The island Borneo and its beautiful rainforest

Borneo is the largest island of Asia and the third-largest island in the world. It is located in the north of Java, west of Sulawesi and the east of Sumatra. The island Borneo is divided among three countries: Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia. Around 73% of the island is Indonesian territory, 26% is Labuan territory.

Borneo houses one of the oldest rainforests in the world. It is 140 million years old. In this forest there are around 15.000 species of flowering plants, with 3.000 species of trees, 221 species of terrestrial mammals and 420 species of resident birds in Borneo. It was a beautiful place to visit. In the Borneo rainforest there are only few Borneo orangutan left. An endangered species and natural habitant of the rainforest.

In 2010 the World Wide Fund for Nature said that 123 species had been discovered in Borneo, since “Heart of Borneo” agreement was signed in 2007. The heart of Borneo rainforest foundation tries to protect the biological, ecological and cultural richness of Borneo. Half a million people and many species still rely on the rainforest of Borneo. That’s why it is so important it can stay. The rainforest used to cover the entire island of Borneo. But in the last half century it always became smaller. Some species were forced to extinction, which is very sad. The nomadic and semi-nomadic people who lived in the forest were forced to settle and watch the forest be destroyed. It’s a sad story because this forest had always been their home.

The World Wide Fund for Nature has classified the island Borneo into seven distinct ecoregions. Most of them are lowland regions. The Borneo lowland rain forests cover most of the island, with an area of 427.500 km². Then there are also the Borneo peat swamp forests, Kerangas or Sundaland heath forests, Southwest Borneo freshwater swamp forest, and Sunda Shelf mangroves. The Borneo montane rain forests lie in the central highlands of the island. Here we can find Mount Kinabalu, the highest elevation on the island. Borneo is definitely a city with an incredible nature.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borneo

http://www.heartofborneo.org/about-us/

http://www.borneorainforestresort.com/