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Borneo (; id,
Kalimantan Kalimantan () is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area. The non-Indonesian parts of Borneo are Brunei and East Malaysia. In Indonesia, "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo. In 2019, ...
) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of
Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
, west of
Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...
, and east of
Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
. The island is politically divided among three countries:
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
and
Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...
in the north, and
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
to the south. Approximately 73% of the island is Indonesian territory. In the north, the East Malaysian states of
Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...
and
Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...
make up about 26% of the island. The population in Borneo is 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Additionally, the Malaysian federal territory of Labuan is situated on a small island just off the coast of Borneo. The sovereign state of
Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...
, located on the north coast, comprises about 1% of Borneo's land area. A little more than half of the island is in the
Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...
, including Brunei and the Malaysian portion, while the Indonesian portion spans the Northern and
Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...
hemispheres.


Etymology

The island is known by many names. Internationally it is known as ''Borneo'', derived from European contact with the
Brunei kingdom Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by the ...
in the 16th century during the
Age of Exploration The Age of Discovery (or the Age of Exploration), also known as the early modern period, was a period largely overlapping with the Age of Sail, approximately from the 15th century to the 17th century in European history, during which seafari ...
. On a map from around 1601, Brunei city is referred to as Borneo, and the whole island is also labelled Borneo. The name ''Borneo'' may derive from the
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
word ' (), meaning either "water" or
Varuna Varuna (; sa, वरुण, , Malay: ''Baruna'') is a Vedic deity associated initially with the sky, later also with the seas as well as Ṛta (justice) and Satya (truth). He is found in the oldest layer of Vedic literature of Hinduism, such ...
, the Hindu god of rain. The local population called it ''Klemantan'' or ''
Kalimantan Kalimantan () is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area. The non-Indonesian parts of Borneo are Brunei and East Malaysia. In Indonesia, "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo. In 2019, ...
,'' which was derived from the
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
word ''Kalamanthana,'' meaning "burning weather" possibly to describe its hot and humid
tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
weather. Indonesian historian Slamet Muljana suggests that the name ''Kalamanthana'' was derived from Sanskrit terms ''
kala Kala or Kalah may refer to: Religion Hinduism *Kāla, a Sanskrit word meaning ''time'' *Kāla, a Hindu deity of time, destiny, death and destruction closely related to Yama and Shiva. *Kalā, a Sanskrit word meaning ''performing arts'' * Kala Bo, ...
'' (time or season) and ''manthana'' (churning, kindling or creating fire by friction), which possibly describes the heat of the weather. In earlier times, the island was known by other names. In 977, Chinese records began to use the term ''Bo-ni'' to refer to Borneo. In 1225, it was also mentioned by the Chinese official Chau Ju-Kua (趙汝适). The Javanese manuscript Nagarakretagama, written by
Majapahit Majapahit ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese people, Javanese Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was ba ...
court poet Mpu Prapanca in 1365, mentioned the island as ''Nusa Tanjungnagara'', which means the island of the
Tanjungpura Kingdom Tanjungpura Kingdom was the name of an ancient 8th century kingdom that was located along the southwestern coast of Borneo facing the Java Sea, a region that today corresponds to the Ketapang Regency of West Kalimantan province of Indonesia. Nam ...
. Nevertheless, the same manuscript also mentioned ''Barune'' (Brunei) and other polities on the island.


