People's impact on these forest began a very long time ago. It first began with the arrival of the first native Polynesians and Melanesians who came 3,500 years ago (Hunt 1981; Diamond 1988). These dry forests are identified as critically endangered by The World Conservation Union, because they have been reduced to less than one percent of their original extent.
In recent times, agriculture and commercial logging result in the largest loss of habitat. Another big problem is the introduction of non-native species which have caused many native species to go extinct. These native species are going extinct because the natural order of the ecosystem is being reconstructed.
Also another group that greatly damaged these dry forest are the Europeans. These settlers burned the forests which resulted in heavy erosion destroying the soil and land. Many parts of the areas were turned into sugar cane plantations or grazing lands. From the table below, it is apparent that all of the plantations are for industrial use and that can be very damaging to the environment.
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