Logging

Deforestation = habitat degradation = species loss

Deforestation is driven by a number of socio-economic activities, the most significant of which are commercial logging, hydropower development, infrastructure development, and forestland conversion for the purposes of cash cropping and subsistence agriculture.

A number of other factors, underlying the direct threats, set the stage for increased deforestation such as population growth and migration, poverty, road building, lack of land use planning and economic land allocation processes, and economic policies that encourage unsustainable resource use.

Logging in the Lower Mekong Dry Forests Ecoregion >>

Logging in the Greater Annamites Ecoregion >>


The forests of the Greater Mekong:

Lao PDR

Forty  percent of Lao PDR is classified as forest land, and 17% as original forest.

Lao PDR has one of the highest ratios of forest cover to total land area left in Southeast Asia. It is estimated that there are over 11 million hectares of forest land in the country. The population of Lao PDR is 5.2 million with an annual growth rate of 2.8%.

Eighty per cent of the people live in rural areas and rely heavily on forest resources for firewood, food, medicines, trade goods and construction materials.

Due to the country's dependence on the forest sector, resources are being extracted at unsustainable rates and the area of forest cover has decreased considerably. Remaining forest types are dominated by deciduous dipterocarp, and evergreen and the proportion of forest cover to land area is highest in the center and southern regions of the country.

Cambodia

In Cambodia, approximately 60% of the country, or 11.2 million hectares, is covered by forest and woodlands.

The main forest types are evergreen forests, semi-evergreen forests, deciduous dipterocarp forests, swamp forests, riverine forests, lowland pine forests, and mangrove forests.

The two highest priority forests for conservation in Cambodia are the Cardamom Mountain evergreen forests in the southwestern parts of the country and the Central Indochina dry forests, which are primarily located in the eastern and northern parts of the country.

Approximately eight million hectares are currently in production forests, although the actual area that is suitable for commercial logging is less than this.

The logging sector has received much criticism in the past for illegal and unsustainable practices, and reform of the industry has been underway for several years. Progress has been achieved, but some conservation and social sector NGOs believe that much more needs to be done.

Protected areas cover 2.8 million hectares, and several new protected areas have been proposed.

The majority of Cambodia’s population is rural, and many people rely on the forest for slash and burn cultivation systems, resin, shelter for the wildlife they hunt, and other non-timber forest products for subsistence and commercial uses. Community forestry is receiving increasing attention in regards to policy and support from NGOs.

Vietnam

Over 60% of Vietnam’s land area, some 19 million hectares, are classified as forest land.

Forestry accounts about 2% of the country’s gross domestic products. Forest lands meet much of the energy needs of the rural population, with some 15 million cubic meters of firewood harvested every year. The forests, particularly natural forests, provide a wide range of non-wood products. About 24 million people live in or around forests, depending on them for food and income.

The total of forest cover in Vietnam now is more than 9,000,000 million hectares. Because of the wide range of climatic and topographic conditions, Vietnam has very diverse forest flora and fauna.

Due to deforestation and unsustainable harvesting over many decades, the cover rate has been reduced from 43% in 1943 to 23.3% in 1983. At present, the remaining natural forests are mainly concentrated in the highlands (Tay Nguyen),of central and south-eastern Vietnam.

Thailand

In Thailand around 33.09% of the land is covered by forest - an area of 170,110 km 2 .

This forest area covers all forest types including: swamp forest, trees in the agricultural landscape, patches along watercourses, economic plantations including eucalyptus and areas reforested.

This forest area is protected under the National Parks Act (1961) for those areas designated as National Parks, and under the Wild Animal Reservation and Protection Act (1992) for those areas designated as Wildlife Sanctuaries. These two classifications comprise the two principle categories of Protected Areas in Thailand .

Despite having these two pieces of legislation designed to protect these forest areas however destruction and multiple threats impact upon the forest area and continue to reduce its extent. This means that the livelihood security of the Thai population continues to be undermined.