OVERVIEW OF THE WWF BORNEO PROGRAMME
BORNEO PROGRAMME
2014
PRESERVE NATURAL CAPITAL
(Halting losses, restoring ecosystems)
PRIVATE SECTOR
PUBLIC SECTOR
(better production, redirected financial flows)
(better regulation, redirected financial flows)
CIVIL SOCIETY
(sustainable and equitable resource governance, wise consumption)
ECOSYSTEM INTEGRITY
FOOD, WATER AND ENERGY SECURITY BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION Pillar 4
Pillar 1
Public sector
Pillar 2
Private sector
Pillar 3
Civil society
B
Attack / Transform
Defend / Protect
Changing the way future yields from natural capital are generated and managed in an equitable and sustainable way
Preserving the natural capital that remains as a recognised asset for the future
orneo, the world’s third largest island, is a treasure trove for biodiversity and natural resources. An estimated 6% of global biodiversity resides in the forests that still cover half of its surface. Much of this lies in the Heart of Borneo, a 22 million hectare belt of tropical rainforest that covers the territories of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia and provides ecosystem services to 11 million Bornean people.
its historical forest cover and rapid deforestation continues inside and outside the Heart of Borneo, a process that threatens species survival and undermines the wellbeing of future generations in Borneo. In 2007, the three Bornean governments recognized these threats and launched the trilateral Heart of Borneo Initiative, balancing biodiversity conservation with sustainable economic production for the benefit of people and nature alike.
This immense natural capital is under threat because of deforestation and development driven by unsustainable exploitation and poor governance of natural resources. Borneo has now lost half of
WWF identifies Borneo as one of its top global conservation targets and channels its support to the HoB Initiative through the WWF Borneo Programme – a partnership of WWF-Indonesia and
WWF-Malaysia. The mission of the Programme is to conserve the biodiversity of the Heart of Borneo and beyond by demonstrating its value as a key natural asset that must be conserved as part of a smart, green economic approach to sustainable development. The Programme will deliver its mission through a balance of ‘defense’ and ‘attack’ or ‘transformation. Focusing on partnerships with government, the private sector and civil society groups WWF seeks to defend the natural capital that remains whilst simultaneously transforming the way they future natural capital is accessed to yield equitable and sustainable benefits into the future.
PILLAR 1: PUBLIC SECTOR
BORNEO PROGRAMME
2014
WORKING WITH GOVERNMENTS TO CONSERVE BORNEO’S BIODIVERSITY
Š WWF-Malaysia / Hairunnisa Lim
G
ood public policy plays an essential role in sustainable development, providing the framework in which economic activity and innovation can thrive whilst simultaneously setting the checks and balances for when markets fail. Such market failures are all too often illustrated when it comes to natural resources and good stewardship of natural capital is therefore an essential function of government.
The three governments of Borneo have already publically expressed their commitment to establishing the Heart of Borneo as a model of sustainable development. It is within this context that WWF is working in all three countries at national and local government levels to help establish policy frameworks that recognize the value of nature, that protect and enhance the natural resources that remain and that ensure future exploitation of natural resources is carried out in a sustainable and equitable way.
Key activities include the improvement of conservation legislation and law enforcement, improved management of protected areas, the development of spatial land use plans which take into account previously unrecognized natural values, the redirection of finance flows towards environmental protection and new policies to promote nature conservation or limit the impact of economic activity on the environment.
PILLAR 2: PRIVATE SECTOR
BORNEO PROGRAMME
2014
WORKING WITH PRIVATE SECTOR TO CONSERVE BORNEO’S BIODIVERSITY
© WWF-Indonesia/ Purwo Susanto
C
ommercial companies are increasingly understanding the risks and opportunities resulting from their relationships with nature and ‘sustainability’ is moving from CSR obligation to fundamental to core business. This is crucial because the private sector represents both one of the biggest threats and the biggest opportunities for solutions in Borneo. The private sector controls 40% of the land in the Heart of Borneo, mostly in the forestry, plantation and mining sectors, and will play a crucial role
in the development of the region. But the way these concessions are managed will have huge implications for the environment and the wellbeing of Bornean people. WWF sees the private sector playing a crucial role the development of a green economy in Borneo. It is working with various private companies to illustrate the arguments for addressing their relationships with nature, to help them protect the biodiversity they do control and to transform the way they interact
with their environment in the future, be it through certification of production practices, guidance on specific species conservation, the regeneration of new habitats or the promotion of sustainable investment strategies. Most activities focus on downstream commercial activities and complement WWF Market Transformation work conducted upstream outside of Borneo.
PILLAR 3: CIVIL SOCIETY
BORNEO PROGRAMME
2014
WORKING WITH CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS TO CONSERVE BORNEO’S BIODIVERSITY
© WWF-Indonesia/ Edwin Meru
C
programme and seeks to empower civil society groups to have increased control over the natural resources they depend on and have rights to.
WWF recognises that environmental conservation in Borneo will only occur on a sustainable and equitable basis if conducted as part of a wider sustainable development
WWF is actively working with community groups inside and outside the Heart of Borneo to advocate for tenure over natural resources, to access better benefits through sustainable economic activities such as ‘Green and Fair’ products or community-based ecotourism, to
ivil society groups – particularly those representing the one million predominantly indigenous people, a key part of civil society dependent on the natural capital of the Heart of Borneo - have an essential relationship with their environment.
improve governance of natural resources and apply traditional knowledge of natural resource management. Meanwhile, comprehensive environmental education programmes ensure environmental principles continue to be passed on to future generations.
PILLAR 4:
BORNEO PROGRAMME
PROTECTING THE NATURAL CAPITAL OF BORNEO
2014
T
he aim of the first three pillars is to work with key sectors of society to transform the way they interact with, and manage, biodiversity. Ultimately, implementation of green economies should make biodiversity protection a rational and economic necessity. But rates of loss in Borneo are so great that we cannot wait until the perceptions of natural capital values are
changed to the extent required before we start to protect what is left. Transformation of behaviour in the future therefore needs to be balanced by active protection of biodiversity in the present. Protecting ecosystems and species has long been WWF’s core business and various long established projects exist in Borneo focusing on places (such as national parks) and species
(such as orang utans and elephants). WWF will continue this work in Borneo, working with partners from all sectors of society to ensure all of the priority habitats in and around the Heart of Borneo have sustainable management plans implemented and that viable populations of all priority species are protected for the foreseeable future.
BORNEO FOREST AND FOREST LOSS BORNEO PROGRAMME
2014
DARUSSALAM
Legend National Boundaries Provincial Boundaries Heart of Borneo Boundary Deforestation Remaining Forest 2012 Deforested 2007 - 2012 Non Forest