As a result, forests across the planet continue to be cleared in pursuit of financial profits. Across Southeast Asia alone, nearly 68 million hectares<\/a> (168 million acres) of forest was lost between 2001 and 2023, much of it cleared to make way for logging, plantations and agriculture, according to researchers.<\/p>\n However, new research indicates \u201cmassive and untapped\u201d conservation potential remains within commercial concessions across the region.<\/p>\n The study<\/a>, published in Nature Communications, analyzed satellite data from 3,754 logging, oil palm, timber and rubber plantation concessions across four countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar. Roughly 42 million hectares (104 million acres) of intact forest was identified inside these concessions \u2014 an area larger than the entire country of Malaysia.<\/p>\n Losing these forests could lead to emissions in the range of 1.2 gigatons of carbon dioxide over the next three decades, the study says, equivalent to 20% of all industrial carbon dioxide emissions across all 11 ASEAN countries between 2000 and 2023.<\/p>\n Protection of forests inside production landscapes, therefore, presents a significant opportunity for conservation, the study authors say, if concession holders could be incentivized to switch from converting land to protecting it.<\/p>\n \u201cA substantial portion of Southeast Asia\u2019s remaining forest lies within concession landscapes,\u201d study lead author Annabel Lim, a Ph.D. student at the National University of Singapore, said in an interview with Mongabay. \u201cMeeting climate and biodiversity goals will, therefore, require engaging the concession owners as potential conservation partners.\u201d<\/p>\n To find out if a pivot from production to conservation could become a reality, the research team calculated the carbon prices that would have to exist to make forest conservation match or exceed the profits of commodity production in concessions.<\/p>\n They found a carbon price range between $33 to $1,677 per metric ton of carbon dioxide would be required. This is multiple times higher than current values. For instance, carbon credits from avoided deforestation projects in Southeast Asia were selling at roughly $5-$12 per metric ton of carbon dioxide in mid-2026, according to the World Bank\u2019s 2026 State and Trends of Carbon Pricing report<\/a>.<\/p>\n Carbon prices would, therefore, have to increase substantially to support conservation at scale within concessions. \u201cCarbon finance has an important role to play, but it will not be sufficient on its own to protect all remaining forests in concessions,\u201d a senior author of the study Yiwen Zeng, a conservation scientist at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, told Mongabay in an email.<\/p>\n Carbon prices at the lower end of the range calculated in the study might become a reality if climate policies are strengthened and carbon markets mature, Zeng said. However, this is unlikely to be achieved over the short term, he said.<\/p>\n The researchers point to the need for diversified sources of conservation funding that complement carbon markets. Other financial tools include blended finance (using public or charitable funding to stimulate private investment), green bonds tied to specific environmental projects, payments for ecosystems services, and biodiversity credits.<\/p>\n \u201cDiversifying funding sources is textbook good economic sense,\u201d Lim said. \u201cOur study lends empirical weight to this idea and shows that carbon finance can be a powerful financial incentive, but it isn\u2019t a silver bullet. Complementary green finance mechanisms should definitely be explored.\u201d<\/p>\n Matthew Struebig, a conservation scientist at the University of Kent in England who was not involved in the research, said the study\u2019s detailed financial and spatial analyses makes it possible to gauge what it would realistically cost to save specific areas of forest.<\/p>\n \u201cSectors like oil palm are very expensive to pivot, but others like pulp and paper (planted wood) and certain logging concessions could become financially competitive with only modest improvements to current carbon prices,\u201d Struebig said.<\/p>\n Struebig said several regulatory barriers must be overcome if conservation is to become a reality in concessions. Many governments in Southeast Asia grant concession licenses on the condition that license holders carry out specific commercial activities, whether it be resource extraction or cultivation. Therefore, concessionaries might be reluctant to protect forests since under-developing their concession could put their license at risk.