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ASIAN/INDOMALAYAN REALM

The Asian region makes up about one-quarter of Earth's land area, but holds almost 60 percent of the world's population. Tremendous population pressures throughout the region have contributed to the region's substantial forest loss. Additionally, many Asian countries have entered a period of sustained spectacular economic growth in the past few years, resulting in the increased consumption of forest resources.

Forest change in south and southeast Asia, 1980-2005

Years
Forest cover, end of period
hectares
Average annual loss
hectares
Average annual loss
percent
1980-1990323,156,000-4,390,000-1.20%
1990-2000297,380,000-2,577,600-0.80%
2000-2005283,127,000-2,850,600-0.96%

Source: FAO. Data for 1980-1990 is extrapolated from disparate FAO sources.


Since the close of the 1990s, the rate of deforestation in tropical Asia has climbed by more than 20 percent, from 0.8 percent per year to almost 1 percent per year. This jump is largely due to the economic slowdown that affected the region in the late 1990s and depressed logging and development (see explanation below).

Threats


Map of Asia - Rhett Butler 2000

Click for larger image

In this region, clearing for agriculture fueled by the food demand of the large population, has played a large part in forest clearing in the region. The poverty of some countries means there is a large class of rural poor dependent on forests for food and wood supplies.

Of commercial activities, logging takes a dominant role in forest loss, followed distantly by mining and hydroelectric projects. Commercial logging in this region has been more widespread and intensive than in other regions, and poor harvesting techniques have led to severe ecological degradation. Before World War I and during the early postwar years, most tropical timber entering the world market came from countries bordering the Atlantic. Foreign demand for Asian rainforest timbers was limited to certain specialty species and timber consumption was mostly domestic in nature. Since the 1950s, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea have exported large amounts of timber to Japan for its postwar reconstruction and economic boom. Initially most logging occurred in Peninsular Malaysia and the Philippines, but in the 1970s Indonesia became the timber king when it began granting concessions to multinational corporations. The market share of nonconiferous tropical timber exports of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei increased from 17 percent in 1965 to 30 percent in 1973 to over 70 percent in the 1980s. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, with falling timber stocks and log prices, many traditional log exporters placed moratoria on log exports and began to restrict timber harvesting. Today timber from new markets (Laos, Cambodia, New Guinea) is taking over for the Philippines and Malaysia.

Several countries in Asia have extensive mineral endowments on their rainforest lands, the exploitation of which is generally detrimental to the environment.

A few governments, most notably Indonesia, have promoted the settlement of outer area to relieve some of the population pressures of major cities and islands. The colonists arrive on outer islands and proceed to cut forests for agricultural sites, fuelwood, and grazing lands. These myopic resettlement policies have already had serious ecological consequences and threaten the future economic vitality of the region.

Today much of Asia's remaining forest is degraded, making it more susceptible to drying out during dry spells. The El Niño conditions of 1997-98 facilitated the spread of land-clearing fires set by plantations owners and subsistence farmers. These fires rapidly spread into massive conflagrations that burned expansive tracts of bush and rainforest in Kalimantan, Sumatra, Sulawesi, New Guinea, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines. Health advocates warn that the regional health effects may last for years.

Outlook


There is hope for the rainforests of the Asian realm. Many governments and middle-class citizens are increasingly environmentally conscious and recognizing the importance of conserving their forests, and many are showing interest in reforming their environmental policies. Governments and local conservation organizations are looking towards new ways to promote sustainable use of rainforests in a way that benefits impoverished peasants, conserves biodiversity and forest resources, and helps to sustain the region's current economic growth. Community-based forest management is on the increase as is eco-tourism, which in many areas is over-developed and devastating to the local environment.

The Asian realm has the most plantations of any tropical region, with around 80 percent of tropical plantations. Though many of these have been planted on forest lands specifically cleared for the purpose, more plantations are being planted on previously degraded lands. Plantations are effective in that they both provide the product they are designated for, but also are used as a source of wood for peasant farmers after harvesting.

One of the biggest concerns facing the Asian region in the new few years is what will become of countries that still have abundant forest reserves. These tend to be poorer countries, yet to reach the economic development of the others in the region, conservationists fear they will use their forest resources as a stepping stone towards development.

The Asian economic slowdown produced some good news, from a conservation standpoint: the higher prices of imports like the equipment necessary for logging and mining meant that many firms had to suspend operations. Higher production costs, coupled with lower demand from a drop in construction, meant that less timber was taken from Southeast Asian forests than anticipated. In addition, in order to reduce spending, the governments of Indonesia and Malaysia had to reduce subsidies for and shelve some development projects that would have resulted in more deforestation.


