Ingyin trees to be conserved in December
CONSERVATION work on fossilised Ingyin trees in Mount Popa, Kyaukpadaung township, Mandalay Region, will begin in December, said U Than Tun, secretary of the Myanmar Geosciences Society (MGS).
“Ingyin fossils are very valuable. They are said to contain a geography of the past. Ingyin trees were covered in sandstone from the Ayeyarwady River, leading to their fossilising, so we are starting a conservation program,” he said.
Conservation and maintenance work of the fossils will be performed by MGS, Yangon University and the Forestry Department.
A fragment of Ingyin fossil will be sent to Thailand for laboratory analysis.
“According to the study, Ingyins fossils are about one or two million years old. We send them to the laboratory to learn more about it,” he said.
More than 60 fossilised Ingyin trees and about 25 Ingyin trees, which are between 90 and 100 feet tall, will be conserved and safeguarded.
“We, residents, do not know how valuable they are. We have seen them for a long time. But we do not know what they are as we don’t have much knowledge on the topic.
“We came to know more about these trees when the study groups began,” said U Hlaing Win from Than Bo Ywar Thit, home of the Ingyin fossils.
Source: Myanmar Times. 29 November 2017.
