Following an interdisciplinary approach to debates about the future of tropical forests in Southeast Asia, the authors - experts in their field - unravel the extent to which the interests of local inhabitants, nation-states and international environmental movements are intertwined. This volume, a joint publication with Kyoto University Press, examines the highly politicized context in which local forestry problems intersect with global market forces, focusing on the social and economic diversity of different tropical forests and their specific historical background. It emphasizes the importance of examining local issues in their own right.