Biodiversity:

Borneo

Borneo

Land Areas: 743,330 square kilometers (287,000 square miles, 74.33 million hectares, or 183.68 million acres)Human Population: 17.7 millionCountries: Malaysia (states of Sabah and Sarawak) (26.7%)Brunei (Sultanate) (0.6%)Indonesia (Kalimantan - West, Central, South, and East) (72.6%)Biodiversity: 15,000 plant species, more than 1400 amphibians, birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles, unknown insectsPercent Forest Cover: Around 50%

The World Wildlife Fund divides the island into seven distinct ecoregions. The Borneo lowland rain forests cover most of the island, with an area of 427,500 square kilometres (165,100 sq mi). Other lowland ecoregions are the Borneo peat swamp forests, the Kerangas or Sundaland heath forests, the Southwest Borneo freshwater swamp forests, and the Sunda Shelf mangroves. The Borneo mountain rain forests lie in the central highlands of the island, above the 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) elevation.

The rainforests of Borneo have been a hotbed for the discovery of new species in the last decade with over 400 distinct species recorded in that time, 52 of them in the last year alone.

Barbourula kalimantanensis

The “Lungless Frog”

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/willie_smits_restores_a_rainforest.html

Logging:Borneo’s forests were leveled at a rate unparalleled in human history—perhaps 80 percent of the island's primary forest was lost since 1980. 

Poaching:Poaching is a growing problem in Borneo as a result of reduced forest cover and increased demand for protein which extends as far as China for some wildlife products (especially clouded leopard and sun bear). The Jakarta Post estimates that the illicit trade of protected animals was worth $1.3 billion in 2003. 

Forest Fires:Most fires in Borneo are

set for land-clearing purposes. WWF notes that satellite mapping has revealed that commercial development for large-scale land conversion —

especially oil palm plantations — was the largest single cause of the 1997-98 fires. 

Oil Palm: Oil palm plantations grew from 60,000 hectares in 1960 to more than 3 million hectares in 2001.

A hundred kilograms of oil seeds typically produce 20 kilograms of oil, while a single hectare of oil palm may yield 5,000 kilograms of crude oil, or nearly 6,000 liters of crude oil that can be used in biodiesel production.

Solutions:‘Heart of Borneo’: WWF 2020 Goals

Ensure the protection and sustainable management of 240,000km2 of forest areas bordering Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia on Borneo.

Aim for a zero rate of conversion of high conservation value forests to other land uses in this region.

Help increase income generation for local communities and governments from environmental goods and services.

Solutions:

Roundtable On Sustainable Palm Oil (ROSPO), is one initiative working on equitable and sustainable palm oil production .

Reforestation - It is important to recognize that the burden of protecting and reforesting Indonesia should not be solely on Indonesia.

Health in Harmony“Create A Forest” – Samboja Lestari

Photos

• http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/11/borneo/klum-photography

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Thank you!