Asia Pacific holds beautiful forests and diverse species, making the region a hotspot for transformation as it lies at the center of the biodiversity crisis. Mighty Earth is stopping deforestation while working to decarbonize the hardest-to-abate sectors like steel and aluminum. Our work on forests and biodiversity spans across Mekong, East Asia, and Southeast Asia.

Southeast Asia’s forests are home to abundance of plants and animals, hosting four of the world’s 25 biodiversity hotspots. But the region has also been a major global deforestation front. Palm oil and the pulp and paper industries have driven deforestation, particularly in Indonesia. Millions of hectares of forests were cut down and replaced with palm oil monocultures. The pulp and paper industry destroyed a further million hectares or more. Southeast Asia also produces the vast majority of the world’s rubber, and increasing demand for rubber means even more deforestation in the region. It is time for industry to heal the damage and work toward restoration and conservation.

  • 2/3

    of world’s ultra carbon rich tropical peat swamps are in Southeast Asia

  • 8.7 gigatons

    of carbon dioxide to be released by previously cleared peatlands over a century

  • 42%

    of species could be lost in the Southeast Asia subregion by 2100

Explore Our Work

Palm Oil

Rubber

Decarbonization

Asia Risks Lagging Behind

The world needs the steel and aluminum sectors to decarbonize if we have any chance of meeting the IPCC’s 1.5 degree target.

Steel Industry

Transforming Agriculture

Campaigning Against Rogue Actors

While commodity-driven deforestation has declined significantly, not everyone has gotten the message.

Korindo Expulsion

News

25/Aug/2025
Petition to the RV Industry: Stop the Destruction of Rainforests
22/Aug/2025
Rapid Response 50: Peatland Development in West Kalimantan
21/Aug/2025
Call for Indiana’s RV industry to cut ties to destruction of orangutan habitat in Indonesia
19/Aug/2025
How American recreational vehicles came to destroy orangutan habitat in Indonesia
05/Aug/2025
Certifying the Unsustainable: Debunking the Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP)
03/Jul/2025
CEO Note: Is Indonesia poised to turn the tide on deforestation?
26/Jun/2025
Evaluation of woody biomass investments and policies of major Japanese financial institutions
27/May/2025
World’s Largest Deforestation Project
23/May/2025
Why deforestation rose in 2024 — and why there’s hope for 2025