Geography


Geology

Borneo was formed through
Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceo ...
accretion of microcontinental fragments, ophiolite terranes and island arc crust onto a
Paleozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...
continental core. At the beginning of the
Cenozoic The Cenozoic ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterised by the dominance of mammals, birds and flowering plants, a cooling and drying climate, and the current configura ...
Borneo formed a
promontory A promontory is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or a body of water (in which case it is a peninsula). Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the so ...
of
Sundaland Sundaland (also called Sundaica or the Sundaic region) is a biogeographical region of South-eastern Asia corresponding to a larger landmass that was exposed throughout the last 2.6 million years during periods when sea levels were lower. It ...
which partly separated from Asian mainland by the proto-South China Sea. The oceanic part of the proto-South China Sea was
subducted Subduction is a geological process in which the oceanic lithosphere is recycled into the Earth's mantle at convergent boundaries. Where the oceanic lithosphere of a tectonic plate converges with the less dense lithosphere of a second plate, the ...
during the
Paleogene The Paleogene ( ; British English, also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period, geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million yea ...
period and a large
accretionary complex An accretionary wedge or accretionary prism forms from sediments accreted onto the non-subducting tectonic plate at a convergent plate boundary. Most of the material in the accretionary wedge consists of marine sediments scraped off from the d ...
formed along the northwestern of the island of Borneo. In the early Miocene uplift of the accretionary complex occurred as a result of underthrusting of thinned continental crust in northwest. The uplift may have also resulted from shortening due to the counter-clockwise rotation of Borneo between 20 and 10 mega-annum (Ma) as a consequence of
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
-Southeast Asia collision. Large volumes of
sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...
were shed into basins, which scattered offshore to the west, north and east of Borneo as well into a
Neogene The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...
basin which is currently exposed in large areas of eastern and southern
Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...
. In southeast Sabah, the
Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...
to recent island arc terranes of the Sulu Archipelago extend onshore into Borneo with the older
volcanic arc A volcanic arc (also known as a magmatic arc) is a belt of volcanoes formed above a subducting oceanic tectonic plate, with the belt arranged in an arc shape as seen from above. Volcanic arcs typically parallel an oceanic trench, with the arc lo ...
was the result of southeast dipping subduction while the younger volcanics are likely resulted from northwest dipping subduction the Celebes Sea. Before sea levels rose at the end of the last ice age, Borneo was part of the mainland of Asia, forming, with
Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
and
Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
, the upland regions of a peninsula that extended east from present day
Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
. The
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...
and
Gulf of Thailand The Gulf of Thailand, also known as the Gulf of Siam, is a shallow inlet in the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. It is around in l ...
now submerge the former low-lying areas of the peninsula. Deeper waters separating Borneo from neighbouring
Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...
prevented a land connection to that island, creating the divide known as
Wallace's Line The Wallace Line or Wallace's Line is a faunal boundary line drawn in 1859 by the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace and named by English biologist Thomas Henry Huxley that separates the biogeographical realms of Asia and Wallacea, a tran ...
between Asian and Australia-
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...
biological regions. The island today is surrounded by the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...
to the north and northwest, the
Sulu Sea The Sulu Sea ( fil, Dagat Sulu; Tausug: ''Dagat sin Sūg''; Chavacano: ''Mar de Sulu''; Cebuano: ''Dagat sa Sulu''; Hiligaynon: ''Dagat sang Sulu''; Karay-a: ''Dagat kang Sulu''; Cuyonon: ''Dagat i'ang Sulu''; ms, Laut Sulu) is a body o ...
to the northeast, the Celebes Sea and the
Makassar Strait Makassar Strait is a strait between the islands of Borneo and Sulawesi in Indonesia. To the north it joins the Celebes Sea, while to the south it meets the Java Sea. To the northeast, it forms the Sangkulirang Bay south of the Mangkalihat Pe ...
to the east, and the
Java Sea The Java Sea ( id, Laut Jawa, jv, Segara Jawa) is an extensive shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf, between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south, Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east. Karimata Strait to its nort ...
and Karimata Strait to the south. To the west of Borneo are the
Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...
and
Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
. To the south and east are islands of Indonesia:
Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
and
Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...
, respectively. To the northeast are the Philippine Islands. With an area of , it is the third-largest island in the world, and is the largest island of
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
(the largest continent). Its highest point is
Mount Kinabalu Mount Kinabalu ( ms, Gunung Kinabalu, Dusun language, Dusun: ''Gayo Ngaran or Nulu Nabalu'') is the highest mountain in Borneo and Malaysia. With an elevation of , it is List of islands by highest point, third-highest peak of an island on Eart ...
in Sabah, Malaysia, with an elevation of . The largest river system is the Kapuas in West Kalimantan, with a length of . Other major rivers include the Mahakam in East Kalimantan ( long), the Barito, Kahayan, and Mendawai in
South Kalimantan South Kalimantan ( id, Kalimantan Selatan) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is the smallest province in Kalimantan, the Indonesian territory of Borneo. The provincial capital was Banjarmasin until 15 February 2022 when it wa ...
(, , and long respectively), Rajang in Sarawak ( long) and
Kinabatangan Kinabatangan ( ms, Pekan Kinabatangan) is the capital of the Kinabatangan District in the Sandakan Division of Sabah, Malaysia. Its population was estimated to be around 10,256 in 2010. Kinabatangan is mostly populated with the Orang Sungai ...
in Sabah ( long). Borneo has significant cave systems. In Sarawak, the Clearwater Cave has one of the world's longest underground rivers while
Deer Cave Deer Cave ( ms, Gua Rusa), located near Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia, is a show cave attraction of Gunung Mulu National Park. It was surveyed in 1961 by G. E. Wilford of the British Borneo Geological Survey, who predicted that Mulu would yield many ...
is home to over three million
bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...
s, with
guano Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. G ...
accumulated to over deep. The
Gomantong Caves The Gomantong Caves are an intricate cave system inside Gomantong Hill in Sandakan Division, Sabah, Malaysia. The hill is the largest limestone outcrop in the Lower Kinabatangan area. Description Situated in the Gomantong Forest Reserve, the c ...
in Sabah has been dubbed as the "Cockroach Cave" due to the presence of millions of cockroaches inside the cave. The Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak and
Sangkulirang-Mangkalihat Karst The Sangkulirang-Mangkalihat Karst is a karstique area in Sub Kelay, Biatan, Talisayan, Batu Putih, and Biduk-biduk Berau districts of East Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo in Indonesia. It covers an area of 105,000 hectares, includin ...
in East Kalimantan which particularly a
karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...
areas contains thousands of smaller caves.


