汶萊、印尼和馬來西亞這三個位於婆羅洲的國家，12日共同簽署了一項宣言，目的在保護擁有龐大森林的婆羅洲之心，此處除了是瀕危猩猩、大象、犀牛的棲息地之外，也是全世界最重要的生物多樣性熱點，而這項協議的內容即是對此區域進行保育和永續經營。
此地原本正規劃開發一座全球最大棕櫚園，一旦開工，這世界第三大島上位於印尼與馬來西亞邊界沿線的廣大雨林，將被砍除殆盡。所幸，三國決議終止這項計畫。
婆羅洲之心面積廣達22萬平方公里－幾乎是婆羅洲島1/3的面積，涵蓋從印尼馬來西亞的越境高地往南延伸到山麓、相鄰低地，以及部分汶萊國土。
包括瀕危猩猩在內，婆羅洲島是13種靈長類、150種爬蟲類和兩棲類、超過350種鳥類，以及15000種植物物種的棲息地。而截至目前仍有許多物種未被發現，光去年在婆羅洲所發現的新物種就超過50種。
婆羅洲的雨林已面臨伐木、森林大火和棕櫚園開發的威脅，而在巴里島正式儀式上所簽署的婆羅洲之心宣言，可以說是婆羅洲雨林的救命索。
A declaration to protect the forested Heart of Borneo was signed today by ministers from the three Bornean governments - Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia. The agreement will conserve and sustainably manage one of the most important centers of biological diversity in the world, inhabited by endangered orangutans, elephants and rhinos.
The agreement ends plans to create the world's largest palm oil plantation that would have cleared a vast rainforest along Indonesia's border with Malaysia across the world's third largest island.
The Heart of Borneo covers 220,000 square kilometers (85,000 square miles) of equatorial rainforests – almost one-third of the island of Borneo. The area spreads across the transboundary highlands of Indonesia and Malaysia, and down through the foothills into adjacent lowlands and to parts of Brunei.
The island is inhabited by 13 species of primates, including the endangered orangutan, 150 species of reptiles and amphibians, over 350 species of birds, and around 15,000 species of plants.
Many species are still undiscovered - more than 50 new species were identified on Borneo last year alone.
The Heart of Borneo Declaration, signed at an official ceremony held in Bali, is a lifeline for Borneo’s rainforests that are threatened by logging, forest fires and forest conversion for plantations.
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