Disaster and Rehabilitation

Yamada Isamu

We stand on the brink of a new era in tropical environment management. The preceeding eras of colonial rule and development-driven postcolonial government have brought world-wide environmental disaster, and in the new era rehabilitation will be key, especially in the tropical environment of Southeast Asia.

European colonial powers began to invade the environments of many countries in the eighteenth century and through the mid-twentieth century caused the destruction of tropical rain forests in favor of commercial crops and plantation agriculture. These enterprises, which brought benefit to the colonial countries, were established on the most favorable land and sacrificed local peoples’ lives and cultures. Independence from colonial rule brought no change in environmental management. Needing quick income for the development of new nations, many postcolonial governments took advantage of easy access to their richest resources—tropical rain forests. After oil and gas, timber became the most valuable item exported to the developed world. After decades of this path to development, most of the region’s economies have become richer, but the forest and its related environments have become much, much poorer.

Destruction intensified in the period from 1980 to 2000, with widescale forest fires and mismanagement of tropical swamp areas. The first big forest fires occurred in Indonesia in 1983, and many were later set deliberately to clear land for large plantations. These forest fires have affected all the surrounding countries and become a critical regional issue. Peat swamp forests and mangroves have been similarly mismanaged. A 100 million ha rice-farming project has failed in Central Kalimantan and shrimp farming in coastal areas throughout Southeast Asia has left toxic and abandoned ponds in its wake. Clearly, a new type of environmental management is called for.

The 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (the Rio Summit) marked the worldwide emergence of environmental movements, some with a focus on the human rights of forest dwellers. These point the way to a new approach to environmental management. The concurrence of these movements with ongoing environmental disasters has given new power to NPO and NGO groups pushing political and international organizations toward more sustainable and harmonious development policies. With the help of these organizations, many multi-level projects have begun, including those promoting reforestation and community resource management.

Rehabilitation is not only a problem of tropical areas, but also of developed countries, which face issues of pollution, energy use, social and economic security, human rights, and demographic change. In the context of these difficult problems, tropical Asia does not look hopeless. For environmental solutions to emanate from the tropical countries, we need careful reassessment of past failures and discussion of how to create a new environment in which nature and society can be harmonious. This is an urgent issue, and we should start by pursuing knowledge about the way of life of local people who live in daily contact with the environment. These can give a good example of how to make the tropical environment harmonious and sustainable.

The era of the twenty-first century should be a new beginning for the world environment. Areas corrupted by wide-scale destruction should be carefully managed and rehabilitated, so that rich tropical areas regain their precolonial status. Most importantly, local people should profit most from this land and enjoy a culturally rich life under the warm tropical sun.