Around Borneo

SAVE ORANG UTAN BORNEO

2010-03-17T05:53:00.000-07:00

Orangutan with Large Face Plate

Image name / code: sumatra_0371
Location: Indonesia
Photographer: Rhett A. Butler
Camera: Canon 5D Mark II
http://travel.mongabay.com/indonesia/images/sumatra_0371.html

Why does the orangutan need your help?

A crisis exists for the orangutan. Never before has its very existence been threatened so severely. Economic crisis combined with natural disasters and human abuse of the forest are pushing our closest cousins to extinction. They have lost approximately 80% of their habitat in the last 20 years. We lost approximately 1/3 of the wild population of orangutans during the fires of '97-'98. There are approximately 12,000 to15,000 orangutans remaining in Borneo (compared to about 20,000 in 1996) and approximately 4,000 to 6,000 left in Sumatra (compared to about 10,000 in 1996) Experts estimate orangutans could be extinct in the wild in as few as 10 years.

Orphaned Orangutan in Central Kalimantan

Image name / code: kalimantan_0548
Location: Indonesia
Photographer: Rhett A. Butler
Camera: Canon 5D Mark II
http://travel.mongabay.com/indonesia/images/kalimantan_0548.html

The threats to the survival of the orangutan are numerous and difficult to remedy. These include:

Once this species roamed over thousands of miles across the rainforests of Southeast Asia. Today they survive only on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Their home is in beautiful, lush rainforest, and shared by many other endangered species, like tigers and rhinos. This forest is crossed with large rivers and has the greatest number of species of trees, birds and animals per acre of almost anyplace in the world. The treasures of this forest are hard to estimate since they are so precious and numerous. Many different species of plants and animals have yet to be discovered there.

Now even their habitat on the remaining two islands is threatened. This loss of habitat is the result of economic pressures, man’s greed and ignorance and natural disasters. The population of Indonesia has grown from 10 million people at the beginning of the century to over 200 million people now. The needs of so many people with little landmass are pressingly urgent, allowing little time for planning or care about the environment. People and orangutans need the same alluvial habitat and in a human versus orangutan conflict, the orangutan does not win.

Threats to Orangutans

Orangutans Face Extinction

Why does the orangutan need your help?
A crisis exists for the orangutan. Never before has its very existence been threatened so severely. Economic crisis combined with natural disasters and human abuse of the forest are pushing our closest cousins to extinction. They have lost approximately 80% of their habitat in the last 20 years. We lost approximately 1/3 of the wild population of orangutans during the fires of '97-'98. There are approximately 12,000 to15,000 orangutans remaining in Borneo (compared to about 20,000 in 1996) and approximately 4,000 to 6,000 left in Sumatra (compared to about 10,000 in 1996) Experts estimate orangutans could be extinct in the wild in as few as 10 years.
The threats to the survival of the orangutan are numerous and difficult to remedy. These include:

Once this species roamed over thousands of miles across the rainforests of Southeast Asia. Today they survive only on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Their home is in beautiful, lush rainforest, and shared by many other endangered species, like tigers and rhinos. This forest is crossed with large rivers and has the greatest number of species of trees, birds and animals per acre of almost anyplace in the world. The treasures of this forest are hard to estimate since they are so precious and numerous. Many different species of plants and animals have yet to be discovered there.
Now even their habitat on the remaining two islands is threatened. This loss of habitat is the result of economic pressures, man’s greed and ignorance and natural disasters. The population of Indonesia has grown from 10 million people at the beginning of the century to over 200 million people now. The needs of so many people with little landmass are pressingly urgent, allowing little time for planning or care about the environment. People and orangutans need the same alluvial habitat and in a human versus orangutan conflict, the orangutan does not win.

PICKUP FROM http://www.orangutan.com/.
VISIT THE SITE AND YOU CAN DONATE TO HELP THE EFFORT

Nepenthes BORNEO

2010-03-17T05:27:00.000-07:00

Link: http://www.wistuba.com/

Bornean highland species

1.Several of the most spectacular species, such as N. rajah or N. lowii grow in the highlands of Borneo, both in Malaysia and in Indonesia.

