GNV News — October 12, 2025

According to a report published in October 2025 by the environmental news outlet Mongabay, the five countries of the Mekong River basin—Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam—lost a vast total of about 990,000 hectares of forest in 2024. More than 30% of the forest loss occurred within protected areas, drawing attention to the need to review and strengthen forest protection measures.

The main drivers of deforestation in the Mekong River basin are said to be conversion to large-scale plantations by the agricultural industry, illegal logging, and infrastructure development such as road infrastructure and dam construction. In Laos, rising demand for food exports to China and Southeast Asian countries has been accompanied by reports of illegal forest clearing associated with the establishment of large plantations. The country has seen a rapid expansion of mineral extraction concessions, and land grabs by foreign capital have been criticized.

Since the 2021 coup in Myanmar, there have been reports of human rights abuses such as repression and persecution of Indigenous peoples and NGO members engaged in forest protection and in monitoring and reporting illegal logging. In addition, Myanmar’s conflict and political instability have normalized chaotic logging and unregulated mining by both the military junta and anti-government forces seeking to secure funding. Regarding Cambodia, some have pointed out that the construction of a hydropower dam under a registered carbon credit project (*) is causing forest destruction.

On the other hand, in Thailand and Vietnam, there are also reports that strict enforcement of logging bans and forest protection laws — including hefty fines and prison sentences — along with education for businesses and citizens and support for tree-planting activities, have delivered major gains for forest conservation. As part of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Forest for Life initiative encourages consumers to choose products made of bamboo and reclaimed wood, and, in collaboration with the governments of the Mekong basin countries, supports the introduction of forest certification systems and export controls, among other international efforts. To promote forest protection, a diverse set of policies is indispensable, including stronger policy and law enforcement, curbing and shifting demand, community engagement, technology and monitoring systems, and international cooperation.

(*) Carbon credit project: A project whose results have been certified for reducing greenhouse gas emissions or for absorbing or removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. The amounts of emission reductions or removals are quantified (as carbon credits) and traded between companies as a system.

Learn more about the Mekong River’s natural resources → “Crisis on the Mekong River”

Learn more about deforestation and environmental destruction in Indonesia → “Indonesia: The world’s largest-scale deforestation is underway”

Learn more about forest destruction in Malaysia → “Malaysia: Can deforestation be stopped?”

Timber, Myanmar (Photo: EU FLEGT Facility / Flickr [CC BY-NC-SA 2.0] )