YANGON, Myanmar — A U.S. environmental group has honored two Myanmar forest officials for their outstanding efforts to protect the environment and wildlife, state-run media reported Saturday.

The Alexander Abraham Foundation gave the Environmental and Wildlife Conservation awards to retired director Saw Han and director Khin Maung Zaw of the forestry department, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.

Dr. Alan Rabinowitz of the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society presented the awards at a ceremony in Yangon this week, the paper said.

Myanmar's forest department works closely with international wildlife conservation groups such as the Wildlife Conservation Society and U.S.-based Smithsonian National Zoological park.

Environmental groups have said that Myanmar is suffering the fastest deforestation in Southeast Asia. Myanmar's military government has acknowledged that illegal logging goes on in its forests but denies claims by some environmental groups that they are in danger of disappearing due to extensive tree cutting.

Source: Associated Press