2. Nepenthes pilosa (Gunung Batu Lawi, Borneo) Easy highland species. Spectacular!
12,00 EUR

3. Nepenthes rajah (Mt. Kinabalu, Borneo) One of the biggest and well known species. Very impressive!
15,00 EUR

4. Nepenthes ephippiata (Gunung Rajah, Borneo) What a species! We are very proud to have introduced this phantastic species into cultivation several years ago after a fairly big expedition into Central Borneo. Certainly, N. ephippiata for the g...
14,00 EUR

5. Nepenthes pilosa (Gunung Batu Lawi, Borneo) Easy highland species. Spectacular!
12,00 EUR

6. Nepenthes faizaliana (Borneo) Very colorful and easy species. As easy as a N. maxima but much more colorful! Highly recommended!!!
15,00 EUR

7. Nepenthes reinwardtiana (Silam, Borneo) Bornean variety with reddish pitchers.
10,00 EUR

8. Nepenthes fallax (Bareo, Borneo) Often called N. stenophylla. Very beautiful!
15,00 EUR

9. Nepenthes tentaculata (Gunung Rajah, Borneo) Very nice type of N. tentaculata. It resemples a bit to the types from Sulawesi.

10. Nepenthes fusca (Tambunan Rd., Borneo) Very easy highland species.
8,00 EUR

11. Nepenthes tentaculata (Gunung Trusmadi, Borneo)
20,00 EUR

12. Nepenthes lowii (Gunung Mulu, Borneo) (two plants Absolutely fascinating species!
26,00 EUR

13. Nepenthes veitchii (Batu Lawi, Borneo) One of the classics. N. vetchii is considered as a "Must" among growers. Certainly one of the most impressive species! Reduced price!
15,00 EUR

14. Nepenthes villosa (Mt. Kinabalu, Borneo) One of the most spectacular Nepenthes species. It's very difficult unfortunately. Only limited numbers of very small plants are available at this time.
25,00 EUR

15. Nepenthes macrophylla (Gunung Trusmadi, Sumatra) Once considered a variety of N. edwardsiana. Very berautiful!
40,00 EUR

16. Nepenthes macrovulgaris (Gunung Silam, Borneo) Nice. Not too easy.
15,00 EUR

17. Nepenthes muluensis (Gunung Mulu, Borneo) Very beautiful. Upper part of the pitcher almost white!
15,00 EUR

Lowland

1. Nepenthes clipeata certainly is the most spectacular and desired species growing in lowland areas of Borneo. Nepenthes bicalcarata and N. ampullaria are other classics.
Nepenthes clipeata (Kelam)

2. Nepenthes campanulata Still rare in collections but very easy! The plant resembles N. inermis a bit as it also lacks a well developed peristome. The funnel shaped pitchers are very cute. As we have far better quantities...
20,00 EUR

3. Nepenthes clipeata (clone 2) Very rare in cultivation. Easy grower, however. Nepenthes clipeata is almost extinct in the wild. So plants in cultivation should be grown with great care as they might soon be the only survivors of t ...
30,00 EUR

4. Nepenthes rafflesiana (Borneo) Lowland species. Very impressive pitchers.
7,00 EUR

5. Nepenthes clipeata (clone U + 2 + 3) My 3 best clones of the species. Very rare in cultivation. Easy grower, however. Nepenthes clipeata is almost extinct in the wild. So plants in cultivation should be grown with great care as they migh ...
80,00 EUR
6. Nepenthes clipeata (clone U) Very rare in cultivation. Easy grower, however. Nepenthes clipeata is almost extinct in the wild. So plants in cultivation should be grown with great care as they might soon be the only survivors. 30,00 EUR

7. Nepenthes clipeata (Gunung Kelam, Kalimantan) Very rare in cultivation. Easy grower, however. Nepenthes clipeata is almost extinct in the wild. So plants in cultivation should be grown with great care as they might soon be the only survivors o...
30,00 EUR

REAL ACTION TO SAVE Borneo Rainforest

2010-03-17T05:22:00.003-07:00

Borneo Rainforest

"Let us remember, always, that we are the consumers. By exercising free choice, by choosing what to buy, what not to buy, we have the power, collectively to change the ethics of business of industry. We have the potential to exert immense power for good–we each carry it with us, in our purses, checkbooks, and credit cards."
— w, A Reason for Hope

Indonesia

lost almost 100 million acres of rainforest during the rampant plunder of forests that occurred during former president Suharto's 32-year reign. After Suharto was toppled in 1998, illegal logging grew even faster, as powerful regional timber barons took advantage of a political vacuum to exploit endangered resources. The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) based in London and Washington, estimates that at the current rate of deforestation in Indonesia, lowland forests will disappear from Sumatra by 2005, and from Kalimantan in Indonesian Borneo by 2010.
Many items sold today originating from

Indonesia

are made from materials that come from these vanishing rainforests or are related to the endangered species that are fast disappearing from these forests.

