Thabaung Township is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

Pathein District Pathein District () is a district of Ayeyawady Division, Myanmar. It is located around and includes the urban area of the city of Pathein. The area of the Pathein District is . Its population was 1,630,716 in 2014. Townships The district cons ...

in the

Ayeyarwady Region Ayeyarwady Region ( , , ; formerly Ayeyarwady Division and Irrawaddy Division) is a region of Myanmar, occupying the delta region of the Ayeyarwady River (Irrawaddy River). It is bordered by the Rakhine State to the northwest, the Bago Region to ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

. The principal town is

Thabaung Thabaung () is a town in the Ayeyarwady Region of south-west Myanmar. It is the seat of the Thabaung Township in the Pathein District. The Ngawun river The Pathein River (), formerly called the Bassein River, is the westernmost distributary o ...

. Thabaung Township is located in west-central Ayeyarwady Region in the northern part of Pathein District. To the south, the township borders

Pathein Township Pathein Township is a township of Pathein District in the Ayeyawady Region of Myanmar. The administrative seat of the Township, District and Region is Pathein. The city of Pathein is the largest city in the Region and has historically been an i ...

and Kangyidaunt Township with the district. To the townships's east it borders

Yegyi Township Yegyi Township (, officially romanized as Yekyi Township) is a township of Kyonpyaw District in north-central Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar. The Township has three towns- the principal town of Yekyi and the towns of Ahthoke, Ngathaingchaung. The w ...

and Kyaunggon Township in Kyonpyaw Township. In its northwest, it borders

Gwa Township Gwa Township () is a township of Thandwe District in Rakhine State, Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Sout ...

Rakhine State Rakhine State ( ; , ; ), formerly known as Arakan State, is a Administrative divisions of Myanmar, state in Myanmar (Burma). Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State to the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Re ...

. The

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

forms the Township's western shore. The Township includes

Shwethaungyan Subtownship Shwethaungyan Subtownship ( ), also spaced out as Shwe Thaung Yan, is a subtownship in Pathein District, Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar. The subtownship is split between Pathein Township and Thabaung Township; it has a total area of , with in Pathe ...

, a unofficial division spanning the border with Pathein Township along the coast of the

. The population in the area of Thabaung Township outside of the subtownship was 154,400 in 2014. The subtownship is used by the Townships for statistical and administrative ease. The township as a whole is divided into 3 urban wards, 67 village tracts and 394 villages.

Geography

Thabaung Township is located in the

Irrawaddy Delta The Irrawaddy Delta or Ayeyarwady Delta lies in the Irrawaddy Division, the lowest expanse of land in Myanmar (Burma) that fans out from the limit of tidal influence at Myan Aung to the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, to the south at the mout ...

spanning over the southern

Arakan Mountains The Arakan Mountains, natively referred as Rakhine Yoma () and technically known as the Southern Indo-Burman Range, are a mountain range in western Myanmar, between the coast of Rakhine State and the Central Myanmar Basin, in which flows the Irra ...

, which forms the dividing border defining Shwethaungyan Subtownship. The township is divided between three geophysical locations- the western coastline on the

, the steep forested mountains in the west and the low-lying delta of the east. The

Ngawun River The Pathein River (), formerly called the Bassein River, is the westernmost distributary of the Irrawaddy river in the Irrawaddy delta of Myanmar flowing through Ayeyarwady Region. The river is also interchangeably known as the Ngawun River (). ...

is the main river within the deltaic east, flowing from southwards past

towards

Pathein Pathein ( ; , ; , ), formerly called Bassein, is the largest city and the capital of the Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar. It is located 190 km (120 mi) west of Yangon within Pathein Township on the bank of the Pathein River—a western branc ...

. It serves as an important waterway for transportation. Thabaung Township is located in the upper delta where blackish water and coastal erosion are not present, but riverine flooding presents significant threat. The township sees a large and increasing amount of annual flooding, worsening from

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

. The frequency of flooding has also increased in recent years. The highest water levels registered range between 18 and 22 feet. The highest peak within the township is the

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

between

Rakhine state Rakhine State ( ; , ; ), formerly known as Arakan State, is a Administrative divisions of Myanmar, state in Myanmar (Burma). Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State to the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Re ...

and

at an elevation of . The township lies in a mountainous tropical zone with a heavy monsoon presence, seeing 120 days of rain in an average year. Average highs and lows range between 36.8°C and 18.3°C with lows most in the mountains. Within just the eastern low-lying parts of the township, the average low is 24.0°C. The Setsayan Reserve and the Kyet-paung Reserved Forest lie within the township providing abundant biodiversity. The two reserves' land area within the township total . ''

Ficus elastica ''Ficus elastica'', the rubber fig, rubber bush, rubber tree, rubber plant, or Indian rubber bush, Indian rubber tree, or rambung is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae, native to eastern parts of South and Southeast Asia. It has ...

