What if the Heart of Borneo region, which is the same size as the state of Victoria in mainland Australia, really does have an impact on the rest of Australia? Are people aware that their daily consumption, such as lipstick, paper and home furniture may come from Borneo's rainforests? Are they aware that foreign investment in their country of Borneo may be suffering from local communities and rainforests?

All of this brings together much of the background to why WWF-Australia launched their public campaign for the Heart of Borneo initiative, with a new dedicated Borneo page on the web (wwf.org.au/borneo) and a Heart of Borneo appeal (wwf.org.au/borneoappeal), aimed at promoting orangutan conservation, forest management and sustainable community development in the HoB region.

""Our current strategic plan has identified six areas where we want to have a major impact for Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, we call these High Impact Initiatives. One of these is the Heart of Borneo," said Paul Toni, WWF - Australia's Science, Policy and Government Partnerships Manager.

""We are working to support the HoB initiative in three ways: ensuring strong Australian Government investment in Borneo to facilitate climate adaptation and mitigation programs; ensuring Australian business and industry engagement is sustainable, and supporting species recovery programs,"" Paul added.

Conserving healthy forests in Borneo has many benefits. It helps to ensure that its forests continue to thrive as carbon sinks, climate regulators and genetic repositories, and that they provide habitats for wildlife as well as livelihoods for local communities for the future.

""I have just returned from the Heart of Borneo... The devastation wrought on that beautiful region is simply devastating - and at times quite heartbreaking. Not only for the environment and the animals there, but also for the local people who rely on the land for survival... Still, I remain optimistic. I think we can make a difference." Dermot O'Gorman, CEO of WWF Australia states in one of the campaign videos.

Protection for the HoB has implications for Australia's climate, coral reefs and biodiversity, for even greater scientific reasons... if Borneo's forest products are not from sustainable forest products, they will soon run out of the market and become unaffordable.

There are many positive actions Australia can take to support the HoB initiative. You can encourage your friends and family to buy FSC certified timber products, look in your local store when buying paper or home furnishings. Most supermarkets now carry products made with RSPO certified palm oil, be sure to use sustainably sourced cooking oil in your kitchen. Everyone can make a difference and individual actions taken can result in positive and bigger changes than we could ever hope to see in the Heart of Borneo.