CONTRIBUTION OF THE HEART OF BORNEO (HoB) INITIATIVE TOWARDS BOTANICAL EXPLORATION IN SABAH, MALAYSIA
ABSTRACT: Contribution of the
Heart of Borneo (HoB) initiative towards botanical exploration in Sabah,
Malaysia. Reinwardtia 14(1): 137 – 142. ― The Heart of Borneo (HoB) declaration
is a conservation agreement initiated by WWF and signed by three countries,
i.e., Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia in Bali, Indonesia on 12th
February 2007 to protect more than 23 million hectares of forested region on
Borneo Island. These forested areas could be well protected when conservation
management plan is in place. One of the crucial activities to facilitate the
planning and formulation of conservation plan is to conduct scientific
expeditions that include botanical exploration. The primary objective of the
expedition is to identify the key conservation targets within the forest
reserves. For the past five years, several expeditions have been conducted by
the Sabah Forestry Department under the auspices of the HoB project to explore
various forest reserves with conservation issues within the Heart of Borneo
area. This paper will present the findings which include plant richness,
endemism and plant conservation status in each forest reserves that has been
explored.
Key words: Botanical
exploration, endemism, Heart of Borneo (HoB), plant conservation status, plant
richness
Author: SUZANA SABRAN, REUBEN
NILUS, JOAN T. PEREIRA, JOHN BAPTIST SUGAU, FREDERICK KUGAN
Journal Code: jpbiologigg140023
