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Clouded Leopard Conservation and Research in BorneoBorneo Conservation Issues
Borneo is Earth’s third largest island, located in northwest of Australia and southeast of the Asian mainland. It is made up of three countries, Malaysia (the states of Sabah and Sarawak), Indonesia (Kalimantan), and Brunei. Click here to see Borneo in Google Maps. Borneo is rich in diversity, with 15,000 flowering plants, 420 bird species, and 221 terrestrial mammals. Some of its most rare and famous creatures include the Borneo orangutan, the pygmy forest elephant, and the Sumatran rhino.
However, the unique plants and animals of Borneo are increasingly under threat from changes to
the island’s forest structure. According to WWF-Worldwide Fund for Nature, today only half of
Borneo’s original forest cover remains, down from 75% in the mid 1980s. Experts predict that,
without quick action, within 10 years nearly all of Borneo’s lowland forest will disappear.
Click here for a map of the forest cover loss. Borneo’s forests are disappearing at the rate of 1.3 million hectares each year, driven by multiple factors including road building, logging the development of palm plantations, and forest fires. The growing desire of international markets for hardwoods has accelerated logging activity. Once cleared, nearly all land is converted to palm oil plantations. There are currently 2.5 million hectares under palm oil production on Borneo, although that number continues to rise rapidly. The use of palm oil is growing internationally with palm oil predicted to be the leading edible oil worldwide by 2016. Palm oil is used in a wide variety of food products and has also recently gained prominence in the biofuel industry. In addition to Borneo’s habitat loss, its wildlife is also suffering at the hands of the illegal wildlife trade. Threatened species including orangutans, sun bears, and clouded leopards are sold for pets, meat, and traditional medicines. For more on Borneo conservation issues, download WWF’s report, Borneo: Treasure Island at Risk Home | Terms of Use | Contact Us | About Us | Form 990 | Unsubscribe Copyright 2003-2023. The Clouded Leopard Project. All Rights Reserved. Original site design by elephants & ants. |