'', native rubber trees, are the namesake for the Kyetpaung reserve and differ from Brazilian ''

Hevea brasiliensis ''Hevea brasiliensis'', the Pará rubber tree, ''sharinga'' tree, seringueira, or most commonly, rubber tree or rubber plant, is a flowering plant belonging to the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, originally native to the Amazon basin, but is now p ...

'' trees used in plantation within the township. The two reserves also have endangered kanyaung trees. The township also has pyinkado, Indian laurel,

rattan Rattan, also spelled ratan (from Malay language, Malay: ''rotan''), is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the clos ...

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

bur A bur (also spelled burr) is a seed or dry fruit or infructescence that has hooks or teeth. The main function of the bur is to spread the seeds of the bur plant, often through epizoochory. The hooks of the bur are used to latch onto fur or f ...

, Malabar plum,

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

, gurjan and several varieties of

jackfruit The jackfruit or ''nangka'' (''Artocarpus heterophyllus'') is a species of tree in the Common fig, fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae). The jackfruit is the largest tree fruit, reaching as much as in weight, in length, and in d ...

trees. The township also has many wild fauna from

elephants Elephants are the Largest and heaviest animals, largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian ele ...

gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ) is a large bovine native to the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable species, Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 ...

, wild

boars The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

hedgehogs A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are 17 species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introduction. There ...

, reticulated pythons, Burmese pythons,

hawks Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica. The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and othe ...

peacocks Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred to ...

, cranes,

parrots Parrots (Psittaciformes), also known as psittacines (), are birds with a strong curved beak, upright stance, and clawed feet. They are classified in four families that contain roughly 410 species in 101 genus (biology), genera, found mostly in ...

and myna birds.

Economy and Demographics

Thabaung Township is overwhelming rural with 95.5% of the population living outside the single town of

, which only has 7,120 people. The majority religion is

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, which 82.45% of the population adhere to. The second most common religion is

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

at 17.17% with only 0.4% adhering to other religions. There are 38,068 households with an average household size of 4.08 people. In 2015, 18% of the population had mobile phones in the area of the township outside Shwethaungyan Subtownship, while the subtownship had a higher 30% ownership rate. The literacy rate across the township is 94% and the median age is 27.4 years The primary industry of the township is

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and aquatic goods. 68.2% of the population worked in the agricultural or forestry industry. The primary crop, like with many in the region, is

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

with

pulses Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consum ...

and

green beans Green beans are young, unripe fruits of various cultivars of the common bean (''Phaseolus vulgaris''), although immature or young pods of the runner bean ('' Phaseolus coccineus''), yardlong bean ( ''Vigna unguiculata'' subsp. ''sesquipedalis ...

as rotation crops. While the township has a

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

reserve, the forestry industry mostly produces

and

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...

, mostly for local consumer use. The township generally has slow economic development, relying almost entirely on the Ngawun waterway to trade with

. There are no railways, airports or major roads within the township. The area of Shwethaungyan subtownship within Thabaung township also lacks significant tourist beaches like those found a few miles south in

Chaungtha Chaungtha ( ) is a town and beach resort located in Shwethaungyan Subtownship, Pathein Township, Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar. Chaungtha Beach, as it is more commonly known, is about 5 hours' drive away from Yangon, and is a popular resort with Ya ...

. Floods in the township also increasingly impact the economy by unexpected late floods ruining cultivation and high waves ruining fishing equipment. The rural communities within the township have structured responses to flooding in both official and unofficial forms. These organized responses rely on social responsibilities and charity to safely transport aid, food, healthcare and community members during floods as both an emergency response and as a social safety net.

References

{{Ayeyarwady Division Townships of Ayeyarwady Region

Geography

Economy and Demographics

See also

References