Borneo & Sumatra

Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world, with an area of 743,330 square kilometers, once covered with dense rainforests.

Ecology

Borneo is of great ecological importance as it has the oldest rainforest in the world (130 million years old) and is one of the main biodiversity hotspots. Borneo’s climate favours dense tropical vegetation and biodiversity unparalleled by most of the world’s forests. At present there are 221 species of terrestrial mammals, 420 species of resident birds, about 15,000 species of flowering plants and 3,000 species of trees.  Thousands of these are endemic to Borneo such as the Bornean Sun Bear (Helarctos malayanus), the Sunda Clouded Leopard (Neofelis diardi), the Pygmy Elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) and the Sumatran and Javan Rhinoceros. Subject to deforestation the remaining Borneo rainforest is also one of the only remaining natural habitats for the endangered Bornean Orangutan.

However biodiversity in Borneo has decreased at an alarming rate in the last 20 years, due to mass deforestation.  According to WWF-Worldwide Fund for Nature, today only half of Borneo’s original rainforest remains.

Threats

Since the 1980s there has been a steep increase in deforestation for the export of timbers to industrialized countries like Japan and the United States. This was followed by the fast emerging biofuels market, resulting in a sudden rise in oil palm plantations in the 1990’s. The deforestation of is illustrated below.

Large-scale conversion of tropical forests to oil palm plantations has had a devastating impact on a huge number of plant and animal species. Not only is it resulting in the destruction of habitats containing rare and endangered species but it has also resulted in the elimination of wildlife corridors between areas of genetic diversity.

The fragmentation of the remaining forest has become so severe that the loss of many more species of plants and animals has become inevitable. Moreover as species such as the Bornean Orangutan become squeezed into isolated fragments of natural habitat an increase in human- wildlife conflict arises (Buckland 2005).  In addition to Borneo’s habitat loss, its wildlife is also suffering at the hands of the illegal wildlife trade. Threatened species including orang-utans, sun bears, and clouded leopards are sold for pets, meat, and traditional medicines.

Concerns have been heightened especially since the loss of species like the Orangutan has never been greater than in the last 10 years. Nevertheless, due to demand, oil palm plantations are predicted to increase by 43% over the next decade (Buckland 2005).

Therefore there is an increasing need to regulate the palm-oil industry in Borneo, to minimise impacts on the rich biodiversity of the remaining rainforest. Moreover we must do everything we can to conserve the areas of rainforest that remain untouched and are home to some of the world’s most magnificent creatures.

Conservation Actions

Our efforts must go into protecting the remains of the Borneo rainforest, as it is facing the highest rates of deforestation and habitat degradation; putting some of the rarest endemic species at risk of extinction. To aid endangered species like orangutans and pygmy elephants who cross vast expanses of oil palm estates without danger, these landscapes need to be connected. Conservationist from the Borneo Conservation Trust have suggested step-stone forests can be created by rehabilitating existing forest patches; creating a network of natural forest within oil palm estates. Fast growing trees will provide a decent cover within three years and grow into semi-matured forests by 10 years.  Therefore we must work together with other conservation organizations and the local communities concerned to conserve the rainforest of Borneo and the species within it.

Moreover it is of great importance that we raise awareness of what is happening to the rainforests of Borneo, both locally and worldwide. So we can work together NOW to save the fast loss of Borneo’s biodiversity.

We have newly opened projects in Sabah, in the north of the Island, where we are working hard towards conserving the rainforest through exploration, research, community projects and education.  Our main conservation projects focus on the highly endangered Orangutan, the endemic Bornean Sunbear, the Sumatran and Javan Rhino, Pygmy Elephant and the Clouded Leopard.