Southeast Asia knows deforestation is a problem. Ask people what causes it, however, and things get a little less clear.
A new six-country study finds that logging is by far the most recognised cause of deforestation, with 61% of respondents across the region identifying the timber industry. Illegal logging follows at 41%, while urban development and infrastructure comes in at 40%.
But the bigger picture is more complicated. Research on Southeast Asia points to forest conversion for plantations and agriculture, alongside shifting cultivation, logging and fire, as some of the region’s major drivers. The latest region-wide analysis found that new plantations and shifting cultivation accounted for the largest areas among the drivers it examined.
So people aren’t wrong to point to logging. They may just be seeing one part of a much bigger picture.
Logging gets the blame. Agriculture is more complicated.
When Southeast Asians think about deforestation, logging clearly comes to mind first.
But what happens when forests are cleared to make way for something else? Across the region, plantation and agricultural expansion are a major part of the story. In Indonesia and Malaysia, for example, oil palm has played a particularly important role in forest conversion. In Malaysia, research has identified oil palm expansion as the main proximate cause of deforestation, while in Indonesia, forest conversion to oil palm plantations has been identified as the largest driver in several studies.
Yet this connection isn’t equally recognised everywhere. In Indonesia, 57% of respondents identify palm oil and agricultural expansion as a cause of deforestation. In the Philippines, that figure drops to just 13%, while Vietnam sits at 23%. The result is a bit of a disconnect. People may recognise deforestation as a problem, but what they think is causing it often depends on what is most visible in their own country.
What people recognise depends on where they live
Mining tells a similar story.
Half of respondents in the Philippines, 50%, recognise mining as a cause of deforestation, well above the regional average of 28%. In other markets, it registers as a much smaller concern. Paper and pulp production is another example. Only 12% of respondents across the region recognise it as a cause, even in markets where the industry is active.
Taken together, the findings suggest that Southeast Asians aren’t working from one shared understanding of deforestation. What people recognise appears to be closely connected to the issues they see, hear and experience locally.
Some markets feel much more familiar with the issue
Even familiarity with deforestation varies considerably across the region.
Indonesia has the highest share of respondents who say they are extremely familiar with the issue, at 16%, followed by the Philippines at 14%. Vietnam sits at the other end of the scale, with just 4% saying they are extremely familiar and 28% saying they are not familiar with the issue at all.
That’s an interesting gap. Vietnam is geographically close to areas affected by deforestation, particularly around the Mekong region, yet proximity doesn’t necessarily translate into greater awareness. Being close to an issue doesn’t always mean knowing more about it.
We know what deforestation does. Just not always who pays the price.
When it comes to the effects of deforestation, the picture is much clearer. Climate change and global warming top the list, with 73% of respondents associating them with deforestation. Loss of wildlife habitat follows closely at 71%, while flooding and soil erosion comes in at 63%.
The human impact, however, is much less visible. Only 11% associate deforestation with the loss of indigenous communities’ livelihoods, while just 6% recognise economic losses for local communities. Even reduced air quality and loss of biodiversity, at 24% and 21% respectively, sit well below the major environmental concerns.
So deforestation is largely understood as an environmental problem. The people living with its consequences are much less visible in the public conversation.
The bigger gap isn’t awareness. It’s understanding.
The good news is that Southeast Asians broadly understand that deforestation is a problem, and they clearly recognise its environmental consequences.
The harder part is filling in the gaps. Logging is the most visible cause, but plantation and agricultural expansion are an important part of the regional picture. Palm oil is strongly associated with deforestation in some markets, but much less so in others. And while climate change and wildlife loss are front of mind, the impact on local communities remains largely overlooked.
That matters because awareness is only useful if it reflects the bigger picture. For organisations trying to communicate around deforestation, the opportunity may not be to simply tell people that deforestation is bad. Most people already know that. The bigger challenge is helping people understand what is driving it, how those drivers differ across markets, and who is actually paying the price.
Because when it comes to deforestation, Southeast Asia may know the problem. It just doesn’t know the whole story yet.
A regional survey of 3,000 respondents across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines (500 per market, fielded 20 to 26 August 2026) examined what people understand about deforestation, its causes, and its effects. The results point to a region that grasps the broad narrative but has significant gaps in the detail. Interested to access the full dataset? Get in touch with us at sales@mili.eu
