User:Abratner/Greater Mekong Subregion

The section I am editing: Greater Mekong Subregion

Deforestation[edit]
The GMS was one of the world's most densely forested areas in the 1970s, but has since lost a third of its forests. It is on a trajectory that will lose it another third between 2010–2030.

Deforestation
In the 1970s, the Greater Mekong Subregion was one of the world's most densely forested areas. However, deforestation has reduced its forests by a third and is on a trajectory to lose another third by 2030. The highest rates of deforestation in the GMS are found in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar.

Deforestation in the GMS has many causes, including the expansion of unsustainable rubber and palm oil plantations, dam development, infrastructure development, illegal and unsustainable logging, forest fires, and natural resource exploitation. In effect, deforestation has impacted the environment, biodiversity, and inhabitants of the region. The increased pollution due to run-off has made the water of the Mekong unhealthy for the fish and for human consumption, while riverbanks have become more susceptible to the pressures of climate change and flash flooding because of missing protection tree roots provide. The loss of flooded forests has also impacted the aquatic food chain, putting further pressures on the fishing industry and the 40 million people who take part in fishing-related activities in the GMS.

The GMS is a hotspot for vector-borne diseases along its watershed, including malaria, but environmental changes such as deforestation have begun to change this reality. A study that compared malaria rates in the northern and southern regions of Laos found that deforestation increases malaria rates in the short term (1-3 years), but lessens them dramatically in the long term.

Deforestation in the GMS has the potential to become irreversible unless actions are taken and policy is implemented. Local community-supported initiatives, such as the many Community Protected Areas (CPAs) in Cambodia’s Phnom Kulen National Park, have been established to stop illegal logging and poaching.