As you shop, you can avoid these items by asking yourself:

Do I really need that picture frame or piece of furniture crafted from tropical hardwood?
Do I really need a suit made of rayon?
Do I want to make palm oil a part of my diet?
Is it really fair to keep an endangered animal such as a primate in captivity as a pet?
Is there proof that this exotic wood product has come from well-managed forests by an accredited certifier of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)?
Avoid if you can to use:

- Tropical plywood

- Dowels made from ramin

- Rayon viscose

- Palm oil-based products

- Exotic hardwoods: teak, ebony, sandalwood or ironwood

- Ownership of non-human primates as pets

Let’s Joint Rainforest Action Network

http://www.ran.org/ran/info_center/factsheets/05f.html

Rainforest Relief http://enviroweb.org/rainrelief/toknow.htm

Rainforests are full of life http://www.igc.apc.org/ran/kids_action/life.html

Why study plants? http://www.montana.com/manu/why.html

Rainforest Medical Foundation http://www.xs4all.nl/~rainmed

Bekantan Monyet Belanda Exotic animal borneo

2010-02-04T16:07:00.003-08:00

Bekantan Borneo Monyet Belanda:

Long Nose Monkey

Proboscis Monkey

Exotic animal from East Borneo

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Primates

Family: Cercopithecidae

Subfamily: Colobinae

Genus: Nasalis

Species: N. larvatus

Universitas Borneo;Universitas Mulawarman Tarakan (The Best University East Borneo)
Bekantan Monyet Belanda

The Proboscis Monkey, Nasalis larvatus also known as Long-nosed Monkey is a reddish-brown arboreal Old World monkey. It is the only species in monotypic genus Nasalis.

The most distinctive trait of this monkey is the male's large protruding nose. The purpose of the large nose is unclear, but it has been suggested that it is a result of sexual selection. The female Proboscis Monkey prefers big-nosed male, thus propagating the trait.

Males are much larger than females, reaching 72 cm (28 inches) in length, with an up to 75 cm tail, and weighing up to 24 kg (53 pounds). Females are up to 60 cm long, weighing up to 12 kg (26 lb).

The Proboscis Monkey also has a large belly, as a result of its diet. Its digestive system is divided into several parts, with distinctive gut flora, which help in digesting leaves. This digestive process releases a lot of gas, resulting in the monkey's "bloated" bellies. A side-effect of this unique digestive system is that it is unable to digest ripe fruit, unlike most other simians. The diet consists mainly of fruits, seeds and leaves.

Ecology

The Proboscis Monkey is distributed and endemic to the coastal mangrove, swamps and riverine forests of Borneo. It lives in small groups of 10 to 32 animals. Group membership is very flexible, and animals are known to move from group to group quite often.

The Proboscis Monkey lifestyle is both arboreal and amphibious, with its mangrove swamp and riverine environment containing forest, dry land, shallow water allowing wading, and deep water requiring swimming. Like other similar monkeys, the Proboscis Monkey climbs well. It is also a proficient swimmer, often swimming from island to island, and has been picked up by fishing boats in open ocean a mile from shore. While wading, the monkey uses an upright posture, with the females carrying infants on their hip. Troops have been filmed continuing to walk upright, in single file, along forest trails when they emerge on land, the only non-human mammal, with the exception of gibbons and giant pangolins, known to use this form of locomotion for any length of time.

Conservation status of Bekantan

Due to ongoing habitat lost and hunted in some areas, only about 7000 are known to still exist in the wild. In Sarawak, the population of this species has declined from 6500 in 1977 to only 1000 in 2006. The Proboscis Monkey is evaluated as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix I of CITES.

Other names

While the official Indonesian name for this monkey is Bekantan, an Indonesian nickname is 'monyet belanda', meaning 'Dutch monkey' or 'Orang Belanda', the Indonesian word for 'Dutchman', as Indonesians noticed the Dutch colonisers often also had a large belly and nose.

