Strapped for cash, Asians plunder their forests and endanger their future

Abstract

As the economic crisis swept across Asia in 1997, gutting purchasing power in many countries, one potential silver lining seemed possible: a drop in demand for rhino and tiger parts, tortoises, wild orchids, fragrant woods, and other increasingly rare products of the region's forests. Though threatened with extinction, these and many other plants and animals, esteemed as medicinal marvels or status symbols, have fueled a vigorous trade buoyed by rising regional prosperity and market globalization. Today, contrary to expectation, the commerce in wild species and their products has increased substantially. The economic collapse that has been felt most keenly in Southeast Asia, combined with the continued relative prosperity of China and strong American and European economies, stimulates the flow of resources out of Southeast Asia and into East Asia and the West. Now, unexpectedly, it is increasing personal hardship that may pose the greatest threat to already endangered species and habitats, as cash-needy citizens turn to their forests for the income that their regular jobs and crops no longer provide. One result is the destruction of the very biological resources on which their future development depends.