global warming may dominate headlines today — ecosystem
TRANSCRIPT
Spring 2014 14
Global Warming may dominate headlines today —
Ecosystem degradation will do so in the future.
We are consuming the World’s biodiversity and ecosystems at an unstable rate
and this is already starting to have serious socio-economic impacts. If we are to
find solutions to the problems we face, we need to know what is happening to bio-
diversity and ecosystems. This is not only to help in fight against climate change but
how it affects goods and services provided.
With twenty 16 to 18 year old 6th Form students in the Danum Valley Rainforest
in Sabah, Borneo a variety of studies on the rainforest ecosystem began to give an
insight into why ecosystem degradation plays an important part in both Climate
Change but also in declining ecosystem services. The Danum Valley Rainforest is a
dynamic complex of plants, animals and micro- organisms interacting. This pristine
rainforest in places has been logged in other areas of the valley and with the
growth of oil palm plantations there was a need to make sure that conservation
was taking place. The South East Rainforest Research Project (SEARRP) was estab-
lished in 1985 in response to mounting concern over the future of SE Asia rainfor-
ests and through a conviction that by gaining a scientific understanding of tropical
rainforest systems, ecology and dynamics, a significant contribution could be made
to their sustainable management and conservation. The Mission was to enable ex-
cellence in collaborative research and training that makes a major contribution to
the understanding of rainforests, their conservation and restoration and underpins
the sustainable use of natural resources.
The twenty 16 to 18 students from UK Schools in July 2013 were therefore able
to see and to work on, with the aid of Dr Glen Reynolds, the Director of SEARRP
and his team, a multi- disciplinary collaborative research in both pristine and logged
rainforest and to consider how this has enabled dissemination of the findings to
allow a deeper understanding. The Danum Field Centre as one of the World’s
leading tropical forest research stations is the centre of this research but the UK
Sixth Form students were located at the Malua Camp north of this Centre. Under
the supervision of Yeong Kok Loong (Benny), who was completing his PhD, and Dr
Glen Reynolds, the students helped with collecting data. This is helping scientists
looking at both Climate and Landscape changes in the area. How the loss of biodi-
versity and the effect on ecosystem services such as food production and water
regulation (60% loss in last 50 years globally) has been affected by the destruction
of the global forest area by between 40% and 50% over the last 300 years, could be
understood more clearly by us all as we worked with Glen and Benny.
Biodiversity is not itself an ecosystem service but it underpins the supply of these
services. The Red List threatens that 70% of the world’s plants are at risk. The sig-
nificant direct list between biodiversity and modern healthcare is just one example
of how now and in the future ecosystem degradation is and will continue to be a
Paul Baker is Chair of
the ISSIG of the GA and
member of GA Education
Group. He is also a
member of the RGS
Council and Education
Committee.
Paul has taught at a
number of schools in-
cluding Rugby and The
Dragon in Oxford. Since
retirement in 2008, he
has become Geography
Adviser to the IAPS and
Expedition Officer for
Earthwatch UK Student
Expeditions.
Spring 2014 15
serious problem.
The 20 students from a variety of Schools who had joined this Earthwatch Expedition found themselves
debating the protection of forests due to their importance to regulating climate change and the situation
where Sabah’s Oil Palm Plantations need to flourish to provide Sabah’s economy security. The balance
was seen clearly and the debate allowed them all to understand the balancing act that needs to happen.
The success however is certainly that more Rainforest has been protected through the work of SEARRP
and the Sabah Government.
The debate on Oil Palm and
Rainforest degradation where
two teams of students repre-
senting the Oil Palm industry
and the Conservation Scien-
tists turned into a very im-
portant educational experi-
ence. Issues such as lack of
Primary Rainforest, Climate
Change, Food Chain disrup-
tion, Soil erosion, loss of bio-
diversity had to be balanced
by the Economic benefits of
Oil Palm, RSPO guidelines,
China and India’s market for
Oil Palm and social benefits
for those working on the plantations. Then other arguments were made such as carbon sequestration,
logging, palm oil needing five times less land than soya production against which the other side argued that
wildlife tourism would never provide enough jobs, that fertilizers were polluting the rivers and what
about economic funding for rainforest protection. The amount learnt in a short space of time left both
the professional scientists and the students realizing that they should be determined to build on these two
teams’ expeditions to benefit future generations and to provide the experience to others.
Obviously a minute part of what needs to be done for a sustainable future was looked at by these stu-
dents but their hard work in the forest, out of their comfort zone, was important both in increasing their
understanding of how the degradation of tropical forests (ecosystems) and the loss of biodiversity is a
threat to the functioning of our planet, our economy and human society. This was a small start to giving
Sixth Form students the chance to work and learn how to tackle the future when small changes can cause
huge and often unpredictable impacts globally. These students we asked to imagine a secure and stable
world with universal access to clean water, healthy food, equity in access to education and income oppor-
tunity with social and political security. A world meeting and even increasing ‘The Millennium Goals’
Global Warming may dominate today’s discussions, but the whole aspect of the demands on ecosystem
and their degradation will be important in balancing the many demands of an ever growing global popula-
tion and the survival of many of our planet.
The Expedition Group © Paul Baker
Spring 2014 16
Earthwatch UKsixth Form Expedition to Borneo july 2013- A journey into Sabah
After finishing school, I took part in the Earthwatch project based in Sabah at
the Danum Valley Field Centre during my summer holiday before university.
The clearance and degradation of forests accounts for around 20% of global car-
bon emissions – that’s more than the entire transport sector yet it’s kept much
too quiet for my liking. As I was about to learn, if climate change is to be con-
trolled, scientific research has an unquestionable role to play.
