Abstract
In this study, the deforestation and forest degradation areas have been obtained in Myanmar using a land cover lamp (LCM) and a tree cover map (TCM) to get the $CO_2$ potential reduction and the strength of occurrence was evaluated by using the geostatistical technique. By applying a multiple criteria decision-making method to the regions having high strength of occurrence for the $CO_2$ potential reduction for the deforestation and forest degradation areas, the priority was selected for candidate lands for REDD+ project. The areas of deforestation and forest degradation were 609,690ha and 43,515ha each from 2010 to 2015. By township, Mong Kung had the highest among the area of deforestation with 3,069ha while Thlangtlang had the highest in the area of forest degradation with 9,213 ha. The number of $CO_2$ potential reduction hotspot areas among the deforestation areas was 15, taking up the $CO_2$ potential reduction of 192,000 ton in average, which is 6 times higher than that of all target areas. Especially, the township of Hsipaw inside the Shan region had a $CO_2$ potential reduction of about 772,000 tons, the largest reduction potential among the hotpot areas. There were many $CO_2$ potential reduction hot spot areas among the forest degradation area in the eastern part of the target region and has the $CO_2$ potential reduction of 1,164,000 tons, which was 27 times higher than that of the total area. AHP importance analysis showed that the topographic characteristic was 0.41 (0.40 for height from surface, 0.29 for the slope and 0.31 for the distance from water area) while the geographical characteristic was 0.59 (0.56 for the distance from road, 0.56 for the distance from settlement area and 0.19 for the distance from Capital). Yawunghwe, Kalaw, and Hsi Hseng were selected as the preferred locations for the REDD+ candidate region for the deforestation area while Einme, Tiddim, and Falam were selected as the preferred locations for the forest degradation area.