The Borneo Rainforest

Introduction

Borneo is an island found in south-east Asia, divided between the nations of Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. This beautiful island is approximately 748.17 thousand square kilometres making it the third largest island in the world and is home to 428.438 thousand square kilometres of rainforests or about 57% of the island's landmass. Borneo is home to an estimate of 222 species of mammal (44 endemic), 420 species of birds (37 endemic), 100 species of amphibians and 394 species of fish (19 endemic), some of these wonderful species are the Bornean Orangutan, the long-nosed Proboscis Monkey, Gibbons, Langurs and many others.

Threats to the Borneo Rainforests

Several groups such as the government, natives, companies and several others are a threat to this rainforest due to its vast, plentiful and valuable resources and its massive amount of land. Massive chunks of land are under threat to mass deforestation, palm oil production, mining and others. Due to the rising population within Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, they need land, wood and other resources for housing which leads to the mass deforestation of the rainforest, for example, in the MRP (Mega Rice Project) area of Borneo, rainforest coverage has plummeted from 64.8% in 1991 to 45.7% in 2000 and has continued to decline since. This isn’t the only reason for the horrible things happening to the rainforest and its wildlife.

Endangered Species

Within the rainforests of Borneo there are many critically endangered species that could become extinct in only a few years if nothing is done to prevent this, some of said species are the Bornean Orangutan and the Borneo Pygmy Elephant. The Bornean Orangutan, or the Pongo Pygmaeus, is found in the primate family and is endemic to the island of Borneo. This beautiful specimen is usually around 1 – 1.4 meters tall (3.3 – 4.6 feet) and weighs in at around 29 – 100 kilograms (66 – 220 pounds) and only a mere 104,700 Bornean Orangutans are left in the wild, and was officially declared endangered in the early 21 ^st  century as the population has been decimated since 1950 with more than a 50% decrease in their population since 1950 and their inhabitable areas have reduced by around 55% over the past 20 years. This is due to the mass poaching of them and the illegal wildlife trade lessening their numbers directly and the deforestation and expansion in housing areas which caused a decline in their available habitats which also leads to more deaths.

The Borneo Pygmy Elephant, or the Elephas Maximus Borneensis, is one of the smallest species of Asian elephant and is endemic to Borneo and can be found in the lowland tropical moist forests of Borneo. This unique animal is usually about 2.5 – 3 meters tall (8.2 – 9.8 feet) and weighs around 2,950 – 5,000 kilograms (6,600 – 11,000 pounds) and only a handful are left with only about 1,500 left in the wild, in 1980 its population was estimated to be 500 – 2,000, in 2008 it increased to 1,184 – 3,652 but decreased to ~1,500 in 2021. These creatures are being poached and their habitats are getting destroyed from the mass deforestation of the forests which both cause a declination in the Borneo Pygmy Elephant’s population.The Borneo Pygmy Elephant, or the Elephas Maximus Borneensis, is one of the smallest species of Asian elephant and is endemic to Borneo and can be found in the lowland tropical moist forests of Borneo. This unique animal is usually about 2.5 – 3 meters tall (8.2 – 9.8 feet) and weighs around 2,950 – 5,000 kilograms (6,600 – 11,000 pounds) and only a handful are left with only about 1,500 left in the wild, in 1980 its population was estimated to be 500 – 2,000, in 2008 it increased to 1,184 – 3,652 but decreased to ~1,500 in 2021. These creatures are being poached and their habitats are getting destroyed from the mass deforestation of the forests which both cause a declination in the Borneo Pygmy Elephant’s population.

Management The governments of Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia made a joint decision to protect around 220,000 square kilometres of the Borneo rainforest, however this is not enforced enough and still lots of illegal deforestation and poaching happen within the protected areas but this does somewhat slow the process of the deforestation and lots of good has come from this as well such as the plans for the world’s largest palm oil plantation were scrapped and logging has been halted in 2,600 square kilometres where many animals including Bornean Orangutans. There are also some companies involved in the protection of the forest, for example, Rainforest Trust, which has worked to protect a total of 104,807 acres of their expected 385,000 acre goal, as of February 2023, this work towards the protection of the forest is amazing but this just a smidge of how much could be protected and how many animal’s homes and lives can be saved and if these acts do not increase and continue then the entire rainforest could and would be at risk of being destroyed.

Proposal 1:

The three prominent governments situated upon the island of Borneo could implement a plan to not only increase the area of protected rainforest significantly but also enforce this policy greatly to ensure its effectiveness and to minimise illegal acts within the areas.

Proposal 2:

Zoos and wildlife enthusiasts and possibly the government too could house a handful of each of the endangered species present within the forest to prevent their extinction in the future and instead of creating new zoos or areas, regions of the rainforest should be used as it would provide a natural experience for the animals and not require more deforestation to create.

Recommendation

Out of the previous two examples of what could be done to protect and preserve the forest and its wildlife, the first proposal would theoretically be the more beneficial option as protecting a larger portion of the rainforest and enforcing its security would not only protect the forests but the wildlife and their habitats too, so it effectively does what the second proposal does with more. Proposal 2 protects the endangered wildlife and proposal 1 protects both the forest and its wildlife and on top of that it limits the amount of deforestation and poaching that is happening, making it clear that proposal 1 is the better alternative, although the cost of this proposal is higher, the greatness and scale of its effect, outweighs this flaw still making it the better alternative.

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