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THE RETREAT OF THE FOREST IN SOUTHEAST ASIA: A CARTOGRAPHIC ASSESSMENT
Author(s) -
Bernard Stéphane,
Koninck Rodolphe
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
singapore journal of tropical geography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.538
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1467-9493
pISSN - 0129-7619
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9493.1996.tb00080.x
Subject(s) - deforestation (computer science) , geography , southeast asia , forest cover , distribution (mathematics) , pace , tropics , quarter (canadian coin) , physical geography , history , archaeology , ethnology , ecology , mathematical analysis , mathematics , geodesy , biology , computer science , programming language
Rapid deforestation is a major problem throughout the tropical world. The conditions and the pace under which societies and economies of the Third World are currently evolving and growing, combined with the specificities of tropical forests, render the latter increasingly vulnerable. Among the major tropical areas of the world, Southeast Asia is perhaps the one where these conditions have had the most impact on the retreat of the forest cover over the last quarter of this century. This is illustrated through the presentation of two maps of the distribution of five basic forest formations in Southeast Asia circa 1970 and circa 1990. The maps are examined and compared, as well as confronted with statistical assessments of deforestation. Finally, the complex causes behind the retreat of the tropical forests as well as the implications of this retreat are briefly discussed.