10,000 hectares of rainforest remain on Java

By Jeremy Hance, www.mongabay.com
January 24, 2010 From 2003-2006, Java lost approximately 2,500 hectares a year (10,000 hectares of forest in total) according to the Forestry Ministry. Despite the rate of loss being far lower in Java than other Indonesian islands (such as Borneo, Sumatra, and Sulawesi), Java is particularly threatened because there is so little forest left. If the past rate of deforestation occurs from 2007-2010 then by the end of the year conservation organization Pro Fauna predicts only 10,000 hectares of rainforest will remain on the island, leaving a number of unique and endangered species in deep trouble. In addition ProFauna campaign officer Radius Nursidi warns that the actual rate is probably higher than the official data reflects. Java is home to a number of species that survive no-where else, including the critically endangered Javan rhino with a populated estimated at 40-60 individuals; the endangered Javan Hawk-Eagle; the endangered Javan gibbon; the vulnerable Javan langur; the endangered Javan slow loris; and the endangered surili, a species of monkey. The island has already lost one of its flagship species to deforestation and poaching: the Javan tiger likely vanished entirely in the 1980s. Poaching remains rife in Java, according to Pro Fauna, even in national parks, such as the R. Soerjo Grand Forest Park in Pasuruan and Merubetiri National Park in Banyuwangi. Illegal logging is also a problem at these conservation areas. Currently, there are no security posts at the exit areas of these parks, allowing poachers to easily escape with their quarry. … Indonesia has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world. …

Little more than 10,000 hectares of rainforest remain on Java