Licuala borneensis EN Taxonomic Authority: Becc.  Global Assessment  Regional Assessment Region: Global  Endemic to region Synonyms Common Names Licuala pygmaea Merr. ELART-BIRKER Malay

Upper Level Taxonomy Kingdom: PLANTAE Phylum: TRACHEOPHYTA Class: LILIOPSIDA Order: Family: PALMAE Lower Level Taxonomy Rank: Infra- rank name:  Hybrid Subpopulation: Authority:

General Information Distribution Licuala borneensis is endemic to the island of Borneo where it is known from Sarawak, Malaysia and Belait, Brunei Darussalam.

Range Size Elevation Biogeographic Realm Area of Occupancy: Upper limit: 250  Afrotropical Extent of Occurrence: 1390 Lower limit: 0  Antarctic Map Status: Depth  Australasian Upper limit:  Neotropical Lower limit:  Oceanian Depth Zones  Palearctic  Shallow photic  Bathyl  Hadal  Indomalayan  Photic  Abyssal  Nearctic Population From known occurrences there appears to be three subpopulations of L. borneensis, one in Sungai Rampayoh, Belait, Brunei and the other two in Sarawak: Bintulu, Tubao River and Niah National Park, Miri. Due to the ongoing threats in these areas the subpopulations can be considered equivalent to threatened 'locations'. The number of individuals in the population is not known.

Total Population Size Minimum Population Size: Maximum Population Size: Habitat and Ecology Occurs in humid lowland forests. It is reported to be confined to mor (humus rich) soils (Jermy 1980).

System Movement pattern Crop Wild Relative  Terrestrial  Freshwater  Nomadic  Congregatory/Dispersive  Is the species a wild relative of a crop?  Marine  Migratory  Altitudinally migrant Growth From Definition Tree - size unknow Tree (any size), also termed a Phanerophyte (>1m)

Threats The forests in which this species occurs are threatened by unsustainable logging and conversion to plantations (Saw Leng Guan pers. comm. 2011). In Sarawak, oil palm plantations covered an area of 26,237 ha in 1984. By 2003 this figure rose to 464,774 ha which gives an average annual growth rate of 7.9% (cited in Rautner et al. 2005). A more recent report by UNEP (2007a) states that natural rainforests of Sumatra and Borneo are being cleared so rapidly that up to 98% may be destroyed by 2022 without urgent action.

Past Present Future 1 Habitat Loss/Degradation (human induced)  1.1 Agriculture  1.1.2 Wood plantations  1.1.2.2 Large-scale  1.1.3 Non-timber plantations  1.1.3.2 Large-scale  1.3 Extraction  1.3.3 Wood  Conservation Measures L. borneensis occurs in Niah National Park, Sarawak. It is not listed on CITES and seeds from this species are not present in the Millennium Seed Bank, UK. It is known to occur in cultivation within Semengoh Botanic Gardens, Kuching, Sarawak. The source material probably derives from a collection made by Kit Pearce in 2002 (Saw Leng Guan pers. comm. 2011).

In February 2007, the governments of Brunei, Malaysia, and Indonesia agreed to protect roughly 220,000 km2 of tropical forest in the so-called "Heart of Borneo". The initiative is designed to not only protect large areas of forests but to also provide water and food security, as well as to support the cultural survival for the people of central Borneo. It is hoped that the adoption of this initiative by all stakeholders will save the island from the ultimate threat of deforestation and increased impacts from droughts and fires (Chapman et al. 2007). The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is one initiative working on equitable and sustainable palm oil production in Borneo.

In Place Needed 3 Research actions  3.2 Population numbers and range  3.4 Habitat status  3.9 Trends/Monitoring  4 Habitat and site-based actions  4.4 Protected areas  4.4.1 Identification of new protected areas  4.4.3 Management  5 Species-based actions  5.7 Ex situ conservation actions  5.7.1 Captive breeding/Artificial propagation  5.7.2 Genome resource bank 

Countries of Occurrence

PRESENCE ORIGIN Year Breeding Non- Passage Possibly ExtinctPresence Native Introduced Re- Vagrant Origin Round Season breeding migrant extinct uncertain Introduced uncertain only season only Brunei Darussalam    Malaysia    Sarawak   

General Habitats Score Description Major Importance 1 Forest 1UnsetSuitable 1.6 Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland1Unset Suitable

Ecosystem Services  Insufficient Information available  Species provides no ecosystem services

Species Utilisation  Species is not utilised at all

Purpose / Type of Use Subsistence National International 1. Food - human  8. Fibre  The leaflets are used to make roofing, mats and wrappers and they are also edible (Cited in Pearce 1991).

Trend in the level of wild offtake/harvest in relation to total wild population numbers over the last five years: Trend in the amount of offtake/harvest produced through domestication/cultivation over the last five years: CITES status: Not listed

IUCN Red Listing Red List Assessment:(using 2001 IUCN system) Endangered (EN)

Red List Criteria: B1ab(iii) Date Last Seen (only for EX, EW or Possibly EX species): Is the species Possibly Extinct?  Possibly Extinct Candidate?  Rationale for the Red List Assessment L. borneensis has a restricted range. It is only known from an estimated three localities on the island of Borneo. Its total extent of occurrence (EOO) is approximately 1,390 km2. The forest habitat in which it occurs is declining due to unsustainable logging and conversion of forests to plantations. Further surveys are needed in the region of known collections to determine the status of this palm especially outside of protected areas where it may be particularly vulnerable. Reason(s) for Change in Red List Category from the Previous Assessment:  Genuine Change  Nongenuine Change  No Change  Genuine (recent)  New information  Taxonomy  Same category  Genuine (since first assessment)  Knowledge of Criteria  Criteria Revisio and criteria  Incorrect data used  Other  Same category but previously change in criteria Current Population Trend: Decreasing Date of Assessment: 02/07/2009 Name(s) of the Assessor(s): Loftus, C. Evaluator(s): Notes: Contributions from Dr. Saw Leng Guan.

% population decline in the past: Time period over which the past decline has been measured for applying Criterion A or C1 (in years or generations): % population decline in the future: Time period over which the future decline has been measured for applying Criterion A or C1 (in years or generations): Number of Locations: 3 Severely Fragmented: Number of Mature Individuals:

Bibliography Barfod, A.S. & Saw, L.G., 2002, The genus Licuala (, ) in Thailand., Kew Bulletin, 827-852, , Jermy, A.C., 1980, Notulae et Novitates Muluenses, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society1, 1-46, , Mielke S. & Mielke T. (eds), 2000 and 2003, Oil World Annual, , , Pearce, K.G., 1991, Palm utilization and conservtation in Sarawak (Malaysia)., Palms for human needs in Asia. Palm utilization and conservation in India, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.WWF Project 3325, Johnson, D., 258, A.A. Balkema/Rotterdam/Brookfield/1991, Rautner, M., 2005, Borneo: Treasure Island at Risk, WWF Germany, , , Stuart Chapman, Programme Director, WWF-Greater Mekong Programme, 2007, Heart of Borneo Three Countries, One Conservation Vision Lessons learnt, , , Bali United Nations Environment Programme, 2007a, Globalization & Great Apes: Illegal Logging Destroying Last Strongholds of Orangutans in National Parks, 24th Session of UNEP's Governing Council / Global Ministerial Environment Forum 5-9 February 2007, , , WWF, ACCESSED 2009, WWF, Heart of Borneo Forests23/07/2009, , ,