Save the heart of Borneo

Siswo Pramono The Hague

The three Bornean countries -- Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam -- should develop an integrated conservation policy in order to save the very large blocks of interconnected forests on the island of Borneo. Such a trilateral policy is critical to sustainable development in, and hence the prosperity of, the entire island.

Such an integrated policy, however, is not unprecedented. Through the Yaoundi Declaration of 1999, for instance, the central African states Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon committed themselves to conserve the incalculable natural riches of the Congo Basin forests. Borneo's forest, which is also very rich in biodiversity and natural resources, deserves the same protection.

In 2000, an eco-region study revealed the accelerated rate of environmental degradation on the island of Borneo. According to the Indonesian forestry ministry, the country has an average annual deforestation rate of 2.83 million hectares.

And according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), about 55 percent of forest in the lowlands of Kalimantan (the Indonesian part of Borneo island) has vanished. If the destruction is not halted, within a decade the whole forest in the lowlands will be destroyed.

In 2001, despite some bilateral tension, Indonesia and Malaysia managed to intensify cooperation on the protection of Borneo's forest. And in 2003 the three Bornean countries figured out the possibility of convening a workshop about Borneo.

In April 2005, the government of Brunei Darussalam hosted the workshop "Three Countries -- One Conservation Vision". The results were, among others, an action plan to promote the Declaration of the Heart of Borneo. The initial step toward the formulation of the declaration is expected to happen in 2006.

While the realization of this ambitious plan is somewhat slow, it is by no means unattainable. The provisional scope of the Heart of Borneo initiatives would encompass an area of 225,000 square kilometers, consisting of 23 national parks in the Indonesian, Malaysian and Brunei sides.

Most of these national parks are located along the border of Indonesia's Kalimantan and Malaysia's Sarawak and Sabah (and thus, geographically speaking, they are really located in the "heart" of the island of Borneo). The national parks (or the proposed protected areas) on the Indonesian side include Danau Sentarum, Bukit Baka Bukit Raya, Betung Kerihun, Gunung Muller, Kayan Mentarang and Sebuku Sembakung.

The merits of the Heart of Borneo initiative notwithstanding, there are some daunting questions that must be thoroughly addressed.

First, since most of the proposed conservation areas in the Heart of Borneo are located across the territories of Kalimantan, Sarawak and Sabah, the success of the initiative relies on the strength, stability and productivity of the bilateral ties between Indonesia and Malaysia.

Second, and still within such sensitive bilateral issues, the proposed area of the Heart of Borneo must be protected from illegal logging. Despite some successes in operations against illegal loggers on the Kalimantan side, Indonesia and Malaysia should improve the existing cooperation in patrolling their very long shared border with about 150 points susceptible for the illegal transport of logs.

Third, illegal logging aside, the Heart of Borneo initiative has always been threatened by the (illegal) conversion of forest into other land uses, such as oil palm plantations, in particular those conversions that are conducted in violation of existing regulations on environmental impact analyses (AMDAL).

Fourth, the Heart of Borneo initiative requires a great deal of funding. For Indonesia, financing such a huge program from its already very limited national budget would be a hard political decision to make. As such, Indonesia should intensify environmental diplomacy to ensure the inflow of foreign funds or donations.

Fifth, a good environmental policy must be based on well coordinated scientific research. And, as it concerns such a very large and complex area as Borneo, an international research consortium focusing on the island is a necessity. In this realm, the University of Mulawarman in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, or the Indonesian Institute of Sciences in Jakarta, could assume the role as research coordinator.

Seventh, an effective public relations campaign for the Heart of Borneo is also a necessity. The media should educate the public on the importance of the Heart of Borneo initiative for the people in Borneo and beyond.

Last but not least, with the implementation of regional autonomy in Indonesia (i.e. Kalimantan) and the fact that regions are now actively engaged in various foreign relations initiatives, "collaborative management" is key for the success of the Heart of Borneo initiative.

Such a "collaborative management" should be able to help mitigate, and resolve, various conflicts of interest between the central and regional governments; between government(s) and local communities; among the local communities; and between local and foreign partners.

To save Borneo's forest and hence to promote the sustainable use of its natural resources, the wisdom of Mahatma Gandhi applies, that "the earth has enough to satisfy the need of all the people, but not for satisfying the greed of some".

This article reflects the personal views of the writer, who is a minister counselor at the Indonesian Embassy in The Hague.