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout regulatory reform that allows companies to re-categorise their land, even the highest carbon price in the world won\u2019t convince a company to risk their underlying land tenure,\u201d Struebig said.<\/p>\n Lim and her colleagues also underscore the need for more supportive governance in their study. They urge policymakers to introduce proactive forest policies and to redirect \u201charmful\u201d financial flows, such as excessive subsidies, private investments and lending that supports industrial logging and agricultural expansion, toward forest protection.<\/p>\n \u201cIf governments, corporations and banks redirected even a portion of those incentives towards forest protection and sustainable intensification, I think it will go a long way towards leveling the playing field and making it possible to pursue forest protection in concessions,\u201d Lim said.<\/p>\n Having highlighted the need for a broader mix of conservation funding and identified the concession types that could be most economically viable for conservation, Lim said she hopes to see more on-the-ground demonstrations of how these approaches can work in practice. \u201cHaving guidelines of best practice, design, finance and management derived from real-world case studies would provide an invaluable blueprint for future projects,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The research has also thrown up new questions about the ideal mix of financing mechanisms in different contexts, which she would like to see explored. \u201cUnderstanding how these mechanisms complement one another will give a fuller picture of how forest transitions could be financed in Southeast Asia,\u201d Lim said.<\/p>\n Zeng says he hopes the research prompts decision-makers to prioritize the broader value of forests to society over short-term economic gains.<\/p>\n \u201cThe question for policymakers is not simply whether conservation can outcompete commodity production,\u201d he said, \u201cbut whether the full suite of environmental, social and long-term economic benefits provided by intact forests justifies stronger governmental investment in keeping these forests standing.\u201d<\/p>\n Banner image: An oriental pied hornbill in a forest in Malaysia. Image by Rhett Ayers Butler\/Mongabay.<\/p>\n Carolyn Cowan is a staff writer for Mongabay.<\/p>\n Citations:<\/p>\n Tian, P., Yan, Y., Zhang, F., Zhang, H., Liu, Y., Ying, C., \u2026 Li, J. (2026). Forest loss and carbon flux in Southeast Asia: Spatiotemporal patterns, ecological impacts, and key determinants. Land Degradation & Development, 37(10), 5752-5766. doi:10.1002\/ldr.70484<\/a><\/p>\n Lim, A. J., Zeng, Y., Teo, H. C., De Alban, J. D., & Koh, L. P. (2026). Pivoting forestry and agricultural concessions toward conservation in Southeast Asia. Nature Communications, 17(1). doi:10.1038\/s41467-026-72921-8<\/a><\/p>\n See related story:<\/p>\n SE Asia forest carbon projects sidelining social, biodiversity benefits, study finds<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n FEEDBACK: Use this form<\/a> to send a message to the author of this post. If you want to post a public comment, you can do that at the bottom of the page.<\/p>\n Cite this articleCarolyn Cowan (2026). Carbon markets alone won\u2019t keep Southeast Asia\u2019s forests standing, study says. Mongabay Conservation news. DOI: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.66709\/news-325137<\/a> <\/p>\n ![\"Palm](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1.-riau_oil-palm_RAB.jpg\")
A worker in Sumatra harvests fresh oil palm fruit in a plantation. Image by Rhett Ayers Butler\/Mongabay.
\nCarbon markets alone are not enough<\/p>\n![\"Oil](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Oil-palm-and-rubber-plantations-dominate-landscapes-across-many-parts-of-Southeast-Asia-as-photograp.jpeg\")
Oil palm and rubber plantations dominate landscapes across many parts of Southeast Asia as photographed here in Thailand. Image by Carolyn Cowan \/ Mongabay.
\nSupportive governance required<\/p>\n![\"Pulp](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3.-riau_pulppaper_RAB.jpg\")
Heavy plant clear a pulp and paper plantation in Sumatra. Image by Rhett Ayers Butler\/Mongabay.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9107d4825c02b08157c0fcd5d76225369727ff199bbfc6285f277af6d67d3d73.png\")
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