Ecology

The Borneo
rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...
is estimated to be around 140 million years old, making it one of the oldest rainforests in the world. It is the centre of the evolution and distribution of many
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
species of plants and animals, and the rainforest is one of the few remaining natural habitats for the endangered
Bornean orangutan The Bornean orangutan (''Pongo pygmaeus'') is a species of orangutan endemic to the island of Borneo. Together with the Sumatran orangutan (''Pongo abelii'') and Tapanuli orangutan (''Pongo tapanuliensis''), it belongs to the only genus of great ...
. It is an important refuge for many endemic forest species, including the
Borneo elephant The Borneo elephant, also called the Bornean elephant or the Borneo pygmy elephant, is a subspecies of Asian elephant ''(Elephas maximus)'' that inhabits northeastern Borneo, in Indonesia and Malaysia. Its origin remains the subject of debate. A d ...
, the
eastern Sumatran rhinoceros The Bornean rhinoceros (''Dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoni''), also known as the eastern Sumatran rhinoceros or eastern hairy rhinoceros, is one of three subspecies of Sumatran rhinoceros. The subspecies may be functionally extinct, with only ...
, the
Bornean clouded leopard The Bornean clouded leopard (''Neofelis diardi borneensis'') is a subspecies of the Sunda clouded leopard. It is native to the island of Borneo, and differs from the Batu- Sumatran clouded leopard in the shape and frequency of spots, as well as ...
, the Bornean rock frog, the
hose's palm civet Hose's palm civet (''Diplogale hosei''), also known as Hose's civet, is a viverrid species endemic to the island of Borneo. It is listed on the IUCN Red List as Vulnerable because of an ongoing population decline, estimated to be more than 30% o ...
and the
dayak fruit bat The dayak fruit bat or dyak fruit bat (''Dyacopterus spadiceus'') is a relatively rare frugivorous megabat species found only on the Sunda Shelf of southeast Asia, specifically the Malay Peninsula south of the Isthmus of Kra, and the islands of ...
.
Peat swamp forests Peat swamp forests are tropical moist forests where waterlogged soil prevents dead leaves and wood from fully decomposing. Over time, this creates a thick layer of acidic peat. Large areas of these forests are being logged at high rates. Peat ...
occupy the entire coastline of Borneo. The soil of the peat swamp is comparatively infertile, while it is known to be the home of various bird species such as the
hook-billed bulbul The hook-billed bulbul (''Setornis criniger'') is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is found in eastern Sumatra and Borneo, where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or ...
,
helmeted hornbill The helmeted hornbill (''Rhinoplax vigil'') is a very large bird in the hornbill family. It is found on the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Thailand and Myanmar. The casque (helmetlike structure on the head) accounts for some 11% of its 3  ...
and rhinoceros hornbill. There are about 15,000 species of
flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
s with 3,000 species of trees (267 species are
dipterocarp Dipterocarpaceae is a family of 16 genera and about 695 known species of mainly tropical lowland rainforest trees. The family name, from the type genus ''Dipterocarpus'', is derived from Greek (''di'' = two, ''pteron'' = wing and ''karpos'' = fru ...
s), 221 species of terrestrial mammals and 420 species of resident birds in Borneo. There are about 440 freshwater fish species in Borneo (about the same as Sumatra and Java combined). The
Borneo river shark The Ganges shark (''Glyphis gangeticus'') is a critically endangered species of requiem shark found in the Ganges River (Padma River) and the Brahmaputra River of Bangladesh and India. It is often confused with the more common bull shark (''Car ...
is known only from the
Kinabatangan River The Kinabatangan River ( ms, Sungai Kinabatangan) is a river in Sandakan Division, in northeastern Sabah, Malaysia. It is the second longest river in Malaysia, with a length of from its headwaters in the mountains of southwest Sabah, to its ou ...
. In 2010, the
World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...
(WWF) stated that 123 species have been discovered in Borneo since the "
Heart of Borneo The Heart of Borneo is a conservation agreement initiated by the World Wide Fund for Nature to protect a 220,000 km² forested region on Borneo island. The agreement was signed by the governments of Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia in Bali on 1 ...
" agreement was signed in 2007. The WWF has classified the island into seven distinct
ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...
s. Most are lowland regions: * Borneo lowland rain forests cover most of the island, with an area of ; *
Borneo peat swamp forests The Borneo peat swamp forests ecoregion, within the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome, are on the island of Borneo, which is divided between Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia. Location and description Peat swamp forests occur ...
; * ''
Kerangas The Sundaland heath forest, also known as ''Kerangas'' forest, is a type of tropical moist forest found on the island of Borneo, which is divided between Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, as well as on the Indonesian islands of Belitung and Bangk ...
'' or Sundaland heath forests; * Southwest Borneo freshwater swamp forests; and *
Sunda Shelf mangroves The Sunda Shelf mangroves ecoregion, in the mangrove biome, are on the coasts of the islands of Borneo and eastern Sumatra in Malaysia and Indonesia. They are home to the proboscis monkey. As well as being an important habitat for terrestrial ...
. * The
Borneo montane rain forests The Borneo montane rain forests are an ecoregion, of cloud forest, within the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome, of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Location and description This ecoregion consists of tropical moun ...
lie in the central highlands of the island, above the elevation. *The Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands on South Kalimantan. The highest elevations of
Mount Kinabalu Mount Kinabalu ( ms, Gunung Kinabalu, Dusun language, Dusun: ''Gayo Ngaran or Nulu Nabalu'') is the highest mountain in Borneo and Malaysia. With an elevation of , it is List of islands by highest point, third-highest peak of an island on Eart ...
are home to the Kinabalu mountain
alpine meadow Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...
, an alpine shrubland notable for its numerous endemic species, including many orchids. According to analysis of data from Global Forest Watch, the Indonesian portion of Borneo lost 10.7 million hectares of tree cover between 2002 and 2019, of which 4 million hectares was primary forest, compared with Malaysian Borneo's 4.4 million hectares of tree cover loss and 1.9 million hectares of primary forest cover loss. As of 2020, Indonesian Borneo accounts for 72% of the island's tree cover, Malaysian Borneo 27%, and Brunei 1%. Primary forest in Indonesia accounts for 44% of Borneo's overall tree cover.


Conservation issues

The island historically had extensive rainforest cover, but the area was reduced due to heavy
logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...
by the Indonesian and Malaysian wood industry, especially with the large demands of raw materials from industrial countries along with the conversion of forest lands for large-scale agricultural purposes. Half of the annual global tropical timber acquisition comes from Borneo.
Palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...
plantations have been widely developed and are rapidly encroaching on the last remnants of primary rainforest. Forest fires since 1997, started by the locals to clear the forests for plantations were exacerbated by an exceptionally dry El Niño season, worsening the annual shrinkage of the rainforest. During these fires, hotspots were visible on satellite images and the resulting
haze Haze is traditionally an atmospheric phenomenon in which dust, smoke, and other dry particulates suspended in air obscure visibility and the clarity of the sky. The World Meteorological Organization manual of codes includes a classification ...
frequently affected Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia. The haze could also reach southern
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
,
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
,
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
and the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
as evidenced on the
2015 Southeast Asian haze The 2015 Southeast Asian haze was an air pollution crisis affecting several countries in Southeast Asia, including Brunei, Indonesia (especially its islands of Sumatra and Borneo), Malaysia, Singapore, southern Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and t ...
. The orchid
Mycaranthes farinosa ''Mycaranthes'' is a genus of orchids. It was previously considered as a synonym of the genus ''Eria'', but eventually it has become an accepted name. Its species are native to Southeast Asia, China, the Himalayas and New Guinea. Species # '' ...
is specific to this island


Topography

List of highest peaks in Borneo by elevation. *
Mount Kinabalu Mount Kinabalu ( ms, Gunung Kinabalu, Dusun language, Dusun: ''Gayo Ngaran or Nulu Nabalu'') is the highest mountain in Borneo and Malaysia. With an elevation of , it is List of islands by highest point, third-highest peak of an island on Eart ...
* Mount Trusmadi * Bukit Raya *
Muruk Miau Muruk ( fa, موروك, also Romanized as Mūrūk; also known as Marūk, Merūk, Morūk, Mowrak, and Mūrak) is a village in Vardasht Rural District, in the Central District (Semirom County), Central District of Semirom County, Isfahan Province, Ir ...
*
Mount Wakid Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...
* Monkobo Hill *
Mount Lotung Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...
*
Mount Magdalena Mount Magdalena ( ms, Gunung Magdalena) is a volcanic cone mountain located at the Tawau Division of Sabah, Malaysia. It reaches a height of approximately . History Since 1979, it has been a part of the Tawau Hills Park. backpacking (wildern ...
* Talibu Hill


