Yangon, Myanmar – JFE MERANTI today announced that it has successfully organized the plantation activity, together with the support of the Forest Department (Thanlyin Township) and Mottama Mangrove Forest Organization covering 10 acres of Thanlyin Mangrove Forest Area on 28th July 2020, Tuesday. Moreover, a donation to the Forest Department, Township Administrators and villagers has also taken place by JFE MERANTI all while respecting the Myanmar Health Organization’s physical distancing rule on that day.

Dr. Sebastian Langendorf, the CEO and Managing Director of JFE MERANTI explained the importance of the plantation activity: “One of JFE MERANTI’s Core Values is Partnership. Partnership foremost applies to the communities and environment in which we live and work in. Community and environment are an essential part of JFE MERANTI’s journey and we are very happy to give back to the environment and our communities every time we have a chance. Since the start of our journey in Myanmar in 2015, we have made significant efforts to protect the environment. For example, we are operating a state of the art waste-water treatment plant. Also, we are using a world-class heat recirculation system in our production process, thereby reducing our carbon footprint. Today’s plantation is another important step in strengthening the partnership with our communities and we are grateful to the Forest Department (Thanlyin Township) and the Mottama Mangrove Forest Organization for their support.”

On the day of the plantation, the JFE MERANTI team departed from its factory early in the morning to Than Tae Village, Kyauttan Township to start the program with a Donation Ceremony in front of government officials and locals. Afterwards, the team got active to start planting 2500 plants, including Rhizophora Mucronate, Palmae, Sonneratiaceae on 10 acres of Mangrove Forest area.

U Than Lwin, Head of Forest Department (Thanlyin) mentioned the importance of the Mangrove forest, “Mangrove forests are essential to the community. It serves as the protection from storms and enriches marine life, the main source of food and business for people living around the area. I want to request the local community to maintain the forest, and we are looking forward to seeing more activities similar to today’s, in the future as well”.

During this activity, Deputy Managing Director of the Department of Rural Development, U Htun Win Latt, explained the potential development of the region and demonstrated how to plant the saplings to avoid being washed off by the waves.

According to WWF, mangrove forests are extremely productive ecosystems that provide excellent services both to the marine environment and to people. With its tangled and dense root systems, mangrove forests trap sediments flowing down rivers off the land and help stabilize the coastline, preventing erosion from waves and storms, hurricane winds, and floods. By filtering out sediments, the forests also protect coral reefs and seagrass meadows from being smothered and they help to maintain water quality and clarity. Mangrove forests are also home to a large variety of marine life which forms an essential source of food for thousands of coastal communities and support to threatened and endangered species.

In line with its numerous beneficial contributions to the society and environment as mentioned above, JFE MERANTI is taking part in bringing awareness of the importance of Mangrove Forest Areas especially at places like Thanlyin which is close to the metropolitan area and industrial zone.

About JFE MERANTI 

JFE MERANTI Myanmar (JMM) is a joint venture of JFE Steel, Meranti Steel, JFE Shoji, Marubeni-Itochu Steel, and Hanwa. These distinguished international companies have shared resources to jointly design, construct and operate a world-class metal coating and color coating facility located in Zone B of the Thilawa SEZ, Yangon.