In the face of the skyrocketing human population growth, vast areas of the Asian elephant’s traditional territories and migration routes have been clear-cut to make way for the establishment of revenue-generating activities and industries. As a result, it has destroyed millions of hectares of forest ecosystems where their available habitat has shrunk by 70% for the past 30 years (see Figure 1a & 1b).

Habitat loss and degradation is mostly caused by intensive harvesting of timber through unsustainable logging, clear-cutting for agriculture, ranching and development, as well as overgrazing. In this section of the blog, we will be placing our focus on two of the major causes that are destroying the forests of Southeast Asia far more quickly than was feared, with dire impact on the endangered Asian elephants: timber trade and illegal logging and the conversion of forested areas to palm oil plantations.

Read More: Timber Trade and Illegal Logging, The Palm Oil Problem