Promoting REDD+ compatible timber value chains The teak value chain in Myanmar and its compatibility with REDD+; ICIMOD Working Paper 2019/3

Efficient and sustainable value chains of forest products are important for sustainable forest management, improved rural livelihoods, and poverty alleviation. However, in most tropical developing countries, these value chains are not well developed and governed effectively to ensure the equitable distribution of income and benefits from the trade in timber; thus, they provide less incentive for sustainable forest management. Inefficiencies and inequitable distribution of benefits in the timber value chains can contribute to forest degradation. Timber value chains that are well developed and sustainable are thus important for the objectives of market-based climate governance mechanisms such as REDD+, and as such, REDD+ initiatives can provide pathways and direct interventions for developing equitable and sustainable timber value chains. This, however, requires a clear understanding of the functioning and distribution of benefits in the value chain. Thus, this study assesses the teak timber value chain in Myanmar with the aim of identifying the bottlenecks that require interventions for REDD+ compatibility.