Here is a nice example of the hydrological mythology that often informs discussions of forest in southeast Asia, and elsewhere. This is from a Voice of America piece about forests in Laos:

The shrinking of forest areas has affected the country’s energy production. Officials say electricity produced by their country’s numerous dams was down 15% last year because there were not enough water in dam reservoirs, forcing Laos to buy back electricity from Thailand.

Forests use lots of water, they don’t produce it!