Total land area
Total forest cover
2005
Primary forest cover
2005
Total
deforestation
1990-2005
Loss of
primary forest
1990-2005
Country(1000 ha)(1000 ha)% of total
land area
(1000 ha)% of total
land area
%
of 1990
forest cover
% of 1990
primary
forest cover
Bangladesh14,4008716.7-n/a-1.2n/a
Bhutan4,7003,195684138.85.30.0
Brunei Darussalam57727852.827848.2-11.2-11.2
Cambodia18,10410,44759.23221.8-19.3-58.0
India328,72667,70122.8-n/a5.9n/a
Indonesia190,45788,49548.848,70225.6-24.1-30.8
Lao People's Dem. Rep.23,68016,14269.91,4906.3-6.80.0
Malaysia32,97520,89063.63,82011.6-6.60.0
Maldives3013-n/a0.0n/a
Myanmar67,65832,22249-n/a-17.8n/a
Nepal14,7183,63625.43492.4-24.5-10.7
Pakistan79,6101,9022.5-n/a-24.7n/a
Philippines30,0007,162248292.8-32.30.0
Singapore6823.422.90.00.0
Sri Lanka6,5611,93329.91672.5-17.7-35.0
Thailand51,31214,52028.46,45112.6-9.10.0
Timor-Leste1,48779853.7-n/a-17.4n/a
Viet Nam33,16912,93139.7850.338.1-77.9
Total South and
South-east Asia
898,232283,12733.40.0-12.4n/a




Recent articles | Asia environmental news updates | XML

Unilever calls for ban on rainforest destruction for palm oil
(5/1/2008) Unilever, the world's largest consumer good company, will start using palm oil from certified sustainable sources this year and aims to have all its palm oil certified by 2015, according to a speech delivered today by CEO Patrick Cescau.

High palm oil prices kill the biodiesel market for Asia
(5/1/2008) High palm oil prices have forced investors to shelve plans for biodiesel refineries, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Sustainability conference reveals a rift in the Malaysian Palm Oil Council
(5/1/2008) Last month's sustainability conference sponsored by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) revealed a rift between some planters and the industry marketing organization.

China aims for 100 gigawatts of wind power by 2020
(4/29/2008) China aims to expand its wind power generating capacity to 100,000 megawatts by 2020, more than doubling the current world's installed capacity, according to the Shanghai Daily and The Wall Street Journal's Environmental Capital blog.

Unilever admits it can't trace origin of palm oil used in its products
(4/21/2008) Unilever has admitted to Greenpeace that it can't trace the origin of palm oil supplied by firms operating in Indonesia. The relevation suggests that efforts to improve the sustainability of Indonesian palm oil have stalled as large tracts of rainforest continue to fall for the establishment of new oil palm plantations on the islands of Borneo, New Guinea, and Sumatra.

Borneo's pygmy elephants are an alien species
(4/18/2008) A new study suggests that the Borneo pygmy elephant -- one of Borneo's best known and charismatic animals -- is actually an invasive species introduced from a neighboring island by a former sultan. The finding offers hope that in Borneo, the elephant can avoid the fate that befell it in its native Java: extinction.

Malaysian palm oil industry puts sustainability in the spotlight
(4/17/2008) Seeking to differentiate its palm oil from that produced less responsibly in other countries, the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) sponsored a three-day meeting this week in Kota Kinabalu, on the island of Borneo.

The FSC is the 'Enron of forestry' says rainforest activist
(4/17/2008) On April 7th, Mongabay printed an interview with FSC International Communications Manager, Nina Haase, in which she defended the FSC against criticism leveled at it by various environmental organizations, such as The World Rainforest Movement and Ecological Internet. The interview drew strong reactions on both sides, and Simon Counsell, director of the Rainforest Foundation UK, requested a chance to respond to the FSC's interview in-depth. In his response, he states that the FSC has created a "'race to the bottom' of certification standards", alleging that the "FSC really has become the 'Enron of forestry'".

