Climate change and deforestation in the Heart of Borneo could be a deadly combination

Eco-Business: The release of a new report: ‘Assessing the Impact of Climate Change in Borneo’, reveals that the Heart of Borneo (HoB) will face increasing detrimental effects from climate change in the years to come. WWF projections indicate that if the island of Borneo continues at its current rate of natural capital loss through deforestation, it will be severely affected by climate change through the increased risk of floods and forest fires, human health impacts, changes in agricultural yields and damages to infrastructure.

Sea level rise is also projected to cause widespread damage to population centers, causing considerable economic damage and costs to local governments, communities and businesses. In addition, with two degrees of warming, Borneo’s rich biodiversity in marine, reptile and amphibian species will be severely affected, and potentially devastated by any warming beyond this level by 2050.

This report follows the release on June 5, World Environment Day, of the joint WWF and Asian Development Bank (ADB) report: Ecological Footprint and Investment in Natural Capital in Asia and the Pacific, which warned of dwindling natural capital in the Asian-Pacific region and the dire pressure that was placing on remaining eco-system services.

WWF Heart of Borneo’s Initiative leader, Adam Tomasek said the climate change report’s predictions, coupled with dwindling natural capital reserves through continued deforestation, were cause for alarm for governments, industry and communities alike....

Logging in Borneo, around 1926. Shot from NOAA