Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located at the centre of Maritime Southeast Asia. Administratively, this island is divided among Indonesia (Kalimantan, population 12,000,000), Malaysia (Sarawak and Sabah, pop. 6,000,000), and Brunei (pop. 590,000). Indonesians refer to the island as “Kalimantan”. However, for people outside of Indonesia, Kalimantan refers to the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Malaysia’s region of Borneo is called East Malaysia or Malaysian Borneo. Malaysians usually reference the island by either of its two Malaysian provinces. The independent nation of Brunei occupies the remainder of the island. Brunei is the wealthiest nation on the island of Borneo.

Geography
Borneo is surrounded by the South China Sea to the north and northwest, the Sulu Sea to the northeast, the Celebes Sea and the Makassar Strait to the east and the Java Sea and Karimata Strait to the south. It has an area of 743,330 square kilometres (287,000 sq mi).

Mount Kinabalu

To the west of Borneo are the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. To the south is Java. To the east is the island of Sulawesi (Celebes). To the northeast is the Philippines.Borneo’s highest point is Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia, with an elevation of 4,095 m (13,440 ft) above sea level. This makes it the world’s third highest island.

The largest river systems are the Kapuas River, with approximately 1,143 km (710 mi) the longest river in Indonesia, the Rajang River in Sarawak with some 562.5 km (349.5 mi) the longest river in Malaysia, the Barito River about 880 km (550 mi) long and the Mahakam River about 980 km (610 mi) long.

Borneo is also known for its extensive cave systems. Clearwater Cave has one of the world’s longest underwater rivers. Deer Cave, thought to be the largest cave passage in the world, is home to over three million bats and guano accumulated to over 100 metres (330 ft) high.

History
According to ancient Chinese, Indian and Javanese manuscripts, western coastal cities of Borneo have become trading ports, part of their trade routes, since the first millennium.In Chinese manuscripts, gold, camphor, tortoise shells, hornbill ivory, rhinoceros horn, crane crest, beeswax, lakawood (a scented heartwood and root wood of a thick liana, Dalbergia parviflora), dragon’s blood, rattan, edible bird’s nests and various spices were among the most valuable items from Borneo.The Indians named Borneo as Suvarnabhumi (the land of gold) and also Karpuradvipa (the Camphor Island), which includes the western part of the island shared with Sumatra island. The Javanese named Borneo as Puradvipa, or the Diamond Island. Archaeological findings in the delta river of Sarawak reveal that the area was once a thriving trading centre between India and China from the 6th century until about 1300 AD.In the fourteenth century, part of Borneo were under the control of Majapahit kingdom as is written in Javanese Nagarakretagama document (circa 1365 AD). The name of a trading port city in Borneo is Tanjungpura in Nagarakretagama; the same name written in another Javanese Paraton document (circa 1355 AD).

During the Second World War, Japanese forces gained control of Borneo (1941–45). They decimated many local populations and Malay intellectuals, including the elimination of the Malay Sultanate of Sambas in Kalimantan.Borneo was the main site of the confrontation between Indonesia and Malaysia between 1962 and 1966, as well as the communist revolts to gain control of the whole area. Before the formation of Malaysian Federation, the Philippines claimed that the Malaysian state of Sabah in north Borneo is within their territorial rights based on historical facts of the Sultanate of Sulu’s leasing agreement with the North Borneo Company, is presently an unresolved claim against Malaysia. Several other territorial claims such as Sipadan were resolved at The Hague international courts.

Ecology
Borneo is very rich in biodiversity compared to many other areas (MacKinnon et al. 1998). There are about 15,000 species of flowering plants with 3,000 species of trees (267 species are dipterocarps), 221 species of terrestrial mammals and 420 species of resident birds in Borneo (MacKinnon et al. 1998). It is also the centre of evolution and radiation of many endemic species of plants and animals. The remaining Borneo rainforest is the only natural habitat for the endangered Bornean Orangutan. It is also an important refuge for many endemic forest species, as the Asian Elephant, the Sumatran Rhinoceros, the Bornean Clouded Leopard, and the Dayak Fruit Bat. It is the most biodiverse place on earth.

Nepenthes villosa, a species of pitcher plant endemic to Kinabalu National Park, Borneo.

The World Wildlife Fund divides the island into seven distinct ecoregions. The Borneo lowland rain forests cover most of the island, with an area of 427,500 square kilometres (165,100 sq mi). Other lowland ecoregions are the Borneo peat swamp forests, the Kerangas or Sundaland heath forests, the Southwest Borneo freshwater swamp forests, and the Sunda Shelf mangroves. The Borneo mountain rain forests lie in the central highlands of the island, above the 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) elevation. The highest elevations of Mount Kinabalu are home to the Kinabalu mountain alpine meadow, an alpine shrubland notable for its numerous endemic species, including many orchids.

The type of rainforests found in Borneo include the high diversity mixed dipterocarp forest, the rare peat swamp forests and heath forest.Researchers scouring swamps in the heart of Borneo island have discovered a venomous species of snake that can change its skin color. Scientists named their find the Kapuas mud snake, and speculated it might only occur in the Kapuas River drainage system.World Wildlife Fund has stated that 361 animal and plant species have been discovered in Borneo since 1996, underscoring its unparalleled biodiversity.[11] In the 18 month period from July 2005 until December 2006, another 52 new species were found.

Ethnic
There are over 30 Dayak sub-ethnic groups living in Borneo, making the population of this island one of the most varied of human social groups. The native ethnic groups are Dayak Austronesians and their languages belong to the Malayo-Polynesian language family. Some sub-ethnicities are now represented by only 30-100 individuals and are threatened with extinction. Much culture, language, ethnomusic and traditional knowledge has yet to be documented by anthropologists. Ancestral knowledge of ethnobotany and ethnozoology is useful in drug discovery (for example, bintangor plant for AIDS) or as future alternative food sources (such as sago starch for lactic acid production and sago maggots as a protein source).
Mount Kinabalu, a major center of biodiversity in Borneo.

Certain indigenous Dayak people (such as the Kayan, Kenyah, Punan Bah and Penan) living on the island have been struggling for decades for their right to preserve their environment from loggers and transmigrant settlers and colonists. Land reform is needed for future development in the face of rapid economic changes.