How has shifting cultivation affected forests in the northern Mekong highlands?

In the northern Mekong highlands and across Southeast Asia, human activity—including shifting cultivation—has significantly altered natural landscapes.1

Shifting cultivation, often utilizing the slash-and-burn method, involves clearing plots of land for short-term agricultural use before abandoning them to allow for natural regeneration. While this practice is an adaptation to tropical soil conditions where continuous cultivation would be detrimental, it has contributed to the replacement of virgin forests with secondary growth.21

Beyond shifting agriculture, deforestation in the region is driven by a combination of factors, including clearing land for grazing, the removal of trees for fuelwood, and commercial or illegal logging operations. Despite efforts in social forestry and reforestation, these combined human pressures continue to rapidly alter the region's original forest cover.1