The Heart of Borneo is a conservation agreement initiated by the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...

to protect a 220,000 km² forested region on

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

island. The agreement was signed by the governments of

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...

on 12 February 2007 to support the initiative. The region provides habitat to 10

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

species of primates, more than 350 birds, 150 reptiles and amphibians and 10,000 plants. From 2007 to 2010 a total of 123 new species have been recorded in the region. A status report from 2012 found that the lowland rain forest within the area is deteriorating and under threat. The

Bornean rhinoceros The Bornean rhinoceros (''Dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoni''), also known as the eastern Sumatran rhinoceros or eastern hairy rhinoceros, is one of three subspecies of Sumatran rhinoceros. The subspecies may be functionally extinct, with only o ...

was the most threatened fauna, in 2015 three captive individuals remained in

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...

Protected areas

The proposed Heart of Borneo region includes a number of areas already under protection, such as:

Batang Ai National Park Batang Ai National Park ( ms, Taman Negara Batang Ai) is a national park located in Sri Aman Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. It is located in Lubok Antu, some 250 kilometers east of Kuching. The park covers an area of of extensive tropical rainfor ...

Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary is a large protected area on the island of Borneo in Sarawak, Malaysia. It is significant for orangutan conservation. Together with Batang Ai National Park these protected areas host an estimated 1,400 oranguta ...

Gunung Mulu National Park The Gunung Mulu National Park is a national park in Miri Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that encompasses caves and karst formations in a mountainous equatorial rainforest setting. The park is famous for its ca ...

Crocker Range National Park Crocker Range National Park ( ms, Taman Negara Banjaran Crocker) was established in 1984, although the area had previously been under protection as a forest reserve. It covers the north-south Crocker Range, of 1200-1800 metre mountains in Sabah, ...

Kinabalu National Park Kinabalu Park ( ms, Taman Kinabalu), established as one of the first national parks of Malaysia in 1964, is Malaysia's first World Heritage Site designated by UNESCO in December 2000 for its "outstanding universal values" and the role as one of ...

in Malaysia, the

Kayan Mentarang National Park Kayan Mentarang National Park ( id, Taman Nasional Kayan Mentarang) is a densely forested national park located in the Indonesian province of North Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo. The national park is named after a great dispersed Mentara ...

Betung Kerihun National Park Betung Kerihun National Park ( id, Taman Nasional Betung Kerihun)) is a national park located in the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo. The park was established in 1995, and has a total area of or about 5.5 perce ...

Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park Bukit Baka Bukit Raya National Park ( id, Taman Nasional Bukit Baka Bukit Raya) is a national park located on Borneo Island, Indonesia. It is named after the mountains of Bukit Baka () and Bukit Raya (),Ministry of Forestry of Indonesia"Taman ...

Danau Sentarum National Park The Lake Sentarum National Park ( id, Taman Nasional Danau Sentarum) is a national park protecting one of the world's most biodiverse lake systems, located in the heart of Borneo Island, Kapuas Hulu Regency, West Kalimantan Province, Indonesia ...

in Indonesia and the

Ulu Temburong National Park Ulu Temburong National Park is the first national park to be established in Brunei, protected since 1991. The park is in Temburong District in eastern Brunei, and covers about 40% of the district in the south at . It is within the Batu Apoi Fores ...

in Brunei.Persoon, Gerard A. and Osseweijer, Manon (ed)
''Reflections on the Heart of Borneo''
pg.19, Tropenbos International, Wageningen, 2008,

References

External links

Heart of Borneo Indonesian Government website

Declaration on the Heart of Borneo InitiativeWWF: ''Newly Discovered Species in the Heart of Borneo''
{{Use British English Oxford spelling, date=November 2017 Borneo Nature conservation in Indonesia Nature conservation in Malaysia World Wide Fund for Nature Brunei–Indonesia relations Brunei–Malaysia relations Indonesia–Malaysia relations

Protected areas

See also

References

Further reading

External links