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Endangered species of the Paradise Forests

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The endangered proboscis monkey of Borneo needs large protected areas of forest to survive and thrive.

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Illegal logging and land clearing is destroying the biodiversity of the Paradise Forests. In Indonesia, more species face extinction than anywhere else on Earth.

When the bulldozers and chainsaws move into the forest, the damage is staggering. Scientific studies show that the industrial loggers in Papua New Guinea destroy 17 trees for every one that is felled and removed.

The Kikori Basin is one area being logged by Turama Forest Industries, a company of the Rimbunan Hijau group. The Basin is also home to some of the world's most unique species of animal and plant life.

Species facing extinction include:

orang-utan (the Sumatran orang-utan is critically endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species)
Sumatran rhinoceros (critically endangered)
clouded leopard (vulnerable)
sun bear (vulnerable)
proboscis monkey (endangered)
Sumatran tiger (endangered)

By 2054, experts predict there will be just 234 wild Sumatran orang-utans left. If logging and orang-utan hunting were stopped today, that population would increase to 6570 orang-utans by 2054 (1).

(1) IUCN, Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, Orangutan Population and Habitat Viability Assessment 2004 (PDF, 7.4mb).

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Wildlife of the Paradise forests

The tropical forests of Asia Pacific that span New Guinea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the nearby archipelagos is home to a beautiful variety of life. Explore the region through the award winning photographs of Takeshi Mizukoshi who has devoted his life to photographing the world's remaining ancient forests.