Where you can find them? (Bekantan) Traveling to Tarakan/Hotel Swiss Bell Hotel/Ticket Aiplane/Booking Ticket

East Borneo, Indonesia (East Kalimantan): Tarakan Island, Nunukan Island and Sebatik. From It’s take 3 hours by plane from jakarta, and 55 minutes from Balikpapan.

Especially in Tarakan City, there’s a mangrove conservation where you can see the Long Nose Monkey, that is more unique than the orang utan (jungleman" (Pongo pygmaeus).

You can get there only 10 minutes from Tarakan’ s airport.

Source: Wikipedia; InterPress Service

Universitas Borneo Tarakan

Universitas Mulawarman

Universitas Borneo Tarakan

Kalimantan Timur :Rainforest Facts

2010-01-28T17:42:00.001-08:00

Kalimantan Timur Rainforest

The world's tropical rainforests are the richest and most diverse habitats on earth. They represent a vast reservoir of knowledge and contain a wealth of ecosystems and wildlife, with many species still undiscovered.

Rainforest Facts

Tropical rainforests - where and what are they?

Tropical rainforests are found across the world between the Tropic of Cancer, at approximately 23 degrees north, and the Tropic of Capricorn, at 23 degrees south of the Equator. They are found in Asia, Africa, Northern Australia, South America and many tropical islands. The areas where rainforests occur experience a constant climate with high temperatures averaging 25°C all year round, an average annual rainfall of at least 2 metres, and up to 100% humidity. Some rainforests get as much as 10 metres of rain per year! Tropical rainforests cover 2% of the world’s land surface - an area of 2000 million hectares - and yet contain over half of the earth’s species of animals and plants. The largest rainforest, called the Amazon, is found in South America and spans eight countries, covering a total area of 2 million square miles.

The forest canopy

The rainforest canopy is divided into four main layers: the emergent layer consists of the tallest trees (emergent trees) which can grow to heights of 70m. These trees act as a buffer, sheltering the lower trees from heavy rains. Beneath this layer is the main canopy of smaller trees which are intertwined with climbing vines and hold flowering plants, called epiphytes, on their branches. Below this is the understorey containing young saplings and shrubs. The final layer, the dark forest floor contains only a few plants as only 2% of the sunlight reaches this layer of the forest, making it difficult for plants to grow.

Read More at : http://www.rainforestconcern.org

Dayak Peoples and The Conservation

2008-01-18T06:12:00.000-08:00

The Fact of Borneo Diversity

That is as rich as the whole of Africa, which is 40 times larger, and 10 times richer than the British Isles. In addition Borneo has 3000 species of trees, 2000 orchids, and 1000 ferns. One tiny 1.12 hectare Bornean rainforest plot included 264 tree species and that did not include its palms, lianas, orchids, ferns and other vegetation.
Borneo's animal life is no less diverse. It supports on the order of 222 mammals, 420 birds, 166 serpents, 100 amphibians, and 394 fresh-water fish, not to mention the invertebrates, by far the most numerous animal species in tropical rainforests. Many of these life forms are endemic, or unique to the island — proboscis monkeys, hornbills, gibbons, cloud leopards, orangutans…

The Dayak Peoples and The Conservation

But, all these diversity will be gone by the destruction of the borneo rainforest. The policy of the government about planting palm oil at Kalimantan is very intensive. At the others hand, the Native peoples of borneo have a dilemma, between to protect their land from palm oil investors or joint the the wave of change, that promise to lifting their economic life. They think the deal will bring jobs and the opportunity for a modern life. They’re boring enough of this kind of living.

So, deforestry of the rainforest can’t stop only by making much part of borneo island as Conservation area or National Park like “Kayan Mentarang National Park East Kalimantan”. It can’t stop by Indonesian government or by the green peace corps, or by WWF. The core about conservation is the native peoples of Kalimantan/borneo. The Dayak peoples is the key of conservation. If their social condition are still poor and

Someone from the elder of the dayak tribe have said: “If the conservation at Kayan Mentarang is only to protect the borneo natural resources like mongkey, birds, rhino, or the forest and the river, without touching the needs of the native/dayak peoples, it’s only humanity feeling for the animals and the flora, but nothing means to us.

