Future Prospects of Tropical Rainforests in Southeast Asia

Based solely on the information outlined above, the future of Southeast Asia tropical rainforest seems quite bleak - as we could see, all four of the countries that we have covered so far have suffered from deforestation due to human activities, and severe consequences have already been observed across Southeast Asia, ranging from climate change, flooding, soil erosion, drought, and wildlife loss. However, in most areas, replantation efforts have been in place, and overexploitation of forest has been banned in certain countries. The future could hence go either way. It is fair to say that the fate of tropical rain forest in Southeast Asia in the future undoubtedly depends on the choice of people and the government in those areas. Below we also outline the future prospects of the four countries we have covered so far:

Indonesia: though previously, we mentioned that the Indonesia’s forest could be entirely wiped out in 40 years accordingly to World Bank, it is considered that Indonesia is not likely to lose all its forest cover60. As we mentioned earlier, logging and shifting cultivation are the two main causes of forest loss in Indonesia. Though we could not find any information regarding Indonesia’s response to shifting cultivation, it is believed that tougher law enforcement on forest management and replantation could help with timber production61.

Malaysia: though as of now, tropical forest in Malaysia has been a source of income, it is believed that the forest will negatively affect Malaysia’s economy soon. In addition, there has been little reaction to the declining environment, and no effort was deployed to conserve forest. There is also a lack of national parks, which has caused major concerns.62

Philippines: It is believed that since 1986, forest planning in Philippines have gone onto a right track, as the Bureau for Forest Development was purged to clear corruption, and log exports have been banned. The government has also offered incentive for reporting illegal logging, and major replanting programmes have begun63. With all the above measures taking place, the future of Philippines’ tropical forest seems to be less likely to worsen than to improve.

Thailand: It is cynically claimed that there is no longer a deforestation problem in Thailand, as there is simply no forest to deforest. The current state of Thailand’s tropical forest status seems to require huge efforts in replantation, and thankfully, deforestation has been taken seriously in Thai politics64. The feasibility and practicality of such policies could determine the fate of forest in Thailand in the future.