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Maps of rainforests in Asia
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RAINFORESTS IN ASIA
Most tropical rainforest in Asia is found in Indonesia (on scattered islands), the Malay peninsula (Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar), and Laos and Cambodia. Forest once covered a much greater area in Asia, but logging and clearing of forests for agriculture has destroyed much of the region's rainforests.
The loss of rainforests has caused many problems in Asia. For example, during the 2004 tsunami disaster damage was worse in areas that had suffered heavy deforestation. The burning of forests for land clearing also causes air pollution.
Southeast Asia's rainforests are some of the oldest on Earth. Some scientists believe that forests in present day Malaysia may have existed over 100 million years ago.
Some southeast Asian forests are known for their orangutans and elephants.
The Mongabay Kids site (kids.mongabay.com) aims to help children learn about rainforests and the environment. This site is still under development and I am working to add additional content as time permits. If you have comments or are interested in submitting educational content for the site, please feel free to contact me.
The site is available in many different languages, including Portuguese, Chinese, French, Spanish, Japanese, and German.
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