The Dayak Peoples and The Conservation

Conservation Area at The Kayan Mentarang National Park

2007-11-23T06:16:00.000-08:00

The Kayan Mentarang National Park is situated in the interior of East Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo. It lies at the border with Sarawak to the west and Sabah to the north. With its gazetted 1.38 million ha, it is the largest protected area of rainforest in Borneo and one of the largest in Southeast Asia. A strict nature reserve since 1980, the area was declared a national park by the Minister of Forestry in October 1996.

About half of the reserve consists of species-rich dipterocarp lowland and hill forest, while mountain forest ranges up to Kayan Mentarang's highest mountain at 2000 m. Forty percent of the park has an elevation above 1000 m. The area is considered to be one of the world's 10 biodiversity hotspots, which contain a disproportionately high level of species diversity in a
relatively small area. Kayan Mentarang National Park has also been identified as one of the Global 200 biologically outstanding ecoregions that most represent the world's biodiversity.

The history of the natural landscape of the park is inexorably intertwined with the history of its people. Extensive archaeological remains in the form of stone burials occur in the reserve. They date from about three hundred years ago and were used for secondmy burial rites.

About 16,000 Dayak people live inside or in close proximity to the Kayan Mentarang National Park. Roughly half of these people are primarily shifting cultivators. The rest are mainly wetrice farmers. The inhabitants of the park and surrounding areas depend on hunting, fishing, and collecting wild plants for their subsistence needs. Trade in forest products such as gall stones (from langurs and porcupines), aloes, wood or gaharu (Aquilmia spp), as well as revenues from temporary employment in Malaysia, are the principal ways to earn cash to buy commercial goods, pay school fees, cover travel expenses to the lowlands, and buy work tools and equipment. These activities have allowed area residents to fulfill basic needs and be selfsufficient, under stable circumstances. However, transportation costs are very high. Only the existence of government Police subsidies has managed to keep prices of essential goods under control.

The communities living in and around the park are still adat, or indigenous communities. They are largely regulated by custommy law, or adat, in the conduct of their daily affairs and the management of natural resources in the customary territory, or wilayah adat. The customary chief, or kepala adat, administers the custommy law with the help of the customary councilor lembaga adat. All elected officials at village level and prominent leaders of the community sit on a customary council. The communities have native customary rights to the entire area of the conservation area. Ten customary lands comprise the Kayan Mentarang National Park.

The Nature Reserve established in 1980 had strict protection status according to which no human activities were allowed inside the protected area. WWF together with LIPI (Indonesian Institute of Research) and local people conducted long-term social science research ("Culture and Conservation," 1991-1997) and experimental community mapping to show that the communities had rightful claims to the land and its resources. The results represented the basis to recommend a change of status from Nature Reserve to National Park, in which traditional activities are allowed, in 1994. The change of status was sanctioned by the Ministry of Forestry in 1996.

Pick up from document in PDF download from http://www.earthlore.ca: (In Search of Good and Equitable Governance for (Indigenous) Conservation Areas: A Case Study from the Kayan Mentarang National Park by Cristina Eghenter and Martin Labo. )

DAYAK: Natives People of Borneo

2007-11-04T20:40:00.000-08:00

Dayak, also Dyak, name applied to aborigines of the island of Borneo, particularly to the tribes of the interior of the state of Sarawak. The Dayak are divided into six groups: the Penans, Klemantans, and Kenyahs, who represent the oldest Dayak elements of Borneo, and the Kayans, Muruts, and Ibans, who are later arrivals. Physically, the Dayak are the result of long-term admixture of Chinese, Malay, and Negrito peoples. The Ibans, known as Sea Dayak and famous as pirates and conquerors, were probably the latest of the Dayak to arrive in Borneo; they alone of the Dayak groups inhabit the coastal region. They bear strong ethnological similarities to the Malays, who came to Borneo in the 12th century. The Ibans were converted to Islam by the Malays (maintaining at the same time vestiges of traditional worship), intermarried with the Malays, and no doubt influenced the Malay language, which is thought to contain many words of Iban derivation.
The other Dayak groups, especially the Kayans and Penans, have maintained their ancient customs, habits, and religious beliefs to a much greater extent. They follow a polytheistic rite of worship that incorporates a system of major and minor gods. The form of worship and the nomenclature of the respective gods vary from tribe to tribe.
The Dayak practice of headhunting, rooted for the most part in religious beliefs, is rapidly dying out. The Ibans, formerly the most notorious of the headhunters, have given up the custom more quickly than the other tribes, probably because, living on the coast, they are in more direct contact with other cultures.
The Dayak are skilled in crafts, making fine cloth and excellent iron weapons. They are efficient in the use of the blowpipe for hunting and are noted for the construction of serviceable bamboo suspension bridges. Rice cultivation, hunting, and the gathering of wild fruit are their main means of subsistence. The Dayak population of Borneo has been estimated as slightly more than 1 million.
In recent years the traditional lifestyles of the Dayak have become increasingly endangered by industrialization, logging, and forced government resettlement. Many Dayak have been active in the struggle to save their dwindling coastal and rain forest homelands.

