Lowland Forest Loss in Protected Areas of Indonesian Borneo

Abstract

The ecology of Bornean rainforests is driven by El Niño-induced droughts that trigger synchronous fruiting among trees and bursts of faunal reproduction that sustain vertebrate populations. However, many of these species- and carbon-rich ecosystems have been destroyed by logging and conversion, which increasingly threaten protected areas. Our satellite, Geographic Information System, and field-based analyses show that from 1985 to 2001, Kalimantan's protected lowland forests declined by more than 56% (>29,000 square kilometers). Even uninhabited frontier parks are logged to supply international markets. "Protected" forests have become increasingly isolated and deforested and their buffer zones degraded. Preserving the ecological integrity of Kalimantan's rainforests requires immediate transnational management.

Reconnecting to the Biosphere

“…In Indonesian Borneo (Kalimantan), concession-based timber extraction, oil palm plantation establishment (Fig. 4), and weak institutions have resulted in highly fragmented and degraded forests (Curran et al 2004). Fragmentation and land cover change is predominantly driven by global market demand for palm oil and tropical timber.…”

“…In recent decades, however, the global market demand has shifted the Borneo landscape into rainforest ecosystem fragments separated by large-scale monoculture plantations. In this new situation, El Niño events disrupt fruiting of the rain forest trees, interrupt wildlife reproductive cycles, erode the basis for rural livelihoods, and trigger droughts and wildfires (Curran et al 2004). Page et al (2002) estimated that the widespread El Niño-related wildfires of Borneo in 1997 released between 0.81 and 2.57 Gt of carbon to the atmosphere, equivalent to 13-40% of the mean annual global carbon emissions from fossil fuels.…”

The perils of payoff: corruption as a threat to global biodiversity

“…With logging occurring in concert with rapid conversion of forests into oilpalm plantations, deforestation in Indonesian Borneo reached catastrophic proportions [16,17]. From 1985 to 2001, 56% of lowland forest in protected areas was destroyed, along with most of the lowland forest outside the protected areas [16].…”

Fecal steroid analysis for monitoring reproduction in the sun bear (Helarctos malayanus)

“…In addition, sun bear cubs in zoos and in the wild were born throughout the year [4]. Moreover, seasonality throughout the distribution range of the sun bear varies significantly and can be unpredictable, from its western edge in Myanmar with large monsoons to its eastern edge in Kalimantan, where prolonged El Niño droughts occur [22]. Sun bear food availability in its natural habitat is not fluctuating in accordance to strict seasons; large-scale fluctuations in fruit production occur at supra-annual intervals of 2-10 years in large parts of Southeast Asia [22], whereas insect availability can remain stable throughout the year [23].…”