STATE OF THE RAINFOREST 2014
59
than 3000 plant species are registered in the peat forest of Southeast
Asia, among them the economically valuable tropical hardwood
species Ramin and Light Red Meranti.
46
When drained or burnt,
the peat releases enormous amounts of greenhouse gasses into the
atmosphere. There are 250 000 km
2
peat land in Southeast Asia,
47
60% of the worlds’
tropical peat swamp forest
. 200 000 km
2
is found
in Indonesia, and smaller areas in Malaysia and Myanmar. Indonesia
– with the largest rainforest area, unique biodiversity, numerous
indigenous peoples and a national population of 250 000 million
people, impacts the whole region.
Indonesia
Thick smoke regularly covers large parts of Indonesia, causing smog
and poor air quality in cities and towns all through Malaysia and
in Singapore. The haze, caused by burning Indonesian tropical
forest, visualizes the extremely rapid forest loss in the region. This
years’ decision by Singapore to hold the actors causing the fires
economically responsible for the consequences, however, may be
seen as indication of increasing political will to handle the problem
of deforestation.
48
It is hard to find reliable forest statistics in Indonesia, and there are
huge variations regarding extent of existing forest and deforestation
trends, depending on the source used (see p.86).
49
There is little
doubt, however, that Indonesia’s deforestation is among the highest
of all rainforest countries.
50
The country’s current annual forest loss
is 6,850 km
2
according to FAO,
51
and almost twice as high according
to a study by the University of Maryland (UMD). Even if one uses the
FAO figures, considered too low by most sources, Indonesia loses
more forest than the Brazilian Amazon in spite of the latter being a
more than three times bigger forest area.
52
Looking closer, the deforestation on main rainforest islands gives
even more reason for concern. In Sumatra, the lowland rainforest
is almost gone, and large-scale commercial actors are increasingly
targeting the remaining carbon rich swamp and peat forest. Borneo,
shared between Indonesia’s Kalimantan (72%), Malaysia and Brunei,
has lost 30% of its forest in the last 40 years.
53
Kalimantan has the
second largest remaining rainforest area in Indonesia, after the Land
of Papua, the Indonesian part of the island of New Guinea.
54
Establishment of large scale plantations for cash crops such as
oil palm and fast-growing timber species are the main drivers of
deforestation in Indonesia, as it has been through the last decades.
Logging and mining operations also cause significant deforestation
and forest degradation.
55
The loss of tree cover is mainly taking place
in natural forest, and according to a 2014 assessment 40% of the
loss is occurring within areas where the government has restricted or
prohibited clearing.
56
This is a clear indication of a forest management
regime characterized by widespread illegal activities and lack of
enforcement of political decisions on forest protection. Indonesia
is one of the world’s largest exporters of tropical timber, the main
Source: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA; FAO
FAO
UMD
1 400
500
100 1
Forest and
deforestation extent
Thousands square kilometres
Annual deforestation rate
Percentage
0,0
0,5
1,0
1,5
2,0
Forest cover, 2000
FAO
University of Maryland (UMD)
Deforestation
FAO, 2000-2010
University of Maryland, 2000-2012
P
HILIPPINES
V
IETNAM
L
AOS
C
AMBODIA
T
HAILAND
P
APUA
N
EW
G
UINEA
M
YANMAR
M
ALAYSIA
I
NDONESIA
Extent of rainforest and deforestation in
South East Asia and Oceania
Note: Deforestation data for Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam
are highly uncertain.
Data sets from UMD and FAO have signi cant di erences as di erent
methods of quantifying forest extend and deforestation are used
