The 22nd May is the #UN International Day for Biodiversity https://www.cbd.int/idb/, #IDB, a celebration of all life on Earth - its diversity and inter-connections. A few years ago I had the good fortune to visit Deramakot Forest Reserve in #Sabah, #Malaysia, and found the porch of my accommodation to be literally crawling, and fluttering, with nocturnal #biodiversity attracted by the light.
#Borneo was once clothed in tropical #rainforest, much of which has been cleared in recent decades and replaced by plantations for #rubber, #paperpulp or #palmoil. Indeed, we had to drive for hours through endless ranks of oil palms to get to Deramakot, so the forest came as a relief. Although we witnessed trees being felled in Deramakot, the Sabah Forestry Department aims for sustainable forestry and uses reduced impact logging (though seeing a mature tree crash to the ground certainly had an impact on me!). In 1997, Deramakot became the first #FSC-certified forest in the Asia-Pacific region, and it remains a good example of a production forest that has maintained its biodiversity, and has now diversified into #ecotourism. This means that after the #Covid19 #pandemic #lockdown is over, you too could experience what video No.65 in the #BrightenYourDay series demonstrates: the sheer delight a naturalist feels when confronted with so many amazing life-forms! The video is unedited, and some of what you see here would normally end up in out-takes, but I have posted it uncut because it conveys the fun of the moment - hope you enjoy it... but do you recognise the voices off?

#FSC = Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the gold standard of certification schemes for timber and paper products.