New study shows loss of Southeast Asia’s peat forests drives climate change

Satellite data shows how rapidly Southeast Asia’s vital peat forests are being cleared, drained and dried out. The study looked at 2.7 million hectares of forest—more than 10% of Southeast Asia’s peatland—and found that 90% of that land was sinking at an average of 2.2 centimetres per year. The research indicates that destruction of peatland is widespread, rather than limited to large-scale plantations.