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Current Biology, Volume 20, Issue 12, R497-R498, 22 June 2010
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- Biodiversity 2010: Projects in Borneo are providing examples of rainforest management. Michael Gross reports.
Only 60 years ago, the island of Borneo, politically split between Malaysia, Indonesia, and the sultanate of Brunei, was almost completely covered by tropical rainforest. Logging and conversion of land into palm oil plantations has already destroyed large parts of the forest. If destruction went ahead unchecked, the pristine rainforest may disappear completely by 2020, as it has already disappeared on the smaller island of Sumatra.
Ideally, of course, one would want to stop the deforestation at once and save what's left of the forests. However, both the timber value of the tallest trees in the forests and the profits to be made from palm oil plantations are powerful economic incentives driving the destruction further, even in violation of existing legislation.
In an attempt to save at least a viable core of highland rainforest, the WWF launched the “Heart of Borneo” initiative in 2007, persuading all three countries on the island to protect a continuous mountainous inland area of 220,000 km2 surrounding the shared borders from exploitation. All three governments have made commitments to improve the management of protection measures in this area, to develop ecotourism, and sustainable resource management.
What is now known as the Heart of Borneo is one of the world's richest areas in biodiversity, much of which remains uncharted. Since the 2007 agreement alone, researchers exploring this area have discovered more than 120 new species, according to a WWF report released in April.
Elsewhere, particularly in the lowlands of Borneo, and in the Indonesian part of the island, there are large areas where nothing remains to be protected and restoration is the only hope. Near the town of Samboja, in Indonesia, Dutch biologist Willie Smits has launched a project trying to rebuild rainforest from scratch in an area that has been devastated by mining, logging, droughts, and wildfires.
The restoration project is mainly aimed at providing a habitat for orang-utans, an iconic species inspiring conservationists from around the world. The plan is to provide a forest habitat so rich in fruit that orang-utans can live at a higher density than they would in pristine forests. This aspect, along with the considerable cost of the project, has drawn some criticism from other environmental groups. Some activists have argued that the funds would be better spent trying to slow down further losses of habitats, rather than creating artificial ones. Encouraging news on that front was the recent announcement by the Indonesian government that it would suspend new concessions for forest clearing for at least two years. This is part of a cash deal the country has agreed with Norway under the United Nation's REDD (reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation) scheme (see Curr. Biol. 20, R217–R218).
Meanwhile, in the Malaysian part of the island, Glen Reynolds studies the biodiversity that remains in the forests torn and fragmented by logging and land conversion, aiming to understand how these ecosystems respond to human intervention and to climate change. The South East Asia Rainforest Research Programme (SEARRP) was launched by the UK's Royal Society in 1985, and in the last few years it has also involved groups of volunteer helpers recruited by Earthwatch Institute.
Three quarters of the Danum Valley area, where Reynolds conducts his research programme, are managed for timber production. Only small patches of pristine forest remain, while some secondary or managed forests have been cleared for palm oil or rubber plantations. This mixture of different types of land use, says Reynolds, makes the Danum Valley an ideal site for comparative studies of the biodiversity and resilience of these ecosystems.
“The key message from 25 years of research in that area,” says Reynolds, “is how much biodiversity is supported even in degraded forests.” He reckons that “the bulk of the biodiversity remaining in lowland Borneo is now found in degraded and managed forests.”
The bulk of the biodiversity remaining in lowland Borneo is now found in degraded and managed forests.
In response to this finding, the focus of research and conservation efforts in his programme has now shifted to showing how the remaining forest patches can be beneficial for the plantation industry, thus creating strong arguments to stop people from clearing the leftover forests altogether. For instance, the research has shown that keeping the slopes and river banks under forest cover helps to keep erosion at bay, which also benefits the plantations.
Studying insect species, small trees, and plant–animal interactions, Reynolds says, his research has shown that even the plantations aren't green deserts and can maintain a certain level of biodiversity if managed appropriately. “We need to engage with the plantation industry to ensure they use sustainable practices,” he says.
Borneo's wildlife will also suffer from climate change, which is expected to produce more frequent and more severe El Niño events leading to severe droughts. Conversely more severe La Niña events may produce rainstorms that could lead to dramatic loss of soil and nutrients due to erosion. Together with the Earthwatch volunteers, Reynolds is now trying to establish how these changes will affect the fragmented tropical landscapes, and how their resilience can be improved. First results from this research are expected in a few years.