Borneo: Small wonders at every step

It's the little things that really matter in Borneo's lush, exotic and life-giving rainforests

When naturalist Mark Watson pursed his lips and pretended to kiss a beautiful - but carnivorous - pitcher plant, I could almost understand how he felt.

Pitcher plants, which lure insects with the promise of sweet nectar and then devour them, are certainly ... intriguing ... and the elegant red plant he was puckering up to was a particularly attractive one.

But perhaps more importantly, they're typical of the rich diversity of plant, fungus and insect life which makes a walk through the Borneo jungle such a fascinating experience.

The animals may be the stars of the show - the woop woops of gibbons from the treetops or signs of rooting by bearded pigs in the forest floor are always exciting - but, unless you're lucky, you probably won't see them.

What you will see, if you look carefully, are massive strangler figs looking poised to walk on their roots like Ents from The Lord of the Rings, or prettily patterned fungi creating works of art amid the leaf mould, or delicate orchids blooming colourfully in the gloom created by the thick canopy of leaves, or great armies of ants on the march along fallen branches.

During a cruise around Borneo on the expedition ship Orion II, we had the chance to explore several jungle national parks, all different and all fascinating.

At Tanjung Datu National Park, for instance, four of us wandered slowly along the Pasir Antu Laut Trail, managing to make its 2.7km last about 3.5 hours, pausing every few metres to admire some ornamental bracket fungus, a particularly twisty liana, a tall, thin tree supported by a massive set of buttress roots, or a butterfly with elegant black and white patterns on its wings.

There were certainly animals around. From time to time we heard monkey calls and the birdsong was superb. At one point I heard the beating of heavy wings overhead and caught a glimpse of the massive black shape of a hornbill. On another occasion I spied a small, dark brown squirrel poised unmoving on a branch above the path.

There were plenty of signs of pigs rooting and a group on another trail actually saw "a particularly ugly" Borneo bearded pig.

Down on the beach, which served as our return pathway, three sets of tracks showed where green turtles had come ashore to lay eggs during the night (the park staff dig the eggs up and rebury them in safe enclosures). In a cave at one end of the bay, dozens of tomb bats swooped around us while we explored its recesses.

But it was just as interesting to watch a route march of thousands of large, brown, ant-like creatures carrying white eggs - our guides later had an argument about whether they were termites or ants - a bright orange fungus glowing in the gloom, a magnificent yellow and black butterfly floating just under the leaf canopy, or one remaining flower from the night-blooming putat tree, whose glorious pink and white blossom produces a poison used to kill fish.

On the island of Pulau Tiga, we found the same incredible biodiversity ... plus mud. That was partly because of the heavy rain that fell as we landed from our zodiac, making the jungle track a bit slushy. But it was also because the island was formed by a volcanic eruption as recently as 1897 and there's still a sort of mud volcano in the jungle where crazy people like me can have a soak.

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The Borneo Story: Highlanders of the Equator

The eighth in the series of The Borneo Story by Tom Harrisson and Hugh Gibb in the late 1950s courtesy of The Doozer.

The way of life of the Kelabital highlanders of the tropical rainforests of Borneo is described in this episode. Daily activities include stone carving, beadcraft, breadcraft, basketry, carpentry, irrigated agriculture, trapping, fishing, cooking, and salt production.

The Borneo Story: 'Highlanders of the Equator'

from The Doozer on Vimeo.

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The awe of the Borneo jungle

The very mention of Borneo is enough to conjure vivid images of dense jungle inhabited by strange, hairy creatures, a land penetrated only by brave, machete-wielding explorers fending off menacing headhunters, blow darts and pirates.

Modern, internet-connected Borneo may have lost some of its wild and untamed characteristics but it's still one of the most dramatic and exciting destinations left on our shrinking planet.

Today we travel in four-stroke outboard-powered Zodiacs, putt-putting quietly along the mangrove-lined Kinabatangan River in the eastern Borneo state of Sabah, comical hornbills swooping overhead while boisterous macaque monkeys play tag among the palm fronds.

Chris, our naturalist guide from Orion Expedition Cruises, points out a rhinoceros hornbill just above the fork in a nearby tree.

Armed with powerful field glasses, large telephoto lenses and packing gigabytes of storage, we stalk these exotic species, ticking them off one-by-one as we progress silently within arm's reach of the mangrove-lined banks.

Tales of the wild lands, animals and people of Borneo first reached Europeans in 1522, when the straggling survivors of Magellan's fleet limped back to Spain. Indian, Javanese and Chinese traders, however, had been visiting for centuries prior in search of timber, ivory, gold and spices. Later, the Dutch and British colonial powers held sway, while the local sultans played their own power games. The 20th century was a dramatic chapter with a firm British grip until the Japanese took control briefly during WWII before liberation by Australian troops in 1945.

