The View | COP26 a chance to slow commodities-driven deforestation in Southeast Asia

To effect lasting change, we need mechanisms, such as the Rimba Collective, to directly connect the cost of doing business to forest protection and restoration projects

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Smoke rises from fires at a palm oil plantation, as seen from the window of a water bombing helicopter of the Local Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) during an operation near Palembang, South Sumatra province, Indonesia, on July 26. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:00pm, 4 Aug 2021Updated: 5:10pm, 31 Oct 2021

The impact of deforestation in Southeast Asia is startling. The region continues to have among the highest rates of deforestation on the planet, having lost 14.5 per cent of forests over the past 15 years. From 2001 to 2019, the Philippines recorded 86 per cent of tree cover loss driven by deforestation.

In Indonesia, 74 million hectares of rainforest have been lost in the last 50 years, largely driven by the commodities sector. Meanwhile, Malaysian Borneo has lost forest cover twice as fast as the rest of the world’s humid tropical forests, fuelled by logging, land-clearing and conversion activities.

Southeast Asia exports 86 per cent of the world’s palm oil and 87 per cent of the world’s natural rubber and these plantations are projected to grow by over 4.3-8.5 million hectares to meet demand by 2024, further threatening forests in the region.

Nations most vulnerable to the impact of climate change have highlighted a “worrying lack of urgency”, in putting out a “Five-Point Plan for Solidarity, Fairness and Prosperity” ahead of the COP26 UN climate summit in Glasgow. The aims of the Paris Agreement have yet to be achieved and richer nations have not kept their promises on several key areas.

Cleared land at a palm oil plantation in Johor, Malaysia, on February 26, 2019. Photo: Reuters

COP26 is a critical juncture in the climate mission. Ahead of the meeting, over 100 developing nations, including the Philippines, have laid out their key negotiating demands, such as for rich nations to deliver on the commitment to provide at least US$100 billion annually by 2020 and through to 2025.