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| Ecoregions of Southeast Asia | |
|---|---|
| Name | Southeast Asian Ecoregions |
| Region | Southeast Asia |
| Biome | Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests; tropical dry forests; mangroves; montane forests; freshwater; coral reefs |
| Countries | Brunei; Cambodia; Indonesia; Laos; Malaysia; Myanmar; Philippines; Singapore; Thailand; Timor-Leste; Vietnam; East Timor |
| Area km2 | approx 4,500,000 |
| Conservation | varied; many critically endangered and vulnerable ecoregions |
Ecoregions of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia comprises a mosaic of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecoregions that span the Malay Peninsula, the Greater Sunda Islands, the Philippine archipelago, Borneo, and Wallacea, shaping the distributions of flora and fauna across geopolitical entities such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. These ecoregions reflect historical connections to continental Asia and Australasia, influenced by events like the Pleistocene sea-level fluctuations and biogeographic boundaries recognized by scholars associated with institutions such as the World Wildlife Fund and the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Understanding these ecoregions is essential for international agreements and initiatives involving parties such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and conservation actors like Conservation International.
The region includes major biomes: lowland and montane tropical moist broadleaf forests across the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, and the Philippine Islands, seasonal tropical dry forests on parts of Sumatra and Java, extensive mangrove systems along the coasts of Myanmar and the Mekong Delta, and globally significant coral reef provinces in the Coral Triangle centered on Sulawesi, Celebes Sea, and the Sulu Sea. Human-modified landscapes overlap with remnant patches of primary forest in protected areas such as Gunung Leuser National Park, Kinabalu National Park, and Mount Halcon Natural Park, as well as biosphere reserves recognized by the UNESCO World Heritage Convention.
Biogeographers delineate boundaries using schemes developed by authors and organizations linked to the World Wide Fund for Nature ecoregion framework, the Freshwater Ecoregions of the World project, and biogeographic concepts advanced by researchers at the Smithsonian Institution and the Natural History Museum, London. Principal boundaries include the Wallace Line, Weber Line, and Lydekker Line separating Sundaland from Wallacea and Australasia, and montane-island contrasts defined by elevation gradients on Mount Kinabalu, Mount Apo, and Mount Halcon. These classifications incorporate palaeogeographic evidence from the Pleistocene and species distributions studied in collections at institutions like the Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense.
Key terrestrial ecoregions include Sundaland lowland and montane rain forests covering Sumatra, Borneo, and the Malay Peninsula; the Sumatran montane rain forests on peaks such as Kerinci Seblat National Park; the Indochina dry forests of eastern Thailand and Myanmar; and the Philippine rain forests on islands like Luzon, Mindanao, and Palawan. Other notable ecoregions are the peat swamp forests of Kalimantan and lowland dipterocarp forests associated with botanical research at herbariums like the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Endemic mammalian faunas include species documented by the Zoological Society of London and regional conservation groups such as the Borneo Nature Foundation.
Freshwater ecoregions encompass river systems such as the Mekong River, Salween River, and archipelagic drainages on Borneo and Sumatra that support endemic fish studied by ichthyologists at the Natural History Museum, Oxford. Marine ecoregions include the Coral Triangle—shared by Indonesia, Philippines, and Malaysia—noted for reef-building corals monitored by projects led by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Australian Institute of Marine Science. Coastal habitats also contain mangrove complexes important to migratory birds catalogued by entities like the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
Southeast Asia ranks among global biodiversity hotspots identified by Conservation International and researchers such as Norman Myers, with high levels of plant and animal endemism: endemic primates (e.g., populations documented in studies affiliated with Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University), endemic orchids curated at institutions like the Singapore Botanic Gardens, and freshwater fishes described in monographs from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Key taxa include iconic mammals (tigers recorded by the Global Tiger Forum), orangutans monitored by the Orangutan Foundation International, hornbills catalogued by the World Parrot Trust, and marine megafauna studied by the ECOCEAN initiative.
Primary threats arise from deforestation driven by commodities linked to corporations and policies engaging markets such as palm oil production impacting Kalimantan and Sumatra, illegal wildlife trade networks documented by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora enforcement reports, hydropower developments on the Mekong River evaluated by the Mekong River Commission, and climate change science communicated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Many ecoregions are listed as endangered or critically endangered in assessments by the IUCN Red List and conservation NGOs including Fauna & Flora International.
Conservation strategies combine protected area designation, community-based forest management exemplified in projects supported by the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, species recovery programs run by organizations such as the International Rhino Foundation and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, and transboundary initiatives involving the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity. Representative protected areas include Gunung Leuser National Park, Tanjung Puting National Park, Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, and the Cat Tien National Park, complemented by landscape-scale approaches like REDD+ mechanisms piloted with partners including the United Nations Development Programme.