Illegal Logging in Southeast Asia - Case Study Example

The researcher states that in the interest of gaining quick profits at the cost of their environment, their natural resources are compromised. More trees are being cut, hence more forests are disappearing and dying every day. Countries from Southeast Asia, such as Indonesia and Malaysia are the biggest exporters of hardwood products. Hardwoods are prime timber products known for their quality. Possessing both strength and beauty, they command a high price in the market. Because of the high demand of tropical timber, the once glorious ancient forests are disappearing more quickly.

And, even though forests are considered to be renewable natural resources, once cut, trees would take a quarter of a century more to grow again. To protect their forests from extinction, governments from the timber producing countries in Southeast Asia instituted laws that regulate timber trade. Logging concessions are allowed an annual quota (also called annual allowable cut or AAC) of how much timber could be harvested. And since almost all forest lands are owned by the state, only those with enough capital can go into the business of timber production.

Illegal logging occurs when timber is harvested, transported, processed, bought or sold in violation or circumvention of national or sub-national laws. Those in need of timber products who cut down trees without any authority commit these acts illegally—hence the term “illegal loggers”. Traditionally, we associate the image of an illegal logger to someone driven to commit this act because of poverty. In reality, however, those who cause severe, large-scale damages to the forest are the ‘organized’ groups, not individual persons.