"Dayak," Microsoft® Encarta® 96 Encyclopedia. © 1993-1995 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. © Funk & Wagnalls Corporation. All rights reserved.

National Parks and Nature Reserves at Borneo

2007-11-01T23:02:00.000-07:00

National parks and nature reserves

Kalimantan has a number of nature reserves to protect its unique flora and fauna. Kersik Luway is where the very rare 'Black Orchid' (Colongenia Pandurata) grows, located upstreams the Mahakam river, East Kalimantan. Bontang, in the regency of Kutai with an area of about 200,000 ha, has a rare flora and fauna.

The Kutai National Park near Bontang is worth visiting to see scenery especially those at Beras Basah. Tanjung Puting National Park in Central Kalimantan is the oldest conservation site of Kalimantan's flora and fauna. The park is inhabited by Orang Utans, Owa-owa, Bekantan and other primates. Also found here the Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre which is supported by the Would Wildlife Fund (WWF).

In West Kalimantan, Gunung Palung National Park located in the Ketapang regency is home to miscellaneous flora and fauna. The Raya Pasi mountain located in the Singkawang regency is also an interesting place to visit to see the Rafflesia or giant flower. Singkawang is also a nature reserve.

The forest of Sanggau is worth a visit where hot springs, lakes and caves can be found. The other nature reserves are the forests of Baning and Kelam Hill in the Sintang regency. While in Kapuas Hulu, there is the Bentuang. In South Kalimantan, there is the Kaget island, home to a wide variety of birds and monkeys, Most notably the humorous longnosed proboscis monkeys.
West Kalimantan National Parks and Jungle

Key National Parks include:
• Mount Palung National Park
• Kendawangan Natural Preservation
• Sentarum Lake Wild Animal Preservation
• Bukit Baka / Bukit Raya National Park
• Kelam Hill Baning Tourism Forest
• Bekantan (Sentarum Lake Wild Animal Reservation)
Central Kalimantan National Parks
• Tanjung Puting National Park
• Bukit Tangkil National Park

Other Places of Interest:
• Burung Lake in West Kotawaringin.
• Porarawu Wildlife Preservation nearby Muara Teweh.
• Gunung Pararawen (Mount Pararawen).
• Kereng Bangkirai Lake in Palangkaraya.
• Tahai Lake in Palangkaraya.

National parks and nature reserves

Danum Valley The Borneo Rainforest Lodge Promo

2007-09-05T02:26:00.000-07:00

The Danum Valley, a primary rainforest jungle, is far removed from human habitation. Renowned for its rich variety of both plants and wildlife, Borneo's mammals include such extremely rare and endangered species as the Sumatran Rhino, Benteng Elephant, Clouded Leopard, Bornean Gibbon, and Leaf Monkey. The Orangutan and Proboscis Monkey are both found only in Borneo. Bird life is equally extensive and varied with over 275 individual species having been recorded, giving Danum Valley a reputation for being one of the best places for viewing Borneo's wildlife.

The Borneo Rainforest Lodge is a basic and rustic international-standard lodge built beside the Danum River. Unlike mass-market tourist destinations, the lodge accommodates a maximum of 60 people, ensuring each guest a unique and individual jungle experience. The fine facilities with basic comforts make it possible to explore the incredible diversity and complexity of the rainforest and offer a unique opportunity for guests to understand the primeval Borneo Rainforest in today's conservation realities.
Lodge activities include jungle walks, bird watching with resident nature guides, canopy walkways high above the jungle floor that allow the viewing of the rainforest from the treetops and night safaris with sights and sounds emanating deep from within the rainforest.

