Deforestation

Damage to local environments is a frequent byproduct of economic growth. Palm oil is a productive and lucrative crop that yields far more oil at a lower production cost than other vegetable oils. Indonesia and Malaysia are the biggest producers of palm oil, with millions of hectares of oil palms. To grow these trees, native forests have been burned or clear-cut.

See Figure 9.17, which shows land deforested for oil palm trees on Malaysia's Borneo island. The loss of biodiversity is compounded by the air pollution and soil erosion associated with burning the rainforest to make way for oil palms.

Rising sea levels due to climate change have already begun to affect the region of East and Southeast Asia. Scientists predict Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong Delta, peninsular Malaysia, and low-lying locations may be underwater by 2050. Melting ice in Antarctica, a part of Oceania we study in Unit 10, also contributes to the inundation of some of Oceania's islands and other low-lying areas around the world.