River systems

List of longest river in Borneo by length. * Kapuas River * Barito River *
Mahakam River The Mahakam River (Indonesian: ''Sungai Mahakam'') is third longest and volume discharge river in Borneo after Kapuas River and Barito River, it is located in Kalimantan, Indonesia. It flows from the district of Long Apari in the highlands of ...
* Rajang River *
Kahayan River The Kahayan river, or Great Dayak River, is the second largest river after Barito River in Central Kalimantan, a province of Indonesia in Kalimantan – the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. With a total length of and with a drainage bas ...
*
Mendawai River Mendawai River or Katingan River is a river of Borneo, it is located in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. With a total length of . The longhouses of the Pendahara are located along the river in its upper course. The river has its source in the Schw ...
*
Kayan River The Kayan River is a river of Borneo island, flowing in the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia, about 1600 km northeast of the capital Jakarta. Tributaries include the Bahau River. Hydrology The Kayan River rises on Mount Ukeng, pa ...
*
Kinabatangan River The Kinabatangan River ( ms, Sungai Kinabatangan) is a river in Sandakan Division, in northeastern Sabah, Malaysia. It is the second longest river in Malaysia, with a length of from its headwaters in the mountains of southwest Sabah, to its ou ...
* Baram River *
Sembakung River The Sembakung River is a river of Borneo, in the province of North Kalimantan, Indonesia, about 1600 km northeast of the capital Jakarta.Sesayap River Sesayap River is a river in Borneo island, flowing in North Kalimantan Province, Indonesia.Sungai Sesayap
at G ...
*
Pawan River Pawan River is a major river of West Kalimantan, Indonesia. It has a length of . Tributaries include the Keriau River. Hydrology In its mid course Pawan River passes through the little town of Tandjoengpoera (Tanjungpura). Pawan River passes th ...


History


Early history

In November 2018, scientists reported the discovery of the oldest known figurative art painting, over 40,000 (perhaps as old as 52,000) years old, of an unknown animal, in the cave of
Lubang Jeriji Saléh Lubang Jeriji Saleh is a limestone cave complex in Indonesia in the Sangkulirang-Mangkalihat Karst located in the remote jungle of Bengalon district in East Kutai, East Kalimantan province on Borneo island. In a 2018 publication a team of resear ...
on the island of Borneo. According to ancient Chinese (977), Indian and Japanese manuscripts, western coastal cities of Borneo had become trading ports by the first millennium AD. In Chinese manuscripts, gold,
camphor Camphor () is a waxy, colorless solid with a strong aroma. It is classified as a terpenoid and a cyclic ketone. It is found in the wood of the camphor laurel ('' Cinnamomum camphora''), a large evergreen tree found in East Asia; and in the k ...
,
tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...
shells, hornbill ivory,
rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
horn, crane crest,
beeswax Beeswax (''cera alba'') is a natural wax produced by honey bees of the genus ''Apis''. The wax is formed into scales by eight wax-producing glands in the abdominal segments of worker bees, which discard it in or at the hive. The hive workers ...
, lakawood (a scented heartwood and root wood of a thick
liana A liana is a long- stemmed, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in search of direct sunlight. The word ''liana'' does not refer to a ta ...
, ''Dalbergia parviflora''),
dragon's blood Dragon's blood is a bright red resin which is obtained from different species of a number of distinct plant genera: ''Calamus'' spp. (previously ''Daemonorops'') also including ''Calamus rotang'', '' Croton'', '' Dracaena'' and ''Pterocarpus''. ...
,
rattan Rattan, also spelled ratan, is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the closed-canopy old-growth tropical forests of ...
, edible bird's nests and various spices were described as among the most valuable items from Borneo. The
Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
named Borneo ''Suvarnabhumi'' (the land of gold) and also ''Karpuradvipa'' (Camphor Island). The Javanese named Borneo ''Puradvipa'', or Diamond Island.
Archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
findings in the Sarawak river delta reveal that the area was a thriving centre of trade between India and China from the 6th century until about 1300. Stone pillars bearing inscriptions in the
Pallava script The Pallava script or Pallava Grantha, is a Brahmic scripts, Brahmic script, named after the Pallava dynasty of South India, attested since the 4th century AD. As epigrapher Arlo Griffiths makes clear, however, the term is misleading as not all o ...
, found in Kutai along the
Mahakam River The Mahakam River (Indonesian: ''Sungai Mahakam'') is third longest and volume discharge river in Borneo after Kapuas River and Barito River, it is located in Kalimantan, Indonesia. It flows from the district of Long Apari in the highlands of ...
in East Kalimantan and dating to around the second half of the 4th century, constitute some of the oldest evidence of
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
influence in Southeast Asia. By the 14th century, Borneo became a
vassal state A vassal state is any state that has a mutual obligation to a superior state or empire, in a status similar to that of a vassal in the feudal system in medieval Europe. Vassal states were common among the empires of the Near East, dating back to ...
of
Majapahit Majapahit ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese people, Javanese Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was ba ...
(in present-day Indonesia), later changing its allegiance to the
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
of China. Pre-Islamic Sulu, then known locally as
Lupah Sug In the Philippine history, the ''Lupah Sug'' ( Jawi: سوگ; ''Sūg'') was a predecessor state before the establishment of Sultanate of Sulu. History Hindu principality of Maimbung Sulu that time was called ''Lupah Sug'' and ruled by the Ind ...
, stretched from Palawan and the Sulu archipelago at the Philippines; to
Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...
, Eastern, and Northern Kalimantan in Borneo. The Sulu empire rose as a rebellion and reaction against former Majapahit Imperialism against Sulu which Majapahit briefly occupied. The religion of
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
entered the island in the 10th century, following the arrival of Muslim traders who later converted many indigenous peoples in the coastal areas. The Sultanate of Brunei declared independence from Majapahit following the death of the Majapahit emperor in the mid-14th century. During its golden age under
Bolkiah Bolkiah, also known as Nakhoda Ragam, was the 5th Sultan of Brunei. He ascended the throne upon the abdication of his father, Sultan Sulaiman, and ruled Brunei from 1485 to 1524. His reign marked the Golden Age of Brunei and saw the Sultanat ...
from the 15th to the 17th century, the Bruneian sultanate ruled almost the entire coastal area of Borneo (lending its name to the island due to its influence in the region) and several islands in the Philippines. During the 1450s, Shari'ful Hashem Syed Abu Bakr, an Arab born in
Johor Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan ...
, arrived in Sulu from Malacca. In 1457, he founded the Sultanate of Sulu; he titled himself as "Paduka Maulana Mahasari Sharif Sultan Hashem Abu Bakr". Following its independence in 1578 from Brunei's influence, Sulu began to expand its
thalassocracy A thalassocracy or thalattocracy sometimes also maritime empire, is a state with primarily maritime realms, an empire at sea, or a seaborne empire. Traditional thalassocracies seldom dominate interiors, even in their home territories. Examples ...
to parts of the northern Borneo. Both the sultanates who ruled northern Borneo had traditionally engaged in trade with China by means of the frequently-arriving Chinese junks. Despite the thalassocracy of the sultanates, Borneo's interior region remained free from the rule of any kingdoms.


