Wet Tropics: SE Asia
Primary lowland rainforest at Danum Valley, Sabah. Photo: J. Gregson.
The SE Asia and Pacific region has unparalleled biodiversity, and is home to one of the world's three major blocks of tropical rainforest. The region is considered here to comprise Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, Philippines, East Timor, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and many other smaller Pacific islands. The area has a very complex geological history, reflected in the many intriguing patterns of plant distribution that are only just beginning to be rigorously studied. Most of the area is covered by three regional Floras: Flora Malesiana, Flora of Thailand and Flore du Cambodge, du Laos et du Viêtnam.
The SE Asia and Pacific region has been subjected to drastic environmental impacts over the past three decades, and throughout the area natural vegetation is under severe threat, perhaps more than any other area in the tropics. Research on the diversity of plants in the region is urgently needed to provide baseline data for conservation at both species and habitat levels.