The nutrients decomposition creates are immediately taken up by the biomass of the forest. Because the nutrients are close to the surface, roots don't grow down very far, and trees have adapted by growing buttressed roots up to 30 ft high (Left pic), or stilt roots which hang down from their trunks and branches (Right pic).

Temperatures at the Southeast Asian region has always been almost constant between 25 - 32^oCwith high humidity and an average rainfall of 79"  the whole year round . It is with this similar constant weather conditions since millions of years ago, consistent rainforest was nurtured. As sea levels rose and fell through warming and icing cycles, small isolated islands of forests survived with reservoirs of wildlife from which various species could re-adjust themselves to local environments, leading to an amazing diversity of species. Malaysia and the islands of Borneo, Sumatra and Java were all part of the same landmass during the last ice age, thus host one of the richest biodiversities of fauna and flora in the world.

The drought of El Nino in 1992 in Kalimantan of Indonesia created one of the worst forest fires in the world, destroying 27 000 square km of forests, countless plants and animals species within them. In El Nino year 1997, 'slash and burn' fires developed into uncontrollable inferno, emitting enormous amount of particulates forming dense haze. The peat fires burnt for months beneath the forest ground underlined with peat as deep as 20 m; making it impossible to put out, even with concerted international efforts.

The haze spread for thousands of kilometers from Indonesia to Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and S. Thailand, causing significant economical, social and health impacts. Who finally managed to save this raging inferno? The rain! The rain!  The carbon dioxide emitted from the Indonesia peat forest fire is equal to one year combined greenhouse gas emissions from the EU.

Political instability in some regions has resulted in ineffective law enforcement within protected wildlife areas. It was reported in 2006 by Forest Trends that fervent deforestation activities will cause tropical rainforests in Indonesia to be logged out in 10 years, Papua New Guinea 13 -16 years, with no better situation in Myanmar. Several countries have declared deforestation a national emergency.

In Australia, tropical rainforest and subtropical rainforest are found along the coast and ranges of northern  and eastern Australia including Queensland and northern New South Wales.

Scientists at the Climate Change conference in Copenhagen Mar 2009, deliver some alarming news for the rainforests: a rise of 4 degrees will destroy 85% of forest in the next 100 years.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 addressed deforestation as a key issue affecting climate. The plan for The Compensated Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from tropical forests (CR) was set up to give rainforest nations such as Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia economic incentive to reduce deforestation and its effect on climate change.

Mitigation activities in forestry involving commercial bioenergy in the medium to long term, is expected to contribute positively to employment, economic growth, exports, renewable energy supply and poverty alleviation. Overall, in the long-term, mitigation will increase the carbon sink, mitigate the effect of climate change for the well being of mankind.

The Amazon, the Congo and the SE Asian rainforests are being destroyed just like all the other forests in the world, including the ones in Europe, Asia, North America and Africa. The immensity of the Amazon's challenge, like the scale of its landscape, requires a long-term conservation vision backed by strong scientific expertise. No solution is viable unless the solution incorporates long term vision of forest conservation and human wealth and well being for sustainable economic strategies.