About HoB
© WWF-Indonesia/ Saipul SIAGIAN
Based on prediction of World Bank in 2001, all lowland rainforest in Kalimantan (except protected peat swamp forest) would disappear by 2010. If today's bad practices toward Borneo forest continue, only forests in the highland, which is Heart of Borneo, could stay until 2020!
The prediction does not have to become reality if we help our governments protect the Borneo rainforest, now!
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. The natural heaven of 220,000 sq km of equatorial rainforest, interconnected, straddles the transboundary highlands of Indonesia and Malaysia, and reaches out through the foothills into adjacent lowlands and to parts of Brunei. To ensure biodiversity preservation and conservation and water supply all to the good for people at local, national and even international.
We call this area the Heart of Borneo.
Forest for Water…
Water for Life…
From this heart flows fresh water to arteries of Borneo rivers supplying the whole island. Heart of Borneo is the mother of 14 out of 20 main rivers in Borneo, including the big ones in Kalimantan like Kapuas, Barito and Mahakam and hundreds of its small rivers.
River is vital to the life of people from Borneo. It plays significant roles as means of transportation for interior people as well as source of their livelihood. Settlements and city developments in Kalimantan are following the river’s channels. If rivers are damaged, the life of the people will be seriously affected.
The forests of the Heart of Borneo (HoB) are some of the most biologically diverse habitats on earth possessing staggeringly high endemism levels across all groups of plants and animals. The Heart of Borneo is one of the only two places on earth where Orang utans, elephants and rhinos still co-exist and where forests are currently large enough to maintain viable populations. Around 34% of flora and fauna can only be found in Borneo. In the last 10 years findings of around 361 new species have been proof that Borneo for decades has become a magnet for researchers from around the globe to reveal its biodiversity richness. And more to come with Heart of Borneo!
The governments of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia have one spirit to altogether protecting this natural heritage and to use it in more sustainable ways. This commitment has been voiced out intoHeart of Borneo Declaration in 2007 and the implementation programs are mapped into Tri-country Strategic Plan of Actions in 2008.