British and Dutch control

Since the fall of Malacca in 1511, Portuguese merchants traded regularly with Borneo, and especially with Brunei from 1530. Having visited Brunei's capital, the Portuguese described the place as surrounded by a stone wall. While Borneo was seen as rich, the Portuguese did not make any attempts to conquer it. The Spanish had sailed from Latin America and conquered the Brunei's provinces in the Philippines and incorporated it into the Mexico-Centered Viceroyalty of New Spain. The Spanish visit to Brunei led to the
Castilian War The Castilian War took place in 1570-1578 and represented the last crusade in Islamic history between the Spanish Empire and the Sultanate of Brunei; the Sultanate of Sulu, the Sultanate of Maguindanao, and the Ottoman Caliphate. Sultan Saiful ...
in 1578. The English began to trade with Sambas of southern Borneo in 1609, while the Dutch only began their trade in 1644: to Banjar and Martapura, also in the southern Borneo. The Dutch tried to settle the island of Balambangan, north of Borneo, in the second half of the 18th century, but withdrew by 1797. In 1812, the sultan in southern Borneo ceded his forts to the
English East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southe ...
. The English, led by Stamford Raffles, then tried to establish an intervention in Sambas but failed. Although they managed to defeat the sultanate the next year and declared a blockade on all ports in Borneo except Brunei, Banjarmasin and Pontianak, the project was cancelled by the British governor-general Lord Minto in India as it was too expensive. At the beginning of British and Dutch exploration on the island, they described the island of Borneo as full of
head hunters ''Head Hunters'' is the twelfth studio album by American pianist and composer Herbie Hancock, released October 26, 1973, on Columbia Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in the evening at Wally Heider Studios and Different Fur T ...
, with the indigenous in the interior practising
cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...
, and the waters around the island infested with
pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
, especially between the north eastern Borneo and the southern Philippines. The
Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...
and
Sea Dayak The Ibans or Sea Dayaks are a branch of the Dayak peoples on the island of Borneo in South East Asia. Dayak is a title given by the westerners to the local people of Borneo island. It is believed that the term "Iban" was originally an exonym ...
pirates preyed on maritime shipping in the waters between Singapore and Hong Kong from their haven in Borneo, along with the attacks by
Illanun The Iranun are a Moro ethnic group native to Mindanao, Philippines (in Maguindanao del Norte: Barira, Buldon, Parang, Matanog, Sultan Mastura, and Sultan Kudarat; North Cotabato: Alamada, Banisilan, Carmen, Libungan, and Pigcawayan; Lan ...
s of the
Moro pirates The Sulu and Celebes Seas, a semi- enclosed sea area and porous region that covers an area of space around 1 million square kilometres, have been subject to illegal maritime activities since the pre-colonial era and continue to pose a maritim ...
from the southern Philippines, such as in the
Battle off Mukah The Battle off Mukah was a naval engagement fought in May 1862 between boats of the Sarawak and pirates. After the kidnapping of Sarawakian citizens some time before, two small gunboats encountered the pirates off Mukah on the northern coast ...
. The Dutch began to intervene in the southern part of the island upon resuming contact in 1815, posting ''
resident Resident may refer to: People and functions * Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country * Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training * Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceutic ...
s'' to Banjarmasin, Pontianak and Sambas and ''assistant-residents'' to Landak and Mampawa. The Sultanate of Brunei in 1842 granted large parts of land in Sarawak to the English adventurer James Brooke, as a reward for his help in quelling a local rebellion. Brooke established the Raj of Sarawak and was recognised as its rajah after paying a fee to the sultanate. He established a monarchy, and the Brooke dynasty (through his nephew and great-nephew) ruled Sarawak for 100 years; the leaders were known as the White Rajahs. Brooke also acquired the island of Labuan for
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
in 1846 through the
Treaty of Labuan The Treaty of Labuan was signed between Great Britain and the Bruneian Sultanate (1368–1888), Brunei Sultanate on 18 December 1846. Under this treaty, the Sultan of Brunei ceded the island of Labuan to Great Britain. Background Labuan had ...
with the sultan of Brunei,
Omar Ali Saifuddin II Omar Ali Saifuddin II (; ; 3 February 1799 – 20 November 1852) was the 23rd Sultan of Brunei, then known as the Bruneian Empire. During his reign, Western powers such as Great Britain and the United States visited the country. His reign saw t ...
on 18 December 1846. The region of northern Borneo came under the administration of North Borneo Chartered Company following the acquisition of territory from the Sultanates of Brunei and Sulu by a German businessman and adventurer named
Baron von Overbeck Gustav Overbeck (from 1867 von Overbeck, in 1873 Baron von Overbeck, in 1877 Maharaja of Sabah and Rajah of Gaya and Sandakan; born 4 March 1830 in Lemgo; died 8 April 1894 in London) was a German businessman, adventurer and diplomat. Biograph ...
, before it was passed to the British Dent brothers (comprising
Alfred Dent Sir Alfred Dent, (12 December 1844 – 23 November 1927) was a British colonial merchant and entrepreneur. He was a founder of the British North Borneo Company. Life Dent was born in London, the son of Thomas Dent. He was educated at Eton Col ...
and Edward Dent). Further expansion by the British continued into the Borneo interior. This led the 26th sultan of Brunei, Hashim Jalilul Alam Aqamaddin to appeal the British to halt such efforts, and as a result a Treaty of Protection was signed in 1888, rendering Brunei a British protectorate. Before the acquisition by the British, the Americans also managed to establish their temporary presence in northwestern Borneo after acquiring a parcel of land from the Sultanate of Brunei. A company known as American Trading Company of Borneo was formed by Joseph William Torrey, Thomas Bradley Harris and several Chinese investors, establishing a colony named "Ellena" in the
Kimanis Kimanis (Chinese: 金馬利) is a town and also a parliamentary constituency in Papar District, West Coast Division of Sabah, Malaysia. It is located approximately 45 kilometres south of the city of Kota Kinabalu, halfway between Papar and Beau ...
area. The colony failed and was abandoned, due to denials of financial backing, especially by the US government, and to diseases and riots among the workers. Before Torrey left, he managed to sell the land to the German businessman, Overbeck. Meanwhile, the Germans under William Frederick Schuck were awarded a parcel of land in northeastern Borneo of the Sandakan Bay from the Sultanate of Sulu where he conducted business and exported large quantities of arms,
opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...
, textiles and tobacco to Sulu before the land was also passed to Overbeck by the sultanate. Prior to the recognition of Spanish presence in the Philippine archipelago, a protocol known as the Madrid Protocol of 1885 was signed between the governments of the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
to cement Spanish influence and recognise their sovereignty over the Sultanate of Sulu—in return for Spain's relinquishing its claim to the former possessions of the sultanate in northern Borneo. The British administration then established the first railway network in northern Borneo, known as the
North Borneo Railway Sabah State Railway (SSR) is a railway system and operator in the state of Sabah in Malaysia. It is the only rail transport system operating on the island of Borneo. The railway consists of a single 134-kilometre line from Tanjung Aru, Kota Kina ...
. During this time, the British sponsored a large number of Chinese workers to migrate to northern Borneo to work in European plantation and mines, and the Dutch followed suit to increase their economic production. By 1888, North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei in northern Borneo had become British
protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over m ...
. The area in southern Borneo was made Dutch protectorate in 1891. The Dutch who already claimed the whole Borneo were asked by Britain to delimit their boundaries between the two colonial territories to avoid further conflicts. The British and Dutch governments had signed the
Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, also known as the Treaty of London, was a treaty signed between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in London on 17 March 1824. The treaty was to resolve disputes arising from the execution of the Anglo-D ...
to exchange trading ports in
Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...
and
Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
that were under their controls and assert spheres of influence. This resulted in indirectly establishing British- and Dutch-controlled areas in the north (Malay Peninsula) and south (Sumatra and Riau Islands) respectively. In 1895, Marcus Samuel received a concession in the Kutei area of east Borneo, and based on oil seepages in the
Mahakam River The Mahakam River (Indonesian: ''Sungai Mahakam'') is third longest and volume discharge river in Borneo after Kapuas River and Barito River, it is located in Kalimantan, Indonesia. It flows from the district of Long Apari in the highlands of ...
delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also re ...
, Mark Abrahams struck oil in February 1897. This was the discovery of the Sanga Sanga Oil Field, a refinery was built in Balikpapan, and discovery of the Samboja Oil Field followed in 1909. In 1901, the Pamusian Oil Field was discovered on
Tarakan Tarakan is an island and the largest city of the Indonesian province of North Kalimantan. The island city is located in northern Borneo, midway along the coast of the province. The city boundaries are co-extensive with the island (including a co ...
, and the
Bunyu Bunyu is an oil-rich Indonesian island situated to the north of Tarakan City, in the eastern Celebes Sea off the north-eastern coast of Borneo in North Kalimantan province. The administrative area comprising Bunyu District is composed of eleven ...
Oil Field in 1929.
Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...
discovered the Miri Oil Field in 1910, and the
Seria oil field Seria oil field also known as Seria Field is the largest oil field in northwest Borneo, discovered in 1929. The oil is accumulated in Upper Miocene sandstone, trapped in Seria Anticline that straddles the present day coastline. This field has prod ...
in 1929.


