Chapter 5: Deforestion in Kalimantan

Many new settlers permanently clear forests to establish small holdings like farm. Some of the cultivated crops are grown for sale while some settlers are motivated by profit to extend their farmland by clearing more forested areas. Another reason of agricuture landuse is the old palm plantation.As it is cheap to grow and highly profitable,it resulted in clearing of extensive areas of the Kalimantan forests.

Forests are rich in natural resources such as woods and minerals. And companies from timer campany and mining company are thus attracted to it's resources. The timber companies had heavy illegal logging activities led to the rainforests in Kalimantan suffered from heavy logging the past 30 years. On the other hand, when a mining company discovers minerals in the ground, they will first clear the vegetation to expose the ground underneath .This will also affect the quality of water and aqautic animals as the loose soil is washed to a nearby river.

Most of the forest fires are deliberately set up be people. One of the reason is that plantation companies clear land for agriculture use by burning the forests as it is cheaper than employing labourers to clear the forest. Vegetation debris that are left on the forest floor such as tree stumps, branches and twig catch fire easily especially during the dry season.

The diverge range of plants and animals is referred to as biodiversity. Due to deforestation, the biodiversity of plants and animals in the Kalimantan rainforests is reduced, which lead to extinction of species. Some plants and animals are close to becoming extinct in Kalimantan and are therefore endangered. An example of an endangered animal of the Kalimantan rainforest is the Proboscis monkey.

The removal of vegetation following deforestation results in the loss of leaf litter and affects the nutrient cycle. Where soil are leached and the absence of roots, absorbtion of rainwater is reduced. As a result , soil becomes infertile and cannot support vegetation growth. Thus, in Kalimantan, very little of the original vegetation could be replaced back and the cleared land also becomes unsuitable for cultivation of crops over time.

When vegetation are removed, less transpiration take place and thus results in low rainfall. It also could lead to flood. An example is the severe floods in 2001 in the East Kalimantan cities of Samarinda and Balikpapan.

When rainforests are cleared, the water quality in rivers is poor as the soil eroded and washed away easily by rain into the nearby rivers. And thus, increases the sediment level of the rivers and makes the water muddy. And the pH level of the river also changes by making the water acidic, affecting the auatic animals life.

Afforestation refers to the planting of trees on areas that were originally not covered with forests and reforestation refers to planting trees in formerly forested areas that have been cleared by logging.

Controlled logging is encouraged by the MOF to minimise damage in rainforests that are being logged.

Conservation refers to the careful use of resources, such as forests, to protect them from destruction.