There are major external pressures driving the degradation of the forest resources of Southeast Asia, namely: rapid population and economic growth. This has been accomplished through exploitation of the region’s rich mineral, petroleum and forest resources and a favourable climate for agricultural commodity production, such as oil palm, rubber and coffee.
There is still uncertainty as to what fraction of global emissions from land use change can be attributed to Southeast Asia, but estimates range from 25-31 percent. Modelling of business as usual deforestation between 1980 and 2050 in Southeast Asia (including all ASEAN countries) predicts total conversion of natural forest to agricultural land, forest plantation and other non-forested uses before 2050.
In terms of ecosystem services for the region, little is understood of the contribution of the region’s forest to the global hydrologic cycle due to its maritime environment and influence by a series of monsoons. Significant research has been performed on its carbon emissions from land use (including peat drainage) and air pollution from out of control forest fires. Finally, the richness of biodiversity in this region is recognised though not known fully, although the question remains how to begin to quantify its value.
Southeast Asia is home to the majority of global peatland, though across the tropics, 70 Pg C in total is estimated to be stored in these soils. This constitutes two percent of carbon stored in soils globally and 20 percent of carbon found in peat soils worldwide.
Southeast Asia houses four of the world’s 25 biodiversity hotspots, due to its high incidence of endemism, as well as being the home of the endangered orang utan, Sumatran tiger, elephant and rhinoceros. In an ecosystem service valuation exercise for Leuser National Park, Indonesia, calculations for total economic valuation were made for three scenarios: deforestation (business as usual), conservation and selective use. The relative values found to be in the deforestation scenario were US$7.0 billion, in the conservation scenario US$9.5 billion and the selective use scenario US$9.1 billion over a 30-year time frame.
Conclusions: There is scope for determining ecosystem services for this region; although the most obvious issue to address is carbon emission from land use change and peatland drainage. More research is needed regarding the contribution of the region’s forests to local and global precipitation and the importance of its biodiversity for its forests’ functional integrity.
