{"id":41419,"date":"2024-02-17T19:35:24","date_gmt":"2024-02-17T18:35:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/planete-urgence.org\/bassin-du-borneo-mekong\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T10:17:43","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T08:17:43","slug":"borneo-mekong-basin","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/planete-urgence.org\/en\/borneo-mekong-basin\/","title":{"rendered":"Borneo-Mekong Basin"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Preserving forests
\nBorneo-Mekong Basin<\/h1>\n<\/div> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Although they receive little media coverage, the tropical forests of the Southeast Asian Basin are the third largest forest basin on the planet, after the Amazon and the Congo Basin. This area encompasses the Mekong Basin (China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia) and the island of Borneo, shared between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. These ecosystems, with their exceptional biological diversity, are now at the heart of global environmental issues linked to deforestation in Borneo and throughout the region. <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Southeast Asia’s forests in figures<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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680 millions<\/h4>\n

inhabitants in 2021, making it the most densely populated basin in France<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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6%<\/h4>\n

Borneo accounts for 6% of terrestrial biodiversity, with 15,000 plants, 6,000 of which are endemic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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25%<\/h4>\n

of the world’s mangroves are still found in Indonesia<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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80 millions<\/h4>\n

hectares of forest lost between 2005 and 2015, only around 270 million hectares remain.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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Pressure on Asia’s forests<\/h2>\n

Historically, Indonesia and its 17,000 islands were almost entirely covered by tropical forests. But since 1967, intensive logging, the rise of plywood, the expansion of industrial plantations and urbanisation have profoundly transformed the landscape.<\/p>\n

The drivers of deforestation in Borneo include:<\/p>\n

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  • the expansion of oil palm plantations, which already cover 9.8 million hectares in Sumatra and Kalimantan alone;<\/li>\n
  • pulp and industrial timber plantations (more than 2 million hectares);<\/li>\n
  • subsistence and commercial agriculture, mining exploration and recurrent fires.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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    This massive deforestation is responsible for nearly 80% of Indonesia’s total greenhouse gas emissions, making the country the world’s third largest emitter after China and the United States.<\/p>\n

    Despite strong political commitments \u2013 such as the moratorium on opening new oil palm plantations \u2013 pressure on forests remains intense, particularly due to global demand for palm oil, tropical timber and seafood products.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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    Some symbolic species<\/h2><\/div><\/div>\n
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    The nose monkey<\/h3>\n

    It lives in the mangroves of Borneo and uses its imposing nose – mocked in Tintin – to communicate and seduce females.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    The Java Rhinoceros<\/h3>\n

    One of the most endangered mammals in the world, with less than 80 individuals according to the Indonesian government.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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    The periophthalm<\/h3>\n

    Travels on land as well as in water, as it can store water in its gills and absorb oxygen through its skin.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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