Wallacea: A living laboratory of Earth's evolution. Its wildlife, forests and reefs will be devastated if we don't act
Wallacea is a fascinating region of both land and sea. Spanning approximately 338,000 square kilometers within Indonesia, it is home to a rich diversity of animals and plants, with hybrid species from both Asia and Australia/Papua ...
There you will find hundreds of bird species, small to medium-sized mammals, primates, reptiles, and various plants—some of which are unique and found nowhere else on Earth.
Take a look at incredible species such as the komodo dragon, anoa, tarsier, babirusa, and giant bees. These animals are native to the scattered islands of Wallacea. That's before you even start to explore Wallacea's marine wonders as a part of the Coral Triangle, an area well known for its extraordinary marine biodiversity.
I have been researching this unique region of Earth for decades—and I am deeply concerned about how increasing human activities from mining, agriculture and infrastructure development threaten its delicate ecosystems.
How the region got its name
Wallacea stretches from the islands of Lombok and Sulawesi in the west to the Maluku islands in the east. Its northern boundary begins at the Talaud Islands (North Sulawesi) and reaches down to Rote Ndao Regency in the south—in East Nusa Tenggara Province, near Australia. This imaginary line defining its boundaries is known as the "Wallacea line."
A family of Spectral Tarsiers captured on a towering ficus tree in Tangkoko National Park, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Credit: Ondrej Prosicky/Shutterstock
Babirusa, a wild pig native to Sulawesi’s rainforests in Wallacea region, use fights to catch the attention of females. Credit: Meldy Tamenge/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA
A surviving area of ancient native trees, Dracontomelon Mangiferum, in Ranjuri forests, Sigi, Central Sulawesi Province. Forests like these in some parts of Wallacea have been heavily logged. Credit: Basri Marzuki/Antara