Myanmar has appointed former deputy rector of the Institute of Forestry U Ohn Win as minister for Resources and Environmental Conservation. The new ministry is a merger between the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forests, and the Ministry of Mines. It is a move welcomed by the private sector since there have been incidents of conflicts of interest between the two ministries in the past.
Mr Win’s new appointment is also hailed by forestry experts as this will be the first time in decades the ministry is headed by someone with a forestry background.
U Ohn Win was on the advisory board of the Myanmar Institute for Integrated Development, a non-profit organisation. He also taught at the University of Forestry in Yezin. He has a Masters in watershed management from Colorado State University and has special interests in research management, hydrology, watershed and soil conservation, climate change adaptation and bio diversity conservation.
