Saving the Rain Forests of Borneo

The Borneo Crisis: Destruction of Low Land Forests and Plant Species

Nov 6, 2008

Borneo is an island initially torn apart by its human history; today Borneo may face a bigger loss with the destruction of its rain forests and subsequent plant life.

Borneo emerged from a volcanic eruption in the South China and Java Seas millions of years ago. In the years which followed, Borneo was exploited and controlled by many countries seeking possession of its natural treasures; today political control of the island is shared by Indonesia, Malaysia and Borneo.

Diversity of Borneo's Plant Species

Borneo is considered to be one of the most bio-diverse countries in the world; although rain forests cover only two per cent of the Earth's surface, they are rich in plant and wild life and home to over half of the world's plant and animal species. Borneo is known to have more than 15,000 species of plants, including 2,500 species of orchids. There are about 11,000 species of flowering plants of which a third are indigenous.

Borneo has some of the world's tallest tropical rain forests and it is estimated that there may be up to 240 species of trees on one four-acre site. Borneo has the world's largest flower (Rafflesia arnoldii), the world's largest orchid (Grammatophyllum speciosum) and the world's largest carnivorous plants; some of Borneo's indigenous fruit trees are Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera), Mango (Mangifera indica), Banana (Musa ssp) and Orange (Citrus sinensis).

The Importance of Borneo's Rain Forests

Many of the tree species have practical uses but perhaps their most valuable use is in medicine; trees need to survive the eco-systems of the rain forest and as such have developed complex defense mechanisms to protect themselves. Past contributions by the rain forest trees to the advancement of pharmaceutical drugs include natural plant extracts and chemicals for diseases such as cancer, arthritis, leukemia, heart disease and for birth control.

Certain plants and trees are found in the Sarawak rain forests of Borneo which have been found useful in the advancement of western health care. The Bintagor tree (Calophyllum lanigerum) is used by the indigenous people of the region to stun fish, from the poisonous latex obtained from the trunk of the tree, and to ease headaches and skin rashes from the bark of the tree. Medical research is currently investigating if the tree holds a treatment cure for HIV and Aids.

The Tongkat Ali (Eurycoma longifolia) has roots which may contain active chemicals useful as an anti-malarial drug; traditionally the roots are known to be capable of lowering blood pressure and are known to be an aphrodisiac. As less than one per cent of tropical rain forest species have currently been tested for active biological compounds, there may be many more discoveries to be made.

Factors Contributing to the Loss of Borneo's Forests

In the past, Borneo has been stripped of its natural oil, gas and coal reserves; in recent years, logging of the rain forests has contributed to severe destruction of the natural landscape and habitat. One study has predicted that the low land forests of Indonesian Borneo may have disappeared by 2010.

Demand for Palm oil in the western world is also a major contributor to the substantial deforestation of the island; Borneo is now the third highest nation in the world as a source of damaging greenhouse gases due to the deliberate burning of forests and lands cleared for new oil palm plantations.

The Effects of Deforestation on Indigenous Communities and the Environment

Indigenous rain forest communities hold much knowledge about the rain forest's plant species and their uses; the shaman of the community is often the source of most of this knowledge as nothing is rarely recorded in writing. As rain forests are destroyed, native people are driven from their land and take valuable knowledge with them.

The destruction of Borneo's rain forest habitat is contributing to the world's climate change too; carbon is released into the atmosphere from decaying peat bogs stripped of natural rain forest, making the land susceptible to deliberate or accidental fires. With the loss trees, comes the loss of both indigenous flora and fauna and numerous wild life species who call this habitat home.

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The copyright of the article Saving the Rain Forests of Borneo in Plant Ecology is owned by Sharon Falsetto. Permission to republish Saving the Rain Forests of Borneo in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.