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Measuring biological indicators for status assessment of the heart of Borneo

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2013

STEPHAN WULFFRAAT  and
JOHN MORRISON
STEPHAN WULFFRAAT*
Affiliation:
WWF Indonesia, Jalan Simatupang Kav. 38, Jakarta
JOHN MORRISON
Affiliation:
WWF US, 1250 24th Street NW, Washington DC, USA
*
*Correspondence: Dr Stephan Wulffraat e-mail: [email protected]
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Summary

The ultimate measure of the success or failure of conservation initiatives in an area will be the ecological health of that area and the sustainability of institutions which support that ecological health. Heretofore, no comprehensive data has been presented about the current conservation state of the area known as the Heart of Borneo (HoB), a mostly intact subset of the island of Borneo, which is an international conservation priority. This paper identifies a set of indicators representative of the biodiversity status of the HoB; collecting and analysing data concerning these indicators and combining these data with supplemental conservation information should provide an accurate assessment of the overall conservation state of the HoB. Based on the indicators identified in this study, the general biodiversity status of the HoB is rated as good, or viable, although there are specific elements of concern. Using the threat indicators identified in this study, the overall threat level is medium. Major threats from industrial forest conversion and mining currently exist mainly on the edges of the HoB, but are likely to expand further inland without any intervention simply based on proximity. Though most habitats within (but not outside) the HoB are generally intact, the current protected area system is insufficiently representative of the natural ecosystems of the HoB area and its management effectiveness is as yet unknown.

Keywords

Borneoconservation planningecological indicatorsecoregionecosystemsforest conversionmonitoring
Type
Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 40 , Issue 3 , September 2013 , pp. 277 - 286
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2013 

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