Deforestation in Borneo
Deforestation in Borneo has taken place on an industrial scale since the 1960s.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the forests of Borneo were levelled at a rate unprecedented in human history, burned, logged and cleared, and commonly replaced with agriculture. The
The
As well as Borneo's importance in biodiversity conservation and as a carbon sink, the forests have significance for water security and food sovereignty for local communities of indigenous peoples.[1]
Malaysian Borneo
The Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah (East Malaysia), in the north, occupy about 26% of the island. The forested area here shrank rapidly due to heavy logging for the Malaysian plywood industry. Two forestry researchers[3] of Sepilok Research Centre, Sandakan, Sabah in the early 1980s identified four fast-growing hardwoods and a breakthrough on seed collection and handling of Acacia mangium and Gmelina arborea, fast-growing tropical trees were planted on a huge tract of formerly logged and deforested areas primarily in the northern part of Borneo Island.
The rainforest was also greatly destroyed by the forest fires of 1997 to 1998, which were started by the locals to
Indonesian Borneo
Approximately 73% of the island is Indonesian territory; the Indonesian name for the island, Kalimantan, is used in English to refer to the Indonesian-controlled territory.
To combat overpopulation in
The
The peat swamp forest in the south of Kalimantan is an unusual ecology home to many unique or rare species such as orangutans and slow-growing but valuable trees. The peat swamp forest is a dual ecosystem, with diverse tropical trees standing on a 10 to 12 m layer of
The water channels, and the roads and railways built for legal forestry, opened up the region to illegal forestry. In the MRP area, forest cover dropped from 64.8% in 1991 to 45.7% in 2000, and clearance has continued since then. It appears that almost all the marketable trees have now been removed from the areas covered by the MRP.
It turned out that the channels drained the peat forests rather than irrigating them. Where the forests had often flooded up to 2m deep in the rainy season, now their surface is dry at all times of the year. The government has therefore abandoned the MRP, but the drying peat is vulnerable to fires which continue to break out on a massive scale.[11]
After drainage, fires ravaged the area, destroying remaining forest and wildlife along with new agriculture, filling the air above Borneo and beyond with dense smoke and haze and releasing enormous quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere. The destruction had a major negative impact on the livelihoods of people in the area. It caused major smog-related health problems amongst half a million people, who suffered from respiratory problems.[12]
Peat forest destruction is causing
A joint UK-Indonesian study of the timber industry in Indonesia as a whole in 1998 suggested that about 40% of the throughput of timber was illegal, with a value in excess of $365 million.[14] More recent estimates, comparing legal harvesting against known domestic consumption plus exports, suggest that 88% of logging in the country is illegal in some way.[15] Malaysia is the key transit country for illegally logged wood products from Indonesia.[16]
Logging
Deforestation in Borneo was historically low due to infertile soils, unfavourable climate, and the presence of disease. Deforestation only began in earnest during the mid-twentieth century. Industrial logging rose in the 1970s as Malaysia depleted its peninsular forests, and former Indonesian strongman President Suharto distributed large tracts of forest to cement political relationships with army generals. Thus, logging expanded significantly in the 1980s, with logging roads providing access to remote lands for settlers and developers.[17]
Logging in Borneo in the 1980s and 1990s was some of the most intensive the world has ever seen, with 60–240 cubic meters of wood being harvested per hectare versus 23 cubic meters per hectare in the
Fires
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Most fires in Borneo are set for land-clearing purposes. While the Indonesian government has historically blamed small-scale swidden agriculturalists for fires,
There is a need for a sustainable management of the forest's resources, in particular the aspect of logging. But in order for that to materialise, there is a need to recognise that protection and conservation of the forest do not solely lie in the hands of Indonesia and/or Malaysia. It is unreasonable to assume that the few highly indebted countries that contain the majority of remaining rain forest should be responsible for single-handedly providing this global public good.[20] It is a global effort to protect the rainforest which in turn, will then help to solve the development problems Indonesia and Malaysia face with regards to the Borneo rainforest.
