 One of the major trends within the ASEAN region is the expansion of oil palm and rubber plantations into forest areas. For example, in Malaysia in 2014, 69% of arable land was already dedicated to oil palm. And another issue is that a lot of this commercial agriculture expansion is illegal. In Cambodia, Laos, PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam, 43 to 90% of this expansion is illegal. The most vulnerable forest types in the ASEAN region are P-forests and mangrove forests. Their loss is going to have significant impacts on livelihoods as well as climate change because of their major carbon sequestration potential. Another critical issue on land within the ASEAN region is the loss of soil fertility and stability from deforestation and commercial agricultural expansion. Deforestation can lead to soil erosion and the intensive use of chemicals for commercial agriculture can lead to lower soil fertility. Updated research on this is important because already in 1997, 53% of Thailand soil was categorized as having lost soil fertility. So because a lot of the commercial agricultural expansion within the ASEAN region is illegal, the ASEAN member states can better monitor vulnerable forest types like peak forests and mangrove forests.