Photos by late Borneo rainforest hero, indigenous rights activist go online
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Palm oil boycott an unrealistic approach to conserving biodiversity
(4/15/2008) Boycotting palm oil produced in Southeast Asia in an "unrealistic" and "ineffective" approach to conserving the region's fast-disappearing rainforests, said a Princeton University researcher speaking at a conference on the sustainability of palm oil. Instead, NGOs should focus on engaging and working with the palm oil industry to reduce its impact on the environment. Addressing the first International Palm Oil Sustainability Conference in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, Princeton biologist Dr. David S. Wilcove said that the palm oil industry is too important to the economies of Indonesia and Malaysia to justify blanket import bans on the edible oil used in food, cosmetics, industrial products, and biodiesel. The palm oil industry contributes to health, education, and infrastructure in rural areas.

Malaysia rejects coal project in Borneo rainforest
(4/14/2008) Malaysia has rejected a $408 million coal-fired power plant near a protected rainforest area in Sabah, on the island of Borneo.

Lungless frog discovered in Borneo
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Saving the world's most recently discovered cat species in Borneo
(4/10/2008) Last year two teams of scientists announced the discovery of a new species of clouded leopard in Borneo. The news came as conservationists launched a major initiative to conserve a large area of forest on an island where logging and oil palm plantations have consumed vast expanses of highly biodiverse tropical rainforest over the past thirty years. Now a pair of researchers are racing against the clock to better understand the behavior of these rare cats to see how well they adapt to these changes in and around Danum Valley in Malaysia's Sabah state. Andrew Hearn and Joanna Ross run the Bornean Wild Cat and Clouded Leopard Project, an effort that aims to understand and protect Borneo's threatened wild cats, which include the flat-headed cat (Prionailurus planiceps), marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata) leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) the endemic bay cat (Catopuma badia) and the Bornean clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa).

Wal-Mart pushes for greener maufacturing in China
(4/7/2008) Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, will hold a meeting of around 1,000 of its Chinese suppliers in an effort to reduce its environmental impact, said Lee Scott, Wal-Mart's CEO, in an interview with the Financial Times.

Poll: Chinese more concerned about the environment than Americans
(4/7/2008) A poll released today found that 10.2 percent of the Chinese population lists environmental concerns as the nation's number one issue. It is the fourth highest concern among the Chinese after health care, employment, and the income-gap. According to the poll, the Chinese view the environment as higher than corruption, social security, housing prices, and the cost of education.

Conservation success story: birds stage dramatic recovery in Cambodia
(4/3/2008) According to a report released today by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), several species of rare waterbirds from Cambodia's famed Tonle Sap region have staged remarkable comebacks, thanks to a project involving a single team of park rangers to provide 24-hour protection to breeding colonies. The project pioneered a novel approach: employing former hunters and egg collectors to protect and monitor the colonies, thereby guaranteeing the active involvement of local communities in the initiative.

Invasive species cost China $14B per year
(4/1/2008) Rapid economic growth and giant infrastructure projects have allowed invasive species to spread throughout China and inflict more than $14.5 billion of damage to the nation's economy annually, according to a study published in Bioscience. The research warns that the Beijing Olympics may worsen the toll.

Asia Pulp & Paper destroying rare Sumatra forest
(3/27/2008) Companies linked to timber giant Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) are illegally building a road that runs through highly endangered peatland forest on the island of Sumatra, according to an investigative report published by Eyes on the Forest, a coalition of NGOs in Indonesia. The road would allow APP and its affiliates to log forests for timber and drain peat soil for the establishment of oil palm plantations. The action would release large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from one of the world's largest contiguous tropical peat swamp forests.

FSC has 'failed the world's forests' say critics
(3/26/2008) The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has come under increasingly harsh criticisms from a variety of environmental organizations. The FSC is an international not-for-profit organization that certifies wood products: its stamp of approval is meant to create confidence that the wood was harvested in an environmentally-sustainable and socially-responsible manner. For years the FSC stamp has been imperative for concerned consumers in purchasing wood products. Yet amid growing troubles for the FSC, recent attacks from environmental organizations like World Rainforest Movement and Ecological Internet are putting the organization's credibility into question.

U.S. furniture demand drives illegal logging in Laos
(3/24/2008) In Vietnam the illegal timber trade continues unabated, in many ways due to the Southeast Asian country's growing economy and wealthy nations' insatiable demand for cheap furniture. Since 2000 Vietnam has seem a ten-fold increase in their furniture industry, a rise that is leading to large-scale illegal deforestation in the Mekong region, according to a report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Telapak Indonesia.

Suggested reading - Books


Unless otherwise specified, this article was written by Rhett A. Butler [Bibliographic citation for this page]

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Last updated: 5 Feb 2006
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