25/04/2005 – A new report
launched by WWF highlights the need to conserve
the habitat of endangered species such as
orang-utans and pygmy elephants, as well as
thousands of plant and animal species left
to discover on Borneo – the world's third
largest island.
The report – Borneo’s Lost World – shows
that at least 361 new species have been identified
and described on the island between 1994 and
2004. They include 260 insects, 50 plants,
30 freshwater fish, 7 frogs, 6 lizards, 5
crabs, 2 snakes and a toad. The report suggests
that thousands more have not yet been studied,
particularly in the 22 million hectare inner
region, which is relatively inaccessible and
home to some of the most pristine forests
left on the island.
Borneo is one of only two places on earth
– the other is the island of Sumatra – where
endangered species such as orang-utans, elephants
and rhinos co-exist. Other threatened wildlife
living in Borneo include, the clouded leopard,
the sun bear and endemic Bornean gibbons.
The island is also home to ten primate species,
over 350 bird species, 150 reptiles and amphibians,
and 15,000 plants.
But large areas of Borneo's forest are increasingly
being cleared for rubber, oil palm and pulp
production. According to the report, the illegal
trade in exotic animals is also on the rise,
as logging trails and cleared forest open
access to more remote areas.
Since 1996, deforestation in the whole of
Indonesia has increased to an average of 2
million hectares per year – an area about
half the size of the Netherlands – and a rate
likely to rise due to pressure from a growing
domestic population and the needs of international
markets.
The ‘Heart of Borneo’ is a huge transboundary
initiative to conserve one of the last remaining
frontier forests. WWF aims to assist Borneo’s
three nations (Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia)
to conserve the area known as the ‘Heart of
Borneo’ – a total of 220,000 sq km of equatorial
rainforest – through a network of protected
areas and sustainably-managed forests, and
through international cooperation led by the
Bornean governments and supported by a global
effort.
"Borneo is undoubtedly one of the most
important centres of biodiversity in the world,"
said Dr Mubariq Ahmad, the Executive Director
of WWF-Indonesia. "By acting now, we
can ensure that the heart of Borneo remains
a haven for both well-known and newly discovered
species."
The protection of the Heart of Borneo would
not only benefit wildlife, the global conservation
organization stresses. It would also help
alleviate poverty by increasing water and
food security, and cultural survival for the
people of Borneo. In the long term, it will
save the island from the ultimate threat of
deforestation and increased impacts from droughts
and fires.
"The alternative, losing the heart of
Borneo, would be an unacceptable tragedy not
only for Borneo, but also for all of Asia,
and the rest of the globe. It is really now
or never," said Stuart Chapman, Heart
of Borneo Initiative's international coordinator.