I don’t know what you’ve heard about travelling in Asia, but there’s a certain
rumour about how much of your belongings you’ll arrive with. This rumour
turned out true for a fellow traveller, whose backpack never arrived on the
conveyor belt. Luckily, Earthwatch tracked his bag and returned it before our
work began, but this still meant he had a trek in the jungle wearing espadrilles,
leech socks and shorts. Other rumours became realities as well, such as the
massive spiders creeping around the jungle floor and having noodles for break-
fast, lunch and dinner.
Arriving in Danum Valley Field Centre, we entered primary, untouched
rainforest. Despite only wandering about the site in our own little small groups,
the jungle didn’t disappoint on our first day and gave us plenty of sights to see.
In just one afternoon we saw wild boars, deer, pill bugs, an array of exotic birds,
leeches (including those biting our ankles), a strange fluffy white spot that ran
across a leaf, and, unforgettably, an orang-utan. I was eager to see something, so
had been desperately looking into the trees since we arrived and was rewarded
by seeing a shadow moving in the leaves, a shadow which was in fact the great
orange ape. The next week continued to confirm the biodiversity of the rainfor-
est as horseshoe-nosed bats hung below the boys’ dorm, hornbills flew over the
camp and a mother macaque sat with its baby in the bushes.
Our opportunities to spot wildlife were plenty during night drives and
night walks. As we sat in the back of a truck, Udin (a Malaysian helper with rock
-star hairdo and the stern look of an assassin) stood against the side and shone
his torch to the canopy, spotlighting, as we watched on in awe. Udin pointed
out serpent eagles, flying squirrels and cat-like civets. The night walk let us see a
wonderful array of frogs, tree lizards, flying lizards and, of course, spiders. The
nightmare image of a spider the size of my palm sitting on a leaf will never leave
me. The spider itself was terrifying, yet the fact that there was thick red blood
trailed around it made my heart skip.
Though the fauna in the rainforest was incredible, the trees were equal-
ly, if not more, awe-inspiring as they loomed over us with broad buttress roots
like a five-metre wide wall and a trunk that extended into the skies like the Em-
pire State building. These gigantic Dipterocarp trees were the focus of one of
our guides, Benny’s Ph.D. research. During most mornings we all
Anna Klucnika was a
sixth former at Oxford
High School, who trav-
elled to Sabah in Malay-
sia last summer with
Earthwatch. She is now
studying Geography at
University.
To get places for Students
on future expeditions of-
fered by Earthwatch
which earn them UCAS
points please contact
Paul Baker who is organ-
iser of these Expeditions .
His details are: e-mail:
Phone: UK Schools Pro-
gramme Co-ordinator,
Earthwatch on
07913348335
Spring 2014 17
trekked into various parts of the forest to measure lines of planted trees for Benny. With our Ma-
laysian guides, we measured various aspects of the seedlings that were only a few years old. I felt rather
anxious about being entrusted to record data for Benny’s study, especially as we learnt more and more
about what he was doing. After studying forestry rather reluctantly at first, Benny is now proud of what
he is doing. And so he should be, as his work is helping the global community to understand how we can
regenerate rainforest that we have degraded and maintain the ecosystems so valuable to the environment.
Sticking to his mantra, Benny’s research will help governments and organisations to conduct sustainable
management of forests.
I used to think that the secondary forest would itself grow back into primary forest, but Benny
explained how this was not the case. The logged forests do not hold trees that are mature enough to
seed and do not provide an appropriate habitat for the fauna that would normally pollinate the Diptero-
carps, and so the forest is left to fall into a spiral of decline. This is why the research being done is so cru-
cial as we must help the forest by planting seedlings if it is ever to recover. Otherwise, we will lose the
spectacle of the fully-grown rainforest for eternity. Falling in love with the rainforest is very infectious, and
Benny managed to turn each of our lust for the jungle into adoration.
As we flew over Sabah on arrival, I experienced a completely different view to the normal patch-
work-quilt of green that are seen when flying over the UK. From one side of the plane there was a view
of luscious mounds where the rainforest grew. On the other side there was a neat pattern of green dots
on the ground. This pattern turned out to be oil palm plantations.
Dr Glen Reynolds, the director of South East Asia Rainforest Research Programme, led us on an
exclusive trip to an oil palm plantation where he gave us a balanced view on the competition between the
rainforest and the plantations. We followed this up by a heated debate where we explored the im-
portance of oil palm. Without the plantations in Sabah, companies would look elsewhere to fuel the con-
sumer demand. As Glen informed us, and he himself is helping to enforce, no more forest is to be logged
for oil palm in Sabah but instead sustainable production with cooperation between all parties will be en-
sured to enable the rainforest that survives to be protected. We were privileged to have Glen lead us at
looking at ecosystem functioning.
The thing that will always strike me most when I look back at my time in Borneo is the people
that I met. The team of volunteers became a family out in the jungle and you could always trust someone
to tell you if you had a leech on your bottom or to help you climb back up the steep muddy hill after you
had fallen down (once they’d finished laughing, naturally). Relaxing in the river or sunbathing in the sun
gave us plenty of opportunity to learn about one another and make good friends. It wasn’t just the volun-
teers that I made friends with, but with the Malaysian guides who worked and lived around the field camp
as well. They walked and skipped along in the jungle without a care in their rubber shoes and football
shirts, while we stumbled and sweated in our matching Craghopper long-sleeved tops and trousers. They
pointed out the massive fire-ants or spikes on a nearby branch and taught us how to count in Malaysian.
The guys were always keen to challenge us to a match of volleyball before dinner and we quickly learnt
that “England vs Malaysia” would always leave us embarrassed.
The rainforest can only be truly experienced by living in it; I wouldn’t have been able to sleep
through the frighteningly loud noise of the jungle had I not been tired out after days of adventure with the
Earthwatch team. This has given me the urge to see the world, and, this was only the beginning.