Lessons from Research for Sustainable Development and Conservation in Borneo

Laurance, William F.

doi:10.3390/f7120314

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Clearing forests by cutting down the trees is the most significant cause of deforestation all over the world. For instance, huge tropical forests have been converted to agriculture because of increasing population and their economic opportunities [81]. However, Malaysia is one of the Southeast Asian countries which is rich in biodiversity [82].…”

Section: Discussion and Implications For Sustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic Impacts of Economic Growth and Forested Area on Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Malaysia

2020

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This study measures the relationship and dynamic impacts of economic growth and forested area on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in Malaysia. Time series data over the period of 1990 to 2016 were used by employing the dynamic ordinary least squared (DOLS) approach. The results of DOLS estimation indicate that the coefficient of economic growth is positive and significant with CO2 emissions, meaning that RM1 million increase in gross domestic product (GDP) is associated with an increase in CO2 emissions of 0.931 kilo tons. Instead, the long-run coefficient of forested area found negative and significant, which implies that declining one hectare of forested area (i.e., deforestation) has an impact of three kilo tons of CO2 emissions rise in Malaysia. Our study findings indicate that economic growth and deforested area have an adverse effect on Malaysia’s carbon emissions where GDP growth fosters carbon emissions at a faster rate. Thus, the effective implementation of policy measures and economic instruments including afforestation and reforestation, forest conservation, sustainable forest management, REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation plus) mechanism and other emission reduction mechanisms inter alia could be useful for reducing carbon emissions while decreasing deforestation and maintaining the long-term economic growth in Malaysia.

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Section: Discussion and Implications For Sustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamic Impacts of Economic Growth and Forested Area on Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Malaysia

2020

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“…Large reserves will also maximize forest carbon storage (Laurance et al, 1997, 1998 c ) and provide greater resilience to future climatic and atmospheric changes (Laurance, , ; Peres, ). Further, on the ancient, nutrient‐starved soils of central and eastern Amazonia, low plant productivity translates into low population densities of many animals, especially as one moves up the food chain, so reserves must be proportionately larger to harbour viable populations of these species (Radtke et al, ; Deichmann, Lima & Williamson, ; Deichmann et al, ).…”

Section: Lessons For Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Amazonian rainforest and its fragments as a laboratory of global change

et al. 2017

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We synthesize findings from one of the world's largest and longest-running experimental investigations, the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP). Spanning an area of ∼1000 km in central Amazonia, the BDFFP was initially designed to evaluate the effects of fragment area on rainforest biodiversity and ecological processes. However, over its 38-year history to date the project has far transcended its original mission, and now focuses more broadly on landscape dynamics, forest regeneration, regional- and global-change phenomena, and their potential interactions and implications for Amazonian forest conservation. The project has yielded a wealth of insights into the ecological and environmental changes in fragmented forests. For instance, many rainforest species are naturally rare and hence are either missing entirely from many fragments or so sparsely represented as to have little chance of long-term survival. Additionally, edge effects are a prominent driver of fragment dynamics, strongly affecting forest microclimate, tree mortality, carbon storage and a diversity of fauna. Even within our controlled study area, the landscape has been highly dynamic: for example, the matrix of vegetation surrounding fragments has changed markedly over time, succeeding from large cattle pastures or forest clearcuts to secondary regrowth forest. This, in turn, has influenced the dynamics of plant and animal communities and their trajectories of change over time. In general, fauna and flora have responded differently to fragmentation: the most locally extinction-prone animal species are those that have both large area requirements and low tolerance of the modified habitats surrounding fragments, whereas the most vulnerable plants are those that respond poorly to edge effects or chronic forest disturbances, and that rely on vulnerable animals for seed dispersal or pollination. Relative to intact forests, most fragments are hyperdynamic, with unstable or fluctuating populations of species in response to a variety of external vicissitudes. Rare weather events such as droughts, windstorms and floods have had strong impacts on fragments and left lasting legacies of change. Both forest fragments and the intact forests in our study area appear to be influenced by larger-scale environmental drivers operating at regional or global scales. These drivers are apparently increasing forest productivity and have led to concerted, widespread increases in forest dynamics and plant growth, shifts in tree-community composition, and increases in liana (woody vine) abundance. Such large-scale drivers are likely to interact synergistically with habitat fragmentation, exacerbating its effects for some species and ecological phenomena. Hence, the impacts of fragmentation on Amazonian biodiversity and ecosystem processes appear to be a consequence not only of local site features but also of broader changes occurring at landscape, regional and even global scales.

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“…3)—indicate that planned projects would have major impacts on forest connectivity. The consequences of this severe connectivity loss may be dire for the unique biodiversity of Borneo, particularly for several globally endangered animals that have large home ranges, such as Bornean orangutans ( Pongo pygmaeus ) and pygmy elephants ( Elephas maximus borneensis ), as well as iconic species such as bearded pigs ( Sus barbatus ) and sun bears ( Helarctos malayanus ) that will travel hundreds of kilometers in response to mast fruiting 41,42,51 . The critically endangered Sumatran rhinoceros ( Dicerorhinus sumatrensis ) may also persist in tiny numbers in Kalimantan.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-risk infrastructure projects pose imminent threats to forests in Indonesian Borneo

Alamgir

Campbell

Sloan

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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Indonesian Borneo (Kalimantan) sustains ~37 million hectares of native tropical forest. Numerous large-scale infrastructure projects aimed at promoting land-development activities are planned or ongoing in the region. However, little is known of the potential impacts of this new infrastructure on Bornean forests or biodiversity. We found that planned and ongoing road and rail-line developments will have many detrimental ecological impacts, including fragmenting large expanses of intact forest. Assuming conservatively that new road and rail projects will influence only a 1 km buffer on either side, landscape connectivity across the region will decline sharply (from 89% to 55%) if all imminently planned projects proceed. This will have particularly large impacts on wide-ranging, rare species such as rhinoceros, orangutans, and elephants. Planned developments will impact 42 protected areas, undermining Indonesian efforts to achieve key targets under the Convention on Biological Diversity. New infrastructure will accelerate expansion in intact or frontier regions of legal and illegal logging and land colonization as well as illicit mining and wildlife poaching. The net environmental, social, financial, and economic risks of several imminent projects—such as parallel border roads in West, East, and North Kalimantan, new Trans-Kalimantan road developments in Central Kalimantan and North Kalimantan, and freeways and rail lines in East Kalimantan—could markedly outstrip their overall benefits. Such projects should be reconsidered in light of rigorous cost-benefit frameworks.

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Lessons from Research for Sustainable Development and Conservation in Borneo

Cited by 8 publications

References 25 publications

Dynamic Impacts of Economic Growth and Forested Area on Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Malaysia

Dynamic Impacts of Economic Growth and Forested Area on Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Malaysia

An Amazonian rainforest and its fragments as a laboratory of global change

High-risk infrastructure projects pose imminent threats to forests in Indonesian Borneo

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