Reforestation
Recently a reforestation project in East Kalimantan has reported some success. The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS), founded by Dr Willie Smits, bought up nearly 2,000 ha of deforested degraded land in East Kalimantan that had suffered from mechanical logging, drought and severe fires and was covered in alang-alang grass (Imperata cylindrica). The intention was to restore the rainforest and provide a safe haven for rehabilitated orangutans while at the same time providing a source of income for local people. The project was given the name Samboja Lestari, which roughly translates as the "everlasting conservation of Samboja". 1°2′44″S 116°59′15″E / 1.04556°S 116.98750°E[21] Reforestation and rehabilitation is the core of the project, with hundreds of indigenous species planted. By the middle of 2006 more than 740 different tree species had been planted.[22]
In the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve, Orangutan Foundation have planted over 60,000 saplings as part of their Forest Restoration Programme.[23] These saplings were planted in order to reforest and rejuvenate areas damaged by fires.
See also
- 1997 Southeast Asian haze
- 2006 Southeast Asian haze
- Borneo peat swamp forests
- Bruno Manser
- The Burning Season, a 2008 documentary about the burning of rainforests in Indonesia
- Deforestation in Indonesia
- Deforestation in Malaysia
- Environmental issues in Indonesia
- Heart of Borneo
- Mega Rice Project (Kalimantan)
- Palm oil production in Indonesia
- Sarawak Report, investigative journalism website
- Social and environmental impact of palm oil
References
- ^ a b "Claims over Mount Sadong to be probed, says Awg Tengah". The Borneo Post. 20 November 2013.
- ^ "Deforestation in Malaysian Borneo". NASA. 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
- ^ Sabah Forestry Department. Forest.sabah.gov.my. Retrieved on 22 January 2012.
- ^ "Claims over Mount Sadong to be probed, says Awg Tengah". The Borneo Post. 20 November 2013.
- ^ "Campaign to save Mt Sadong goes online". The Borneo Post. 20 November 2013.
- S2CID 149315901.
- ^ "Our History – The Borneo Project". Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
- ^ "Problem solved, logging licence at Mount Sadong revoked, assures Manyin". The Borneo Post. 21 November 2013.
- ^ "SCORE Plan". RECODA. 2008. Archived from the original on 28 October 2008. Retrieved 14 December 2008.
- ^ Sabangau Forest. orangutantrop.com
- ^ Boehm, H-D.V. and Siegert, F. Ecological Impact of the One Million Hectare Rice Project in Cantral Kalimantan, Indonesia, Using Remote Sensing and GIS. (PDF) . Retrieved on 22 January 2012.
- ^ Pearce, Fred (12 August 2002). "Borneo fires may intensify 'Asian brown haze'". New Scientist. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
The smog from fires killed "as many as a million people a year from respiratory diseases" according to UNEP director Klaus Toepfer
- .
- ^ Indonesia-UK Tropical Forestry Management Programme (1999) Illegal Logging in Indonesia. ITFMP Report No. EC/99/03
- ^ Greenpeace (2003) Partners in Crime: A Greenpeace investigation of the links between the UK and Indonesia’s timber barons. See http://www.saveordelete.com Archived 4 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Environmental Investigation Agency and Telepak (2004) Profiting from Plunder: How Malaysia Smuggles Endangered Wood.
- ^ "Deforestation : Forest Loss in Borneo". Mongabay : Borneo. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
- ^ "Logging and Transmigration". Mongabay : Borneo. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
- ^ "Fires". Mongabay : Borneo. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
- ^ Todaro, M. P., & Smith S. C. (2009). The Environment and Development. In Todaro, M. P., & Smith S. C. (10th Ed) Economic Development (pp. 483–529). Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
- ^ BOS Australia website Archived 5 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Orangutans.com.au. Retrieved on 22 January 2012.
- ^ Samboja Lodge website Archived 18 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Sambojalodge.com. Retrieved on 22 January 2012.
- ^ "Orangutan Foundation: Forests". Orangutan Foundation. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
External links
- mongabay.com – Kalimantan at the Crossroads: Dipterocarp Forests and the Future of Indonesian Borneo
- WWF – Borneo's wildlife threatened by illegal trade and deforestation
- "Borneo's Moment of Truth" National Geographic
- TED.com TED talk: "Willie Smits restores a rain forest" Archived 8 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- Mongabay: Borneo