Ramin is native to Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea, with the highest species diversity on Borneo.

[citation needed] An estimated 90% of ramin in recent international trade is illegally logged.

[citation needed]As the ramin forests themselves come under attack, the fragile ecosystems they support are also at risk.

These trees provide the main habitat for other priority species such as the orangutan and the Indochinese, Sumatran and Malayan tigers.

Indonesian government maps show that 800,000ha (28%) of Sumatra's peat swamp forest was cleared between 2003 and 2009.