Danum Valley and the Borneo Rainforest Lodge promises you a truly unforgettable and inspiring jungle rainforest experience.

Kota Kinabalu Stopover
Because of the flights and/or transfer times to and from the resort, most guests are required to spend the first and last nights of their stay in Kota Kinabalu. We offer pre and post package stays in Kota Kinabalu including Airport Transfers and Hotel Accommodations. Please refer to "Reservations" for rates and details.
To town of Lahad Datu, gateway to Danum Valley, is reached via a short 55-minute flight from Kota Kinabalu or overland from Tawau or Sandakan. The Borneo Rainforest Lodge is a 2-hour drive from Lahad Datu on a sometimes rough and bumpy road.
Transfers from Lahad Datu Airport to the resort - 0750 Transfers from the resort to Lahad Datu Airport - 1330 (130PM) Other transfer times may be arranged at an additional cost.

Visit East Borneo

2007-09-02T06:54:00.000-07:00

East Borneo Cultural heritage

In East Kalimantan, Berau and Marine Tourism on Derawan island is where we can see the remains of a kingdom called the Keraton Gunung Tambur and the Keraton Sarnbaliung. Derawan island is approximately 3 hours boating from Tanjung Redep (The Capital of Berau regency). It is also a good place for water sports such as scuba diving, fishing, and swimming. Tenggarong, up the Mahakam river from Samarinda, is the capital of the Kutai regency and was once the seat of the Kutai sultanate.
The Sultan's Palace on the riverside is now a museum where historical objects from the sultanate are kept. Every 24th of September, dance and music performances are given to celebrate the town's anniversary. Tanjung Isuy, located in East Kalimantan hinterland, has a traditional Dayak long-house which has been turned into lodges for visitors. Visitors are usually greeted by a traditional Benuaq Dayak welcome. The place can be reached through the scenic Mahakam river.
At Muara Ancalong - Muara Wahau visitors can watch traditional dances of Kenyah Dayak which are performed at a long-house. In Flower Island, South Kalimantan, we can find many species of monkeys and an old Chinese temple where local Chinese bring offerings of fresh fruit and peanuts to a tribe of aggressive macaquef in hopes of being blessed with even greater prosperity. An original Betang (traditional longhouse) can be seen in Saham village, 158 km from Pontianak, West Kalimantan. The measures of this long-house are: 186 m long, 6 m wide, inhabited by 269 people. A heritage to Kaharingan religion, a sect of Hinduism, can be found in Bukit Rawi, small village of Central Kalimantan.
East Borneo Cultural heritage

Kalimantan East Borneo

2007-09-02T06:52:00.000-07:00

Kalimantan Timur or East Borneo

Also called East Kalimantan, provinsi (“province”), east-central Borneo, Indonesia, fronting the Celebes Sea to the northeast and the Makassar Strait to the southeast. It is bounded on the north and northwest by the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak and by the Indonesian provinces of Kalimantan Barat on the west and Kalimantan Tengah and Kalimantan Selatan on the southwest. Kalimantan Timur covers an area of 81,637 square miles (211,440 square km) and embraces the islands of Sebalik (southern half), Bunyu, Tarakan, Panjang, Derawan, and Bilangbilangan in the Celebes Sea.An uninterrupted mountain range, the Iran Mountains, runs north-south, parallel to the western boundary of Kalimantan Timur. The range has spurs that run northeastward in the central and northern parts of the province and nearly reach the coast.

The mountains are surmounted by nonvolcanic peaks including Mount Murud (7,999 feet [2,438 m]), Mount Kongkemul (6,735 feet [2,053 m]), and Mount Batubrok (7,349 feet [2,240 m]). Northern rivers include the Sebulku, Sembakong, Sesayap, Kayau, and Besau. They flow eastward to the Celebes Sea and have created a number of estuaries at their mouths along the coast. The Mahakam River, together with its tributaries, the Tolen and Belayan, has formed an inland basin covered by swamps that includes the Semayang, Melintang, and Jempang lakes in the southeastern part of the province. The mountains are covered by dense tropical rain forests of teak, oak, pine, alder, maple, and ash.

