government-controlled areas mostly unguarded.

Sai Khur Hseng said he believed the increase was due in a large part to illegal logging being one of the few viable industries left in a region scarred by conflict. “Many local people just want a job ... they don’t like damaging the forest, but they need to work.”

But U Aung Myat San, a spokesperson for the office of the general director of the Ministry of Environmental Conservation Forestry, said his office had not received any reports about an increase in illegal logging from their affiliates in Shan and Kachin states.

However, he conceded that, given the violence and remote nature of the border area, Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry workers cannot access some areas along the Sino-Myanmar border.

When asked about the reports of trucks loaded with timber crossing the border into China on the highway, he said: “Our office has no information ... [but] we care intensely about illegal logging in Kachin.” 

He said the ministry believes that it will have to work harder to protect Myanmar’s natural resources as the country opens up more of its borders.

Mr Xiong Guofeng, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Yangon, did not respond directly to questions about illegal logging.

However, he said that the “Chinese government is trying its best to cooperate with Myanmar government to strengthen border control and eliminate all kinds of cross-border crimes. The cooperation mechanism between the two law-enforcement departments is very sound and get big success.

“The Chinese government is willing to keep close cooperation with Myanmar government in border control and fight with all kinds of crimes determinately.”

But with little apparent enforcement, Sai Khur Hseng said he was concerned about the long-term environmental impact the logging will inflict.

“If the logging continues, we will face many problems in the future,” he said. “Drought in the hot season, floods in the wet season. We must protect our forests because people depend on them.”