Borneo deforestation

Good morning everyone,

Yesterday my friends and I arrived at Borneo. After a wonderful first impression, I just had to write to all of you about this beautiful island in Southeast Asia. Borneo is not actually a country; three countries share the island: the largest segment in the south, Kalimantan, belongs to Indonesia, the northern part belongs to the East Malaysian states of Saba and Sarawak; and the Sultanate of Brunei owns a small area found within the Malaysian part of the island. Borneo is very rich in biodiversity compared to many other areas, with about 15,000 species of flowering plants and over 420 species of resident birds.

 

Today my friends and I learnt about the biggest problem in Borneo: deforestation. Deforestation occurs for primary export of tropical timber palm oil and rubber. From 1984 to 2001, logging has removed approximately 4 million hectares of forest in the Kalimantan section of the island alone. Estimates made by the WWF note that, without intervention, logging and plantation companies could have destroyed all the natural island forests by 2020.

A major economic problem with deforestation is that destroying the forests gives more to the economy through export potential than tourist dollars. The forests in Borneo now supply half the world's tropical timber and other exports.

The biggest ecological issue is the physical removal of trees without adequate replacement strategies, making the timber industry unsustainable in the long term. Borneo is also a site of increased ecological interest worldwide because of the diversity of species that exist in the different forest ecosystems. Between 1994 and 2004, scientists discovered 361 new species and they are likely to document more in the coming years if the forest ecosystems remain intact. There are also indirect ecological effects of deforestation like destruction of animal habitat and soil erosion that has as result that the land can no longer be used for agriculture.

The other main issue however, is the co-ownership between the three nations that preside over Borneo. Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei are each responsible for their part of the island, but it is also important that they understand the effects of deforestation in the context of the whole island.

If managed well, Borneo forests can still produce timber and other products for export without the destruction that has devastated large zones of forest over the past few decades.

Source: http://www.skwirk.com.au/p-c_s-57_u-507_t-1375_c-5295/QLD/10/Deforestation-in-Borneo/Economy/Ecology-case-studies/The-global-citizen-ecology-and-economy/SOSE-Geography/