07/06/2005 – If the current
rate of deforestation continues, Borneo –
the world's third largest island – could lose
most of its lowland forests in less than ten
years, according to a new WWF report.
This would seriously jeopardize the long-term
survival of pygmy elephants and orang-utans,
as well as the island's future economic potential.
By 2020, the remaining populations of orang-utans
may be too small to be genetically viable
due to fragmentation of their habitat, WWF
says.
The report Treasure island at risk supports
a 2001 World Bank report that predicted all
lowland rainforests in Kalimantan – the Indonesian
part of Borneo – would disappear by 2010,
and predicts an uncertain future for the island's
remaining forests.
Today, only half of Borneo's forest cover
remains, down from 75 per cent in the mid
1980s.
With a current deforestation rate of 1.3
million hectares per year – an area equivalent
to about one third of the size of Switzerland
– only peat and montane forests would survive
in the coming years.
According to the report, forest fires, the
conversion of forests to plantations, and
rampant logging are driving the destruction
of Borneo's forests.
"The consequences of this scale of deforestation
will not only result in a major loss of species
but also disrupt water supplies and reduce
future economic opportunities, such as tourism,
and subsistence for local communities,"
said Dr Chris Elliott, Director of WWF Global
Forest Programme.
The report shows that there are about 2.5
million hectares of oil palm plantation in
Borneo, and that is on the increase. It also
reveals that, although banned, logging is
still frequent in the national parks of Kalimantan.
WWF aims to assist Borneo’s three nations
(Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia) to conserve
more than 22 million hectares of rainforest
in an area known as the ‘Heart of Borneo’
– a quarter of the island's land.
This will help to sustain what is the last
large block of forest remaining in the mountainous
interior of Borneo and ensure that the forest
will provide benefits to the people living
in and downstream of this area.
It is hoped that the adoption of this initiative
by all stakeholders will save the island from
the ultimate threat of deforestation and increased
impacts from droughts and fires.
A first positive result was achieved with
the recent closure of one of the unofficial
timber crossing points from Indonesia into
Malaysia. This effectively cut off the illegal
timber trade flow from Betung Kerihun in Indonesia.
"It has become clear that without cooperation
between Borneo’s three nations, the fate of
even the remotest parts of Borneo is uncertain,"
said Stuart Chapman, International Coordinator
of the Heart of Borneo Initiative. "In
the Heart of Borneo we can still achieve conservation
on a big scale and win before we are left
with small, fragmented forest patches. This
opportunity has to be seized and action taken
quickly."
More than 210 mammals, including 44 which
are found nowhere else in the world, live
on Borneo. Between 1994 and 2004 at least
361 new species were discovered and new ones
are constantly being found.
