A third of Borneo to be conserved

[Doondoo]

An historic declaration to conserve the "Heart of Borneo" was officially signed today between the three Bornean governments - Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia. The tri-country declaration will conserve and sustainably manage one of the most important centres of biological diversity in the world, covering approximately 220,000 square kilometres of equatorial rainforests - almost a third of the island.

"This is an historic occasion which marks new collaboration between our three countries," said Mr MS Kaban, the Indonesian Minister of Forestry. "This will put the Heart of Borneo on the world stage as one of the last great blocks of forest in the world."

The Heart of Borneo Declaration, signed by ministers from the three South-east Asian countries at an official ceremony held in Bali, is a lifeline for Borneo's rainforests that are threatened by unsustainable logging, forest fires and forest conversion for plantations. Since 1996, deforestation across Indonesia has increased to an average of 2 million hectares per year and, today, only half of Borneo's original forest cover remains.

The island is home to 13 species of primates, 150 species of reptiles and amphibians, over 350 species of birds, and around 15,000 species of plants, and continues to be the source of many new discoveries - more than 50 new species were discovered last year alone.

"This event is more than symbolic as it represents a commitment between our three countries to conserve and sustainably manage the Heart of Borneo," said Dato Seri Azmi bin Khalid, Malaysian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment.



http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0702/S00210.htm

[hatrack]

1. On paper, that is

We'll see just how this plays out.

Given the nations in question and their respective environmental records, I think skepticism is more than justified.

FWIW, I tend to think the same of Brazil's plans for conserving the Amazon, or China's plans to "crack down" on polluters. Sounds nice, but let's see the real-world results.