Indonesia gets new world record: fastest forest logger

This morning, the streets of Jakarta were buzzing with the sound of chainsaws. It wasn't a loggers' convention causing all the racket but protesters sawing through a huge wooden wall depicting Indonesia's rainforests. They were commiserating a new world record as opposed to celebrating it, and with good reason because Indonesia stands to gain the dubious title of the World's Fastest Forest Destroyer.

We've been pointing out for a long time that the Paradise Forests of South East Asia are disappearing faster than anywhere else on Earth and, according to a new UN report on the world's forests, Indonesia is the juggernaut behind this massive rate of deforestation. Brazil clears more forest each year but, because Indonesia has a smaller area of forest, it's disappearing much more quickly - two per cent is lost each year compared to Brazil's 0.6 per cent.

With the help of some politicians, musicians and celebrities, our South East Asian office were making the point that this was not something the country should be proud of. This was more than just a symbolic gesture though as they will be making an official submission to the Guinness Book of World Records. Not the kind of thing that would have appeared on Record Breakers, I'll bet.