World War II

During World War II, Japanese forces gained control and occupied most areas of Borneo from 1941 to 1945. In the first stage of the war, the British saw the Japanese advance to Borneo as motivated by political and territorial ambitions rather than economic factors. The occupation drove many people in the coastal towns to the interior, searching for food and escaping the Japanese. The Chinese residents in Borneo, especially with the Sino-Japanese War in
Mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
mostly resisted the Japanese occupation. Following the formation of resistance movements in northern Borneo such as the Jesselton Revolt, many innocent indigenous and Chinese people were executed by the Japanese for their alleged involvement. In Kalimantan, the Japanese also killed many Malay intellectuals, executing all the Malay sultans of West Kalimantan in the
Pontianak incidents The Pontianak incident consisted of two massacres which took place in Kalimantan during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies. One of them is also known as the Mandor Affair. The victims were from a wide variety of ethnic groups, and ...
, together with Chinese people who were already against the Japanese for suspecting them to be threats. Sultan Muhammad Ibrahim Shafi ud-din II of Sambas was executed in 1944. The sultanate was thereafter suspended and replaced by a Japanese council. The Japanese also set-up ''Pusat Tenaga Rakjat'' (PUTERA) in the Indonesian archipelago in 1943, although it was abolished the following year when it became too nationalistic. Some of the Indonesian nationalist like
Sukarno Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of ...
and Hatta who had returned from Dutch exile began to co-operate with the Japanese. Shortly after his release, Sukarno became president of the Central Advisory Council, an advisory council for south Borneo, Celebes, and
Lesser Sunda The Lesser Sunda Islands or nowadays known as Nusa Tenggara Islands ( id, Kepulauan Nusa Tenggara, formerly ) are an archipelago in Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up ...
, set up in February 1945. Since the
fall of Singapore The Fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore,; ta, சிங்கப்பூரின் வீழ்ச்சி; ja, シンガポールの戦い took place in the South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of ...
, the Japanese sent several thousand of British and Australian
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...
to camps in Borneo such as Batu Lintang camp. From the
Sandakan camp The Sandakan camp, also known as Sandakan POW Camp ( Malay: Kem Tawanan Perang Sandakan), was a prisoner-of-war camp established during World War II by the Japanese in Sandakan in the Malaysian state of Sabah. This site has gained notoriety as t ...
site, only six of some 2,500 prisoners survived after they were forced to march in an event known as the
Sandakan Death March The Sandakan Death Marches were a series of forced marches in Borneo from Sandakan to Ranau which resulted in the deaths of 2,434 Allied prisoners of war held captive by the Empire of Japan during the Pacific campaign of World War II at the ...
. In addition, of the total of 17,488 Javanese labourers brought in by the Japanese during the occupation, only 1,500 survived mainly due to starvation, harsh working conditions and maltreatment. The Dayak and other indigenous people played a role in
guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or Irregular military, irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, Raid (military), raids ...
against the occupying forces, particularly in the
Kapit Division Kapit Division, formed on 2 April 1973, is one of the twelve administrative divisions in Sarawak, Malaysia. It has a total area of 38,934 square kilometres, and is the largest of the administrative divisions of Sarawak. Its population (year 202 ...
. They temporarily revived headhunting of Japanese toward the end of the war, with Allied Z Special Unit provided assistance to them. Australia contributed significantly to the liberation of Borneo. The Australian Imperial Force was sent to Borneo to fight off the Japanese. Together with other Allies, the island was completely liberated in 1945.


