Heart of Borneo

The Heart of Borneo is a conservation agreement initiated by the World Wide Fund for Nature to protect a 220,000 km² forested region on Borneo island that is known as Asia's last great rainforest. The agreement has been signed by the governments of Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia in Bali on 12 February 2007 to support the initiative.[1] The region provides habitat to 10 endemic species of primate, more than 350 birds, 150 reptiles and amphibians and 10,000 plants. From 2007 to 2010 a total of 123 new species have been recorded in the region.[2] A status report from 2012 found that the lowland rain forest within the area is deteriorating and under threat.[3] The Bornean rhinoceros was the most threatened fauna, with an estimated 25 individuals remaining.[4] As of 2015, they are extinct in the wild with only 3 individuals remaining in captivity in Sabah.[5]

Map of the proposed Heart of Borneo area

Protected areas

The proposed Heart of Borneo region includes a number of areas already under protection, such as: Batang Ai National Park, Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary, Gunung Mulu National Park, Crocker Range National Park, Kinabalu National Park in Malaysia, the Kayan Mentarang National Park, Betung Kerihun National Park, Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park, Danau Sentarum National Park in Indonesia and the Ulu Temburong National Park in Brunei.[6]

See also

References
  1. Forestry Department of Brunei: The Heart of Borneo Archived 2012-07-31 at Archive.today, retrieved 3 November 2010
  2. Adam, David: Lungless frog and 'ninja slug' among new species discovered under Borneo protection plan, in The Guardian 22 April 2010, retrieved 3 November 2010
  3. Carla Isati Octama: "5 Years on, Heart of Borneo Faces Big Conservation Challenges" Archived 2012-02-18 at the Wayback Machine, in Jakarta Globe, February 15, 2012
  4. Jenny Denton (May 20, 2014). "'Asia's last great rainforest'". Jakarta Post.
  5. Hance, Jeremy: "Officials: Sumatran rhino is extinct in the wild in Sabah", in Mongabay, 23 April 2015
  6. Persoon, Gerard A. and Osseweijer, Manon (ed): Reflections on the Heart of Borneo, pg.19, Tropenbos International, Wageningen, 2008, ISBN 978-90-5113-091-1

Further reading

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