Conservation of Heart of Borneo forests
Three countries, one conservation vision
What is the Heart of Borneo?
There is only one place on the planet where the Indo-Malayan forests of Southeast Asia can still be conserved on a large enough scale to still be permanently viable. It straddles the transboundary highlands of Indonesia and Malaysia, and reaches out through the foothills into adjacent lowlands and to parts of Brunei.
Find out more
Find out more
An historic declaration to conserve the “Heart of Borneo” was officially signed on February 12th 2007 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 km2 of equatorial rainforests - almost a third of the island.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.
Successes
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Key downloads
- Borneo: Treasure Island at Risk [pdf, 773 KB]
- Download the report: Biodiscoveries, Borneo's Botanical Secret [pdf, 32.81 MB]
Why conservation cannot wait
As forests continue to be lost in Borneo, it is becoming clear that the current network of protected areas will not be enough to save the rainforests in the long term.With fragmentation, forests become increasingly vulnerable to exploitation. Maintaining tracts of forests between protected areas will ensure that the island’s biodiversity treasures are protected well into the future.
A challenge to deforestation forecasts
Estimates of future deforestation on Borneo are not etched in stone.With increased collaboration between the island’s 3 countries, the establishment of new protected areas, improved forest management and new sources of sustainable financing, Borneo can avoid the deforestation that devastated the island of Sumatra over the last 20 years.
Where we are headed
WWF is supporting the governments of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia, at national and local levels, to support the protection and sustainable use of the forests and water-catchments of the Heart of Borneo. These actions are guided by the need for:- concrete achievements that benefit the conservation of the Heart of Borneo
- sustainable development to be driven by both local and national priorities.
The Heart of Borneo initiative is geographically focused and is based on a sound understanding of what can be realistically achieved in the island’s forest uplands.
Our aim is to secure political, technical and financial support for the Heart of Borneo through a tri-country Declaration signed by the Bornean governments during 2006.
