A new study found that 18.7 million hectares of old-growth forest in Borneo were cleared between 1973 and 2015, but the pace increased dramatically after 2005 with the expansion of palm oil plantations, according to a report in Mongabay, a conservation news site.
Of the total cleared, 4.5 to 4.8 million acres were due to the expansion of plantations, the study, published in Nature’s open access journal Scientific Reports, says.
“Borneo is the planet’s third-largest island, demarcated by three countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, and – occupying a tiny corner of the Malaysian side – Brunei. Its relative geographical isolation has led to the evolution of unique species, with 44 of its more-than 200 known mammals endemic to the island, meaning they’re found nowhere else in the world. Along with Sumatra, Borneo is the only place on Earth where elephants, orangutans, and rhinos coexist. Its mountainous rainforest comprises at least 15,000 plant species, of which 6,000 are endemic,” Mongabay said.
The news site noted that while the palm oil industry is spreading to South America and Africa, Indonesia and Malaysia are still its primary producers, yielding an estimated 85 percent of the world’s supply in 2013. Palm oil is an ingredient many products, from cookies and toothpaste to lipstick and conditioner.
“In 2012, Indonesia surpassed Brazil as the world’s biggest deforester, with the country losing 1.4 percent (2.3 million hectares) of its tree cover – an area nearly the size of the U.S. state of West Virginia – in one year. In 2013, Malaysia took over the infamous title, losing more than 2 percent of its tree cover that year,” Mongabay said.
The pace has increased since 2005, with half of of the total land cleared for plantations occurring from 2005 to 2015. Of the total, 70 percent was in Indonesia, Mongabay said.
FERN, in this award-winning story last year with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, wrote about the impact of palm oil plantations on Indonesia and its people.