State of the Rainforest 2014

provides a national framework for action with regard to community and civil society involvement and participation in the management of protected areas and biodiversity. A ban on export of raw timber was imposed in March 2014. According to Global Forest Watch, approximately 15,000 km 2 forest disappeared between 2000–2012, much of it logged illegally. 67 World record in forest loss The development in Malaysia in recent decades illustrates the magnitude of the conversion process taking place in the region. Once densely forested, the country has lost most of it natural forest cover to oil palm and other plantations. Malaysia’s part of Borneo, Sarawak and Sabah provinces, had the world’s highest rate of forest loss between 2000 and 2012, and only 22% of original natural forest is left. 68 Malaysia’s forest loss occurred in its densest forests, which generally store the most carbon and which are the habitats of endangered orangutans, pygmy elephants, Sumatran rhinos, 69 and clouded leopards. The main driver of deforestation is palm oil plantations. 70 The indigenous Penans of Sarawak are fighting an uphill battle to protect the remaining patches of rainforest, and their rights as the original inhabitants of the area. The pressure on forests in Southeast Asia and Oceania will continue if strict measures are not taken to regulate the operations of plantation companies and extractive industries in natural forest areas. Malaysia, According to the FAO, it is estimated that with continued conversion of forest, between 13% and 42% of the species will be lost in Southeast Asia by 2100. 71 In a recent regional assessment of forest cover of Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea, the forest extent is estimated to 2.68 million km 2 in 1990, and the forest loss between 1990 and 2010 to 320,000 km 2 – approximately the size of Norway. The study confirms that the conversion of forest to cash crops plantations, such as oil palm, is the main cause of forest loss, with logging and the establishment of monoculture forest plantations as other major drivers of deforestation.

serious pollution problems and forest loss. In PNG, shifting cultivation has been practiced through centuries, in which relatively small areas of forests are cleared for transient crop cultivation, and later abandoned to natural regeneration. However, the extent and intensity of clearing for subsistence agriculture is increasing substantially, and subsistence agriculture causes about 46% of the forest losses according to the study by Sherman. 63 Carbon emissions from land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) make the country one of the highest per capita emitters in the world. 64 As mentioned above, most of the land (97%) in PNG belongs to the local communities. The constitutional rights are a basis for local protection of the forest, but not a guarantee against land-grabs. In many parts of the country, communities experience heavy pressure to give up their rights to land from extractive industries and plantation companies. Due to a fairly impartial legal system, local land-owners have on many occasions taken legal action against intruders on their land, and gained support through court rulings. 65 This enables communities to take a common stand against extractive industries and logging companies, who target the valuable resources of the PNG rainforest (see story on following pages). Myanmar Myanmar has extensive areas of dense humid forest and Asia’s last significant areas of natural teak forest. 66 The country contains some of the most biodiverse areas in mainland Southeast Asia and new species are continuously discovered. Yet, the country’s wilderness is so far poorly explored by scientists. The most biodiversity rich areas are found in the forested and rather inaccessible border areas where most of the 135 ethnic minorities live. New political signals, where sustainable management of the country’s rich natural resources is stated as an explicit goal, gives room for some optimism. Myanmar’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) from 2011

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STATE OF THE RAINFOREST 2014