Recent history

In May 1945, officials in Tokyo suggested that whether northern Borneo should be included in the proposed new country of Indonesia should be separately determined based on the desires of its indigenous people and following the disposition of
Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...
. Sukarno and
Mohammad Yamin Mohammad Yamin (24 August 1903 – 17 October 1962) was an Indonesians, Indonesian poet, politician and National Hero of Indonesia, national hero who played a key role in the writing of the draft preamble to the Constitution of Indonesia, 1945 c ...
meanwhile continuously advocated for a
Greater Indonesia Greater Indonesia (in id, Indonesia Raya) was a political concept that sought to bring the so-called Malay race together by uniting the territories of Dutch East Indies (and Portuguese Timor) with the British Malaya and British Borneo. It was ...
n republic. Towards the end of the war, Japan decided to give an early independence to a new proposed country of Indonesia on 17 July 1945, with an Independence Committee meeting scheduled for 19 August 1945. However, following the
surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...
to the Allied forces, the meeting was shelved. Sukarno and Hatta continued the plan by unilaterally declaring independence, although the Dutch tried to retake their colonial possession in Borneo. The southern part of the island achieved its independence through the
Proclamation of Indonesian Independence The Proclamation of Indonesian Independence ( id, Proklamasi Kemerdekaan Indonesia, or simply ''Proklamasi'') was read at 10:00 on Friday, 17 August 1945 in Jakarta. The declaration marked the start of the diplomatic and armed resistance of th ...
on 17 August 1945. The southern part saw guerilla conflicts followed by Dutch blockade to cut supplies for nationalist within the region. While nationalist guerrillas supporting the inclusion of southern Borneo in the new Indonesian republic were active in Ketapang, and to lesser extent in Sambas where they rallied with the red-white flag which became the
flag of Indonesia The Flag of Indonesia is a simple bicolor with two horizontal bands, red (top) and white (bottom) with an overall ratio of 2:3. It was introduced and hoisted in public during the proclamation of independence on 17 August 1945 at 56 Proklamasi ...
, most of the Chinese residents in southern Borneo expected to be liberated by Chinese Nationalist troops from mainland China and to integrate their districts as an overseas province of
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Meanwhile, Sarawak and Sabah in northern Borneo became separate British crown colonies in 1946. In 1961, Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman of the independent
Federation of Malaya The Federation of Malaya ( ms, Persekutuan Tanah Melayu; Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of what previously had been British Malaya comprising eleven states (nine Malay states and two of the British Empire, British Straits Settlements, P ...
desired to unite Malaya, the British colonies of
Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...
,
North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British Protectorate, British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, which is present day Sabah. The territory of North Borneo ...
,
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
and the protectorate of
Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...
under the proposed
Federation of Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Malaysia. ...
. The idea was heavily opposed by the governments in both Indonesia and the Philippines as well from communist sympathisers and nationalists in Borneo. Sukarno, as the president of the new republic, perceiving the British trying to maintain their presence in northern Borneo and the Malay Peninsula, decided to launch a military infiltration, later known as the ''
confrontation Confrontation is an element of conflict wherein parties confront one another, directly engaging one another in the course of a dispute between them. A confrontation can be at any scale, between any number of people, between entire nations or cult ...
'', from 1962 to 1969. As a response to the growing opposition, the British deployed their armed forces to guard their colonies against Indonesian and communist revolts, which was also participated by Australia and
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. The Philippines opposed the newly proposed federation, claiming the eastern part of North Borneo (today the Malaysian state of Sabah) as part of its territory as a former possession of the Sultanate of Sulu. The Philippine government mostly based their claim on the Sultanate of Sulu's cession agreement with the British North Borneo Company, as by now the sultanate had come under the jurisdiction of the Philippine republican administration, which therefore should inherit the Sulu former territories. The Philippine government also claimed that the heirs of the sultanate had ceded all their territorial rights to the republic. The Sultanate of Brunei at the first welcomed the proposal of a new larger federation. Meanwhile, the Brunei People's Party led by
A.M. Azahari Sheikh Azahari bin Sheikh Mahmud (3 September 1928 – 20 April 2002), better known as A.M. Azahari, was a Brunei politician. According to historian Hussaymiya, it is not possible to verify the truth about his 'Brunei birth'. Many people claime ...
desired to reunify Brunei, Sarawak and North Borneo into one federation known as the North Borneo Federation ( ms, Kesatuan Negara Kalimantan Utara), where the
sultan of Brunei The sultan of Brunei is the monarchical head of state of Brunei and head of government in his capacity as prime minister of Brunei. Since independence from the British in 1984, only one sultan has reigned, though the royal institution dates bac ...
would be the head of state for the federation—though Azahari had his own intention to abolish the Brunei monarchy, to make Brunei more democratic, and to integrate the territory and other former British colonies in Borneo into Indonesia, with the support from the latter government. This directly led to the Brunei Revolt, which thwarted Azahari's attempt and forced him to escape to Indonesia. Brunei withdrew from being part of the new Federation of Malaysia due to some disagreements on other issues while political leaders in Sarawak and North Borneo continued to favour inclusion in a larger federation. With the continuous opposition from Indonesia and the Philippines, the
Cobbold Commission The Cobbold Commission, was a Commission of Enquiry set up to determine whether the people of Crown Colony of North Borneo, North Borneo (now Sabah) and Crown Colony of Sarawak, Sarawak supported the proposal to create the Federation of Malaysia ...
was established to discover the feeling of the native populations in northern Borneo; it found the people greatly in favour of federation, with various stipulations. The federation was successfully achieved with the inclusion of northern Borneo through the Malaysia Agreement on 16 September 1963. To this day, the area in northern Borneo is still subjected to attacks by Moro pirates since the 18th century and militant from groups such as Abu Sayyaf since 2000 in the frequent cross border attacks. During the administration of Philippine president
Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...
, Marcos made some attempts to destabilise the state of Sabah, although his plan failed and resulted in the
Jabidah massacre The Jabidah massacre on March 18, 1968 was the purported assassinations or executions of Moro people, Moro army recruits who allegedly mutiny, mutinied upon learning the true nature of their mission. It is acknowledged as a major flashpoint tha ...
and later the insurgency in the southern Philippines. In August 2019, Indonesian president
Joko Widodo Joko Widodo (; born 21 June 1961), popularly known as Jokowi, is an Indonesian politician and businessman who is the 7th and current president of Indonesia. Elected in July 2014, he was the first Indonesian president not to come from an elite ...
announced a plan to move the capital of Indonesia from
Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
to a newly established location in the East Kalimantan province in Borneo.


