Posted on June, 30 2006

Kuala Lumpur - Conservation efforts in the biodiversely rich Borneo is a collective effort that no one country can do alone.

Restating the transboundary initiative dubbed Heart of Borneo was Dato’ Seri Syed Hamid Albar, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia, in his joint communiqué of the recently convened ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM). Dato’ Syed Hamid is also the Chairman of the 39th ASEAN Standing Committee.

Paragraph 54 of the joint communiqué reads, “We reaffirmed the importance of the Heart of Borneo initiative, as stated in the Chairman’s Statement of the 11th ASEAN Summit, as a collective effort to promote sustainable forest management.”

Last December, the Prime Minister, who is also Chairman of ASEAN, Datuk Seri Abdullah Hj. Ahmad Badawi first highlighted the importance of providing sanctuaries in the Heart of Borneo to conserve the island’s biological diversity and protect its water-catchments.

Also joining in support of this transboundary collaboration is the U.S. Government. During her visit to Malaysia recently, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice had officially announced the U.S. Government’s intention in backing the conservation programme. U.S. is the latest country to join the three Bornean countries of Brunei Darrussalam, Malaysia and Indonesia in making a joint effort in saving the biologically diverse island.

“We are (also) making a contribution today to an environmental conservation facility for Borneo and that, too, I think is an example of our deepening relationship.” Rice stated during the press conference held here.

Tan Sri Shahrizaila Abdullah, Chairman of WWF-Malaysia, welcomed these timely ASEAN high-level pronouncements and expression of U.S. Government’s support. They augur well towards the realisation of the long-term benefits of the Heart of Borneo initiative. He stressed that managing this transboundary area, which includes large tracts of unbroken,  for sustainable land-use does call for a larger global effort and support from governments, NGOs, international aid agencies and the whole global population.

The Heart of Borneo is a large and unfragmented forest covering the highlands and adjacent foothills that stretch along the borders of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia. It is a rich treasure house, full of an immense variety of wild animals and plants and is the only place on the planet where the Indo-Malay forests of Southeast Asia can be conserved on a large scale.

Note:
Paragraph 23 of the ASEAN Chairman’s Statement reads as follows:

23.    We also noted the efforts to establish a transboundary network of sanctuaries on the island of Borneo involving Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Indonesia.  Such sanctuaries would protect the biological diversity of plants and animals in the green Heart of Borneo and would play a vital role in protecting all of the island’s major water catchments. 

For further information:
Hana S. Harun
Communications Officer
Heart of Borneo (Malaysia)
Email: hsharun@wwf.org.my