The Indonesian Forest Holocaust - 3277 Words

The Indonesian Forest Holocaust Marianne Phan Introduction The tropical rainforest of Indonesia was once the most biologically diverse forests in the world. Its rainforests accounted for 10% of the world’s plant species, 12% of the world’s mammal species, 16% of reptile species and 17% of the bird species (Hamilton 1996). In the late 1960s, commercial exploitation of Indonesia’s natural forests became a means to boost economic development under the Suharto’s regime by enabling the government to issue logging concessions. However, the lack of natural resource management of its natural forests caused backlash from locals and international communities led to the downfall of the Suharto regime in 1998 (Yasmi, Guernier Colfer 2009).†¦show more content†¦The first section of the essay will provide an overview of the issue and the vicious cycle contributing to the depletion of Indonesian tropical forests. The second section will investigate into the current regulations implemented by the Indonesian government t o regulate the environmental impacts of deforestation. The essay will then conclude by examining the business opportunities and risks that arises from this regulatory system. The deforestation epidemic in Indonesia The detrimental effects of deforestation Ongoing practices of deforestation will cause detrimental effect on the entire ecosystem throughout Asia and the world. It is evident that deforestation contributes a substantial volume of carbon emissions globally, with deforestation in most developing countries accounting for approximately 30 percent of global emissions (Johnson 2009). Dense atmospheric CO2 concentrations from land clearing and logging will produce too much carbon dioxide to linger in the atmosphere. Moreover, forest fires are resulting from deforestation as moisture from the soils are dried up, therefore causing further destruction of forests (Mongabay 2006). Once the trees are burnt, it will also release leftover carbon that was previously stored as carbon dioxide within it. This will lead to greater concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which would then modify the surface temperature due to the creating a