Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia.

Environment

The animals of Southeast Asia are diverse; on the island of Borneo, the Orangutan (man of the forest), the Asian Elephant, the Sumatran Rhinoceros and the Clouded Leopard can be also found. The bearcat can be found on the island of Palawan.

Related Topics:
Borneo - Orangutan - Asian Elephant - Sumatran Rhinoceros - Clouded Leopard - Bearcat - Palawan

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Water Buffalo, both domesticated and wild, can be found all over Southeast Asia, where once it was found in much greater extent in South Asia, for example. The mouse deer, a small tusked deer as large as a dog or cat, can be found on Sumatra and Borneo; the animal figures in many Indonesian folktales and is thus known to children.

Related Topics:
Water Buffalo - Mouse deer

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Beautiful birds such as the peafowl and drongo live in this Asia subregion as far east as Indonesia. The babirusa, a four-tusked pig, can be found in Indonesia as well. The hornbill was prized for its beak and used in trade with China. The horn of the rhinoceros, not part of its skull, was prized in China as well.

Related Topics:
Peafowl - Drongo - Indonesia - Babirusa - Hornbill

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Indonesian Archipelago is split by the Wallace Line. This line runs along what is now known to be a tectonic plate boundary, and separates Asian (Western) species from Australasian (Eastern) species. The islands between Java/Borneo and Papua form a mixed zone, where both types occur, known as Wallacea.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The shallow waters of the Southeast Asian coral reefs have the highest levels of biodiversity for the world's marine ecosystems, where coral, fish and molluscs abound. The whale shark can be found in the South China Sea.

Related Topics:
Southeast Asian coral reefs - Biodiversity - Whale shark - South China Sea

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The trees and other plants of the region are tropical; in some countries where the mountains are tall enough, temperate-climate vegetation can be found. These rainforest areas are currently being logged-over, especially in Borneo.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

While Southeast Asia is rich in flora and fauna, Southeast Asia is facing severe deforestation which causes habitat loss for various endangered species such as orangutan and the Sumatran tiger. At the same time, haze has been a regular occurrence. The worst regional haze occurred in 1998 in which multiple countries were covered with thick haze. In reaction, several countries in Southeast Asia signed the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution in order to combat haze pollution.

Related Topics:
Deforestation - Endangered species - Haze - ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~