Peat Logging

Can't remember why I was in a small plane flying over a peat swamp, but I know this image is from West Kalimantan, maybe Sambas district, and that it shows a very active logging operation in local peat swamp forests. Main comercial timber species is ramin (Gonystylus bancanus Miq. Kurs.). They load the timber on the barge and float it down to Pontianak where it is milled. [NOTE: Over-exploitation has threatened many populations of Gonystylus in West Kalimantan, and the species is currently listed as endangered. Go here for a nice article about ramin silviculture in the peat swamp forests of Malyasia].