Sabah, on the farthest north-eastern tip, is now part of independent Malaysia and a source of much of the world's palm oil, a crop that is, unfortunately, replacing the coastal and riparian (riverside) forests vital to many endangered species of birds and mammals. Driven by this urgency, eco-tourism is the new growth industry of Borneo, often colliding with the more established forestry and palm plantations.

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WWF presents ‘Forest and Me’

KUCHING: World Wide Fund for Nature-Malaysia (WWF-Malaysia) has produced a short video titled ‘Forest and Me’ which presents Malaysians’ opinions of forests.

The effort came to light when WWF offices worldwide convened conversations and rallied governments and businesses to pledge action for healthy living forests.

Year 2011 has been declared International Year of Forest (IYoF) by the United Nations to raise awareness on conservation, sustainable development and management of all types of forests.

In recognition of the IYoF 2011, WWF International’s Forest Programme has embarked on a Living Forests campaign to bring a wide range of stakeholders together to find solutions for the many drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, and contribute to WWF’s goal of Zero Net Deforestation and Forest Degradation (ZNDD) by 2020.

The video by WWF-Malaysia comprises ‘street interviews’ of people living in two urban centres in Malaysia namely Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu.

The video aims to raise awareness of how a forest is defined by showcasing individual perceptions of forests, its importance and what they expect it to be in the future.

Many of those interviewed were pessimistic about the future of our forests. This perception may have been influenced by the decline in size of forested areas in Malaysia.

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Tourists bask in Sarawak's culture and nature

KUCHING: Borneo’s rainforest and its beauty are the attractive features that draw tourists to Sarawak and make it their favourite holiday destination.



“We love Borneo Island. This is my third time coming here. Twice Kuching, once to Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan,” said Rhonda Laffar from Busselton, Western Australia when met here yesterday.



The 51-year-old is here with her husband Mike. The couple has been here for a few days after their trip to the peninsula.



“It is interesting. Here, we saw the State Legislative Assembly building by the river side. We visited the orchid farm, it’s beautiful. We love nature, the greens, everything,” said Rhonda.



She said she and her husband had a great experience at Bako National Park. They enjoyed jungle trekking, and the spectacular sceneries of the rocks and the blue ocean amazed them.



“It’s magnificent. But one thing saddened us. We saw a lot of rubbish on the beach. We were thinking of how we could help to clear it all.”



She said when they travelled here they did not just sit inside the hotel and wonder around the bar and the pool.



She added that she likes the culture here, noting that people of different races live together in perfect harmony.



“It’s a very good thing. Actually it is the people that make the place so good. This place is so nice. I enjoy going out mixing with the locals. We go to places where locals go,” she said further.



On food, she said they loved to select from the array of different types of food which reflected the multi-ethnicity of the state.



“We had tried seafood and some vegetables at a seafood centre at Jalan Bukit Mata Kucing. Delicious! This is the best food I have ever eaten in my whole life,” said Rhonda.



Mike added that they loved to eat in places where there is a crowd.



“If that shop has less people, the food might be not so great.”



Besides the food, the couple also likes the warm weather.



Mike, a 57-year-old real estate agent said: “It is a bit hot but better than cold.”



They said they knew about this place from a hairdresser in Australia, prompting them to come to Sabah for the first time four years ago. They made their first visit to Kuching last year.



Rhonda said they felt safe walking around in town as they had prepared themselves to face incidents like snatching.



Rhonda bought some jewellery and accessories as gifts for her family.



“I hate shopping in Australia but I enjoy shopping here. We bought anything we like – clothes, shoes, bags and so on. Definitely we will come again,” she said.



Mike added: “Almost everything is good here. There is only one, the Tourism Information Centre should provide us information about tours in Kuching.



“They should be proactive organising some tours for tourists.”



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Malua Biobank lowland rainforests important for orangutans in Sabah

Malua Biobank in Sabah supports the highest density of a sub-species of the orangutan family when compared to other parts of the world.



KOTA KINABALU: Ground and aerial surveys of 34,000 hectares of lowland rainforest known as the Malua Biobank in Sabah has revealed the area to be one of the most important refuges for the orangutan in Borneo.



Sabah Forestry Department’s Malua Wildlife unit leader, Hadrin Lias, who led the surveys, said the population of orangutan was increasing with the current conservation activities in Malua Biobank.



Logging in Malua ceased in 2007 and since then the habitat for orangutan has remained undisturbed and the area is regularly patrolled.



Dr Marc Ancrenaz, an international expert on orangutan, assisted and trained the Malua Wildlife Unit to undertake the surveys and believes that the Malua Biobank supports the highest density of this sub-species (Pongo pygmaeus morio) of orangutan anywhere in the world.



“Malua Biobank is critically important for the survival of this subspecies, though all three sub-species of orangutan in Borneo are endangered due to extensive habitat loss,” Ancrenaz said.



“For orangutan to survive in Borneo, it is vitally important to preserve large contiguous blocks of lowland rainforest such as Malua Biobank and the nearby Danum Valley Conservation Area,” he added..



