The narrative of the Borneo rainforest really no different than that of the everglades or the amazon. According to Livescience.com, deforestation has caused the decline of forest land to the tune of 1.21 million hectares a year from 1997-2000. One Hectare is equivalent to about 2.5 acres.
But there is one dark element that is unique to the Borneo land, illegal trade of endangered animals. It is not the illegal trade that is unique as much as the animal being kidnapped.
The Bornean orangutan is unique to the Borneo rainforest. According to the World Wildlife Fund, over 60 percent of the orangutan population has disappeared due to loss of habitat and hunting.
The orangutans are used for anything from pets to artifacts. An orangutan can go for as high as hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The Bornean orangutan is unique to the Borneo rainforest. The species has a low-birthrate which is troubling since they are often hunted or captured for pets. Their habitat is also disappearing due to deforestation. (Picture courtesy of http://savenaturesavehuman.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-bornean- orangutan.html)
According to the World Wildlife Fund 56 percent of (protected) lowland tropical rainforest in Kalimanten were cut down between 1985 and 2001. The equivalent land mass of the country of Belgium.
Sources:
http://www.livescience.com/29569-8-of-the-worlds-most-endangered-places.html
http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/borneo_forests/borneo_deforestation/#hunting
http://borneoproject.org/borneo/overview-of-current-threats
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/24/borneo-indonesia-rainforest-illegal-logging
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