Heavy rainfall has resulted in advanced laterization and consequent impoverishment of the soils.Agriculture, based on shifting cultivation, is the principal means of livelihood; rice, corn (maize), cassava, potatoes, red pepper, fruits, and vegetables are the major crops. Livestock and poultry are raised, and riverine and deep-sea fishing are economically important. Industries and crafts include food processing, rice milling, pharmaceutical production, sawmilling, wood carving, weaving, plaiting, beadworking, basket and mat making, and iron smelting.

East Borneo
There is an oil refinery near Balikpapan, and oil and natural gas are extracted from offshore fields in the southeast. Roads are confined to the southeastern coastal plains and connect Samarinda, the provincial capital, with Tenggarong and Balikpapan. Internal communication is mainly by riverboat and coastal vessels; Balikpapan has an airport.The population consists mostly of the Iban, Kayan, Kelabitic Marut, and Tidong ethnic groups. Islam is the dominant religion, although many Iban have become Christians. The Kutai Game Reserve is located near Bontang on the eastern coast of the province.
“Kalimantan Timur: East Borneo”

Borneo Indonesia Profile

2007-09-02T06:46:00.000-07:00

Kalimantan/borneo Indonesia General Profile

Basic geographical and climatic info
Kalimantan is part of the island of Borneo, which is shared between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. It makes up about one third of Indonesia’s total land, with an area 540 000 square kilometres. Geographically, Kalimantan is relatively flat around the coastal areas, whilst the interior is dominated by mountain ranges. Unlike other Indonesian islands, Kalimantan posesses no volcanoes. Approximately 75% of Kalimantan is still covered in rainforest. Other habitats inlcud large areas of mangrove, swamp and heath forest, or kerangas, a type of eco-system that is mainly found on Kalimantan.
The humid tropical climate and high rainfall (more than 250 cms annually) maintains a large number of rivers, which flow from the mountains to the coastal plains.
Plant and animal species
Kalimantan’s dense rainforest supports a huge number of plant and animal species. Two hundred and twenty one different types of mammals and 450 species of bird are found in Kalimantan, with nearly 50 of those species found only on Borneo. Animal species include the Bekantan, a long-nosed monkey, orangutan, tigers, crocodile and the biawak, a large lizard. The Mahakam river is home to a unique fresh-water porpoise.
The different rainforest, coastal and peatswamp habitats have produced a wide variety of flora, including unique orchid species, ulin (iron wood), meranti, the scented gaharu wood, kumpai swamp grass and pandan.
Population, ethnic groups and communities
Although around 9 million people live on Kalimantan, most of the region remains sparsely populated, with nearly half of the population found in West Kalimantan. Kalimantan was the focus for an intense transmigration program, initiated from Jakarta under the Soeharto regime. Nearly 100 000 people were sent to the island during the 1970’s, with the program expanding further in the following decades. The area is now home to two main groups – the predominantly Muslim Malay people, who live mostly in the large citites and coastal regions, and the indigenous forest-dwelling Dayak people, who are mostly Christian. Other groups include ethnic Chinese, Javanese, Banjarese and Madurese, the last group making up 8% of the population.
Poverty levels in Kalimantan are high and the majority of those with jobs in industry are migrants. Local communities have limited economic opportunities. The Western and Central provinces of Kalimantan have been the scene of violence and mass killings of Madurese by the indigenous Dayak people. Many Madurese remain displaced, having fled their homes during the conflict, and are living in makeshift camps.
Environmental pressures and social problems
Kalimantan is incredibly rich in natural resources, and mining and forestry are causing intense environmental and social pressure. Coal mining began in Kalimantan in the late 19th century, with oil production following soon after. Industrial logging came to the region in 1967 and continues at alarming rates today, making South Kalimantan one of Indonesia’s largest wood producers. Cash crops like oil palm which follow in the wake of industrial logging, are also multiplying.
These logging operations have left indigenous groups like the Dayak people disenfranchised and displaced from their tradtional homelands.
Rampant industrial logging has made also Kalimantan especially vulnerable to forest fires. Fires in 2001 produced a smog which blanketed the entire region, as far as Singapore and Thailand, causing 2500 people to seek medical treatment.
Extensive coal and gold mining in Kalimantan has brought foreign companies into conflict with protected areas and local communites.
http://www.preventconflict.org/portal/main/maps_kalimantan_resources.php
Kalimantan/borneo Indonesia General Profile