2025 Borneo Assessment Report: Executive Summary

Borneo, shared by Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei, is one of the world’s richest biodiversity hotspots and a critical carbon store. Over the past 50 years, more than 30% of its forests have been lost to oil palm expansion, mining, peatland drainage, and urbanization, pushing wildlife to the brink of extinction and increasing the risks of floods, fires, and landslides. Peat oxidation alone could release carbon equivalent to 15 years of global emissions by 2030, while rainfall could decline by up to 30% by mid-century, threatening agriculture, water security, and energy supply.

Economic pressures lie at the heart of this decline. Extractive industries such as oil palm, coal, and mineral mining dominate Borneo’s economy but often bypass local and Indigenous communities, deepening inequality, eroding land rights, and displacing traditional knowledge that has long underpinned climate resilience. Meanwhile, Borneo’s rare species are increasingly targeted by international trafficking networks, threatening biodiversity and undermining enforcement and governance.

The SPB’s 2025 Assessment Report, developed through contributions from seven thematic clusters — Geography and Geology; Flora; Fauna; Sustainable Agriculture; Social Well-Being and Cultural Diversity; Water and Minerals; and Economic Development — outlines a roadmap for urgent, coordinated action. It calls for the restoration of degraded ecosystems through connectivity corridors, peatland rewetting, forest rehabilitation, and collaborative conservation efforts led jointly by diverse stakeholders, including governments, businesses/industries, academia, communities, NGOs/CSOs, and indigenous peoples; a transition to sustainable economic models such as restorative and blue economies, geotourism, and green finance; as well as the application of AI, remote sensing, and geospatial mapping for precision agriculture, habitat connectivity, risk prevention, and improved resource management.

The Report emphasizes the need for stronger governance, with robust enforcement, transparent revenue-sharing, and legal protection for Indigenous rights. Investment in education and skills development, particularly for younger generations, and support for cultural heritage are also crucial for climate resilience. Above all, it calls for trinational collaboration under a unified Borneo Biodiversity Strategy to meet global climate and biodiversity targets before the window for action closes.