Forests totter on verge of extinction as Borneo prays for life-giving rains

  • 23/04/1998

  • Asian Age (New Delhi)

The tropical forests' brilliant greens have given way to soft reds and pale yellows, making Bukit Suharto National Park look like autumn in New England. But this is not fall foliage on the quator. The Bukit Suharto forest is dying, along with hundreds of thousands of hectares of adjoining jungle.This coastal stretch of sourtheast Borneo, on the edge of the world's second-biggest rain forest, has received just 300 mm of rain in the last 12 months, according to data collected by Mr Willie Smits, an adviser to the Indonesian forestry ministry.Normal annual rainfall is 2,700 mm.