The rate of deforestation in Burma has more than doubled since the SLORC came to power. Satellite and economic data, as well as eyewitness reports, indicate that increased deforestation is principally caused by logging in Burma's border regions. This expansion results from a combination of domestic and international factors that have arisen out of the political turmoil of the past few years. Two factors, however, have played a particularly important role in maintaining both a supply of, and demand for, Burma's timber: the regime's economic and security policies and the regional timber trade.