Rampant logging, forest fires and plantation growth could destroy most of Borneo’s forests by 2020, according to a new WWF report.
The Treasure island at risk report says 850,00ha are disappearing every year and less than a third of the country’s forests could remain in 15 years’ time. It also reckons that most of Borneo’s lowland forests could be destroyed in fewer than 10 years.
The findings support a 2001 World Bank report which predicted that all lowland rainforests in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo, would be lost by 2010.
WWF’s study shows there are about 2.5 million ha of oil palm plantation in Borneo, with planting increasing. It also claims that illegal logging is still taking place in Kalimantan national parks.
The environmental group plans to help Borneo’s three nations (Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia) conserve more than 22 million ha of rainforest on a quarter of the island’s land.