He said the orangutan density was found to be particularly high in eastern Malua.



The individuals in this part of the reserve are physically and genetically isolated from the rest of the population due to the presence of the Malua River which cuts across the reserve and which orangutans are unable to cross.



In an effort to connect populations, the second of two suspended orangutan bridges across the Malua River has been constructed and remote cameras will be installed to record any wildlife movements across the bridges.



The new orangutan bridge consists of a lattice of chains that provides the orangutan hand and footholds to cross the river, mimicking the function of overhanging tree branches in areas where large trees are now absent.



Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Malua Biobank lowland rainforests important for orangutans in Sabah

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A Battle Is Under Way For The Forests Of Borneo

A spry 80-year-old cruises through the thick vegetation of western Borneo, or western Kalimantan, as it's known to Indonesians. Dressed in faded pinstripe slacks and a polo shirt, Layan Lujum carries a large knife in his hand. The chief of the island's Sekendal village is making his morning rounds.



Layan is a member of an indigenous ethnic group called the Dayaks, who once had a reputation as fierce headhunters. As on most mornings, his first job on a recent day is to tend to his rubber trees.



He uses a blade to cut a few grooves in each tree, allowing its white latex sap to trickle into a cup. Then he plucks a handful of fern leaves and snaps off the tops of a dozen or so bamboo shoots and puts them in a bucket. In a few minutes, he has enough for lunch. He goes to the river to wash and chop the shoots.



Environmentalists say Layan's lifestyle is a form of "indigenous knowledge" that has allowed the Dayaks to both use and protect Borneo's forests. But those same forests are now a staging ground for a complicated clash. It involves economic growth, land rights and environmental concerns, development and traditional cultures, as well as a broader fight in Indonesia against entrenched corruption.



'This Is Our Sacred Grove'



Back near Sekendal, Layan explains how the Dayaks in his community view ownership of the surrounding land.



"These stands of bamboo don't belong to anyone in particular. Anyone can take some," he says. "The rubber trees belong to me. The bamboo here is very abundant. If you go upstream, there's even more."



This is not virgin forest, Layan says. It's owned by the community, and it's been cleared and replanted with useful flora such as cocoa and rambutan trees. There is one stand of virgin forest left in the area, but it's used for something very different.



"This is our padagi, or sacred grove," Layan says in a hushed voice. "It's been here since the time of our ancestors, and we come here to pray."



Birdsongs resonate through the forest canopy towering overhead. Down below, moss grows on an altar for making sacrifices. The spirits of the Dayak ancestors inhabit this hallowed glade, Layan says, and it is forbidden to take any plants or animals out of it.



"We come here to ask for help in times of trouble, for example in times of war, and then we are victorious," he says. "We ask for bountiful rice harvests. We ask for the sick to heal. We make offerings to the spirits, even though we can't see them."



Conservation Efforts Under Way



Indonesia remains Asia's most-forested nation, but it has suffered serious deforestation in recent decades, contributing to Indonesia's status as the third-largest emitter of carbon after the U.S. and China.



And perhaps there is no starker example than Borneo — roughly three-quarters of which belongs to Indonesia, the rest to Malaysia and Brunei.



Conservationists are urging Indonesia's government to respect the Dayak's rights to their traditional lands and to affirm their stewardship of the forests based on their animist religion. But in much of Borneo, it appears too late.



Where forests once stood, towns now hum with traffic and commerce. According to Indonesian government statistics, 60 percent of Borneo's rainforests have been cut down. Only 8 percent of its virgin forests remain, mostly in national parks. Western Borneo is the most denuded.



Efforts to combat deforestation are under way. In May, the Indonesian government announced a two-year moratorium on cutting down virgin forests. As well, a U.N.-backed scheme will see developed countries paying Indonesia to protect its rainforests.



Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: A Battle Is Under Way For The Forests Of Borneo

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Extinct tropical raintree species discovered in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: Foresters are excited about the discovery of three tropical raintree species that were thought to be extinct in Sabah.

The rare dipterocarp species, known locally as Keruing Jarang was found in the Siangau Forest Reserve, near the coastal town of Weston, about 100km from here.

The discovery was made during a survey of the area by a research team from the Forestry Department.

In a statement here yesterday, Sabah Forestry director Datuk Sam Mannan said the species Dipterocarpus lamellatus was last recorded at Beaufort Hill in 1955.

The only other record was from Labuan in 1951.

The island today is virtually devoid of any natural dry land forests, said Mannan.

“It is a very exciting development for us,” he added, saying the research team also encountered four other rare dipterocarps in the reserve.

The survey was part of a statewide inventory by the Forestry Department to determine the conservation status of dipterocarps in Sabah, he said.

Forest botanist John Sugau said that of the 267 species of dipterocarps known to exist on Borneo island, 183 were found in Sabah.

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