The green space areas in Yangon have dropped to 40 per cent within 25 years, according to a research paper by  Another Development.

Yangon City Development Committee has an expectation of enabling Yangon to become a verdant, golden city. Yangon’s green areas are declining at an alarming rate. It may have an impact on the social life of people in Yangon and hinder the possibility of becoming a weather-proof city. As a result, it may affect the tourism industry, resulting in the losses of foreign incomes, the paper says.

The executive director of the Another Development said: “The future of Yangon will be synonymous with the expectation and aim of the people in Yangon if Yangon Region government, the YCDC, MPs, CSOs and those involved in this field implement the suggestions described in the paper.”

Another Development compiled a paper to understand the challenges pertaining to the green areas in Yangon. The 4.4 square feet of the public green space per person is relatively small compared to the 100 square feet designated by the WHO. Most of public parks are located in the central business zone and downtown zone. The number of townships which have no public parks has reached nine, the paper says.

Another Development has suggested that the government should lay down a more effective verdant strategy to overcome these difficulties. It will become a long-term plan which will stop the declining verdant areas and extend them. It needs to promote the urban management through more effective cooperation between divisions and departments under the YCDC, to create a clear and exact plan for the assignment of duties, to promote the public’s participation and to enable the people to have their say in it, regardless of age, gender, race, religion or social norms.