Abstract

Southeast Asia hosts the world’s third-largest expanse of tropical forests after the Amazon and Congo basins, and a treasure of terrestrial biodiversity. Countries in the region are diverse in terms of their forest management regimes and broader political economies – as well as the extent to which their original forest endowments have been degraded or converted to other land uses – but there are nevertheless many commonalities across national contexts. In addition, transboundary ecological systems, ethnic groups, trade and investment flows and forums for cooperation create regional dimensions to the management of forests and biodiversity.