Conclusions and perspectives

Abstract

The fact that the forests of South East Asia are under grave threat of disappearing is not new (Myers 1980; Anon. 1983). In Indonesia, which is one of the three remaining rain forest areas in the world, the forest cover of 1960 dwindled to about half in 1980 (Kartawinata et al. 1989, using data from FAO 1981). The current situation of the forests of Sumatra is quite clear. There is no intact lowland forest left. Only isolated pockets remain and these are surrounded by vast cultivated areas mainly devoted to conversion into industrial agricultural use (oil palm and rubber estates). In a few decades, lowland forests will have disappeared completely in Sumatra if logged-over forests are not maintained under sustainable management. Hill forests have also been affected and are currently being decimated by the frenetic forest exploitation which precedes the impending disappearance of such a resource and by local agricultural transformation.