In the market for change: money doesn’t grow on trees – or does it?

You wouldn’t know it from looking at him, but my dad was born in Sarawak, Malaysia.  Although he now lives in North America, he still calls the orang-utans of Borneo his ‘cousins’. So naturally, whenever I hear about WWF’s work in Borneo, I perk up right away.
Last week, some very exciting news came out of that part of the world with the release of The Heart of Borneo: Investing in Nature for a Green Economy Report. (a collaborative effort in which WWF took part).  In the words of WWF’s global Director General Jim Leape, “The Heart of Borneo’s natural capital is of tremendous social and economic value – but if we continue to fail to recognize its worth, both people and the environment they depend on will suffer.  This report finds that valuing natural capital can pave the way to strong local economies, as well as deliver on the growth, climate change, and sustainability priorities in the region.”

©naturpl.com/Tim Laman/WWF

–What is natural capital? This includes all of nature and the environment that surrounds and sustains us, including ecosystems, species and their habitats – what we refer to as a whole as ‘biodiversity’. It is based in the fact that everything we do depends on a healthy natural environment – an indispensable enabler of economic growth and human well-being.

–What exactly is the Heart of Borneo? It is the largest transboundary tropical forest in Southeast Asia, consisting of 22 million hectares, and is home to 6% of the world’s species. More than one million people live within the Heart of Borneo and directly depend on its forests for their livelihoods, food, income, water, and culture.
–What is the Heart of Borneo initiative? WWF is working with the governments of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia (Kalimantan) and Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak) to conserve almost one third of the island through a network of protected areas and sustainably managed forests.
–What does “green economy” mean? “…an economy that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities.” A green economy favors renewable energy and low carbon, environmentally friendly economic development. (Sir David Attenborough explains in this five-minute video.)
This report highlights the current unsustainable practices of three sectors that are vital to Borneo’s economy: forestry, palm oil plantations, and mining.  It reveals two choices for the use of natural capital in the Heart of Borneo – squandering it or ‘keeping it in the bank’, which would allow many generations to live off the ‘interest’ forever, in the form of sustainable goods and services. I think the long-term best choice is clear, and my dad would appreciate conservation action to protect the Heart of Borneo – home to his ‘cousins’, and millions more.