Demographics

The
demonym A demonym (; ) or gentilic () is a word that identifies a group of people (inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place (hamlet, village, town, city, region, province, ...
for Borneo is Bornean. Borneo had 23,053,723 inhabitants (in 2020 Censuses), a population density of . Most of the population lives in coastal cities, although the hinterland has small towns and villages along the rivers. The population consists mainly of Dayak ethnic groups,
Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...
, Banjar,
Ida'an The Ida'an (Idahan or Eraan or Sabahan) people are an ethnic group of Borneo, residing primarily in the Lahad Datu districts on the east coast of Sabah, Malaysia. Their current population is estimated to be around 6,000 (1987 estimate), but it ...
,
Bajau The Sama-Bajau include several Austronesian ethnic groups of Maritime Southeast Asia. The name collectively refers to related people who usually call themselves the Sama or Samah (formally A'a Sama, "Sama people"); or are known by the exonym ...
, Suluk,
Orang Ulu Orang Ulu ("people of the interior" in Malay) is an ethnic designation politically coined to group together roughly 27 very small but ethnically diverse tribal groups in northeastern Sarawak, Malaysia with populations ranging from less than 300 p ...
,
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
and Kadazan-Dusun. The
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
, who make up 29% of the population of
Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...
and 17% of total population in West Kalimantan, Indonesia are descendants of immigrants primarily from southeastern China. In Sabah, during the administration of
Mustapha Harun Datu Mustapha bin Datu Harun, or Tun Mustapha for short (31 July 1918 – 2 January 1995), was a Malaysian people, Malaysian politician who served as the 3rd Chief Minister of Sabah from May 1967 to November 1975 and the 1st Yang di-Pertua Neg ...
of the United Sabah National Organisation (USNO) in the 1970s, thousands of Muslim immigrants and refugees from the southern Philippines island of
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
and the island of
Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...
in Indonesia were given sanctuary and later
identity card An identity document (also called ID or colloquially as papers) is any documentation, document that may be used to prove a person's identity. If issued in a small, standard credit card size form, it is usually called an identity card (IC, ID c ...
s in a bid to increase the Muslim population of the state: a policy later known as
Project IC Project IC is the name used in Malaysia to describe the allegation of systematic granting of citizenship to immigrants (whether legal or otherwise) by giving them identity document, identity cards and subsequently its current iteration, the ''MyKa ...
. Due to the high number of crimes attributed to the new migrant populations,
ethnic tension An ethnic conflict is a conflict between two or more contending ethnic groups. While the source of the conflict may be political, social, economic or religious, the individuals in conflict must expressly fight for their ethnic group's positio ...
between the indigenous and migrant populations has risen up to the present. In Kalimantan, since the 1990s, the Indonesian government has undertaken an intense transmigration program; to that end it has financed the relocation of poor, landless families from Java, Madura, and Bali. By 2001, transmigrants made up 21% of the population in Central Kalimantan. Since the 1990s, the indigenous Dayak and Malays have resisted encroachment by these migrants, and violent conflict has occurred between some transmigrant and indigenous populations. In the 1999 Sambas riots, Dayaks and
Malays Malays may refer to: * Malay race, a racial category encompassing peoples of Southeast Asia and sometimes the Pacific Islands ** Overseas Malays, people of Malay race ancestry living outside Malay archipelago home areas ** Cape Malays, a communit ...
joined to massacre thousands of the Madurese migrants. In Kalimantan, thousands were killed in 2001 fighting between
Madurese transmigrant id, Orang Madura , image = , image_caption = A portrait of Madurese village head. , population = 7,179,356 , popplace = : , region1 = East Java , pop1 = 6,520,403 , region2 = West Kalimantan , pop2 ...
s and the Dayak people in the Sampit conflict.


Religion


Administration

The island of Borneo is divided administratively by three countries. * The independent sultanate of
Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...
(main part and eastern exclave of
Temburong Temburong District ( ms, Daerah Temburong; Jawi: دائيره تمبوروڠ) or simply Temburong () is the easternmost district in Brunei. It is an exclave — the land is separated from the rest of the country by Malaysia and Brunei Bay, and ...
) * The
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
n provinces of East,
South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
,
West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
,
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...
and Central Kalimantan, in
Kalimantan Kalimantan () is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area. The non-Indonesian parts of Borneo are Brunei and East Malaysia. In Indonesia, "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo. In 2019, ...
* The East Malaysian states of
Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...
and
Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...
, as well as the
Federal Territory A federal territory is an administrative division under the direct and usually exclusive jurisdiction of a federation's national government. A federal territory is a part of a federation, but not a part of any federated state. The states constit ...
of Labuan (on offshore islands nearby)


Economy

Borneo's economy depends mainly on agriculture, logging and mining, oil and gas, and
ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...
. Brunei's economy is highly dependent on the oil and gas production sector, and the country has become one of the largest oil producers in Southeast Asia. The Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak are both top exporters of
timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
. Sabah is also known as the agricultural producer of
rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...
,
cacao Cacao is the seed from which cocoa and chocolate are made, from Spanish cacao, an adaptation of Nahuatl cacaua, the root form of cacahuatl ("bean of the cocoa-tree"). It may also refer to: Plants *''Theobroma cacao'', a tropical evergreen tree ** ...
, and vegetables, and for its fisheries, while Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan export liquefied natural gas (LNG) and petroleum. The Indonesian provinces of Kalimantan are mostly dependent on
mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
sectors despite also being involved in logging and oil and gas explorations.


See also

*
Hikayat Banjar The Hikayat Banjar (حكاية بنجر) is the chronicle of Banjarmasin, Indonesia. This text, also called the History of Lambung Mangkurat, contains the history of the kings of Banjar and of Kotawaringin in southeast and south Borneo respectivel ...
* Kutai basin *
List of islands of Indonesia The islands of Indonesia, also known as the Indonesian Archipelago ( id, Kepulauan Indonesia) or Nusantara, may refer either to the islands comprising the country of Indonesia or to the geographical groups which include its islands. History ...
*
List of islands of Malaysia A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*
Maphilindo Maphilindo (for Malaya, the Philippines, and Indonesia), is a proposed, nonpolitical confederation of the three Southeast Asian countries in the Malay Archipelago. Background The original plan for a united state based on the concept of t ...
* List of bats of Borneo


Notes


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* *
Environmental Profile of Borneo
– Background on Borneo, including natural and social history, deforestation statistics, and conservation news. {{Authority control Greater Sunda Islands International islands Islands of Brunei Islands of Indonesia Islands of Malaysia Kalimantan Maritime Southeast Asia Regions of Eurasia