'Trying to follow the money': Opacity rules in Southeast Asia's land rush, finds study

As the rush for land in Southeast Asia continues at breakneck speed, often bringing with it social and environmental destruction, a new study by a major environmental research group explores how well investors really know where their money is going, and the possibilities and limits of existing data in achieving greater accountability. The study by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), "Trying to follow the money: Possibilities and limits of investor transparency in Southeast Asia's rush for 'available' land," explores three regions where land has been widely seen as available for new investment: Indonesia's outer islands; the "development triangle" where Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam meet; and the Golden Quadrangle region which comprises the borderlands of northeastern Myanmar, northwestern Laos, southern and western Yunnan, and northern Thailand.