Wild Orchids In Borneo: Is There Time To Save Thousands Of Species From Extinction?

Borneo (Kalimantan) is the third largest island in the world. It is rich with a variety of indigenous orchid species that grow in the forests.
Borneo's rain forests are also home to some extremely rare species of orchids, all highly valued for their exotic aromas and aesthetic beauty. It has been estimated that 2500 to 3000 orchid species grow in the forests of Borneo.

Borneo's orchids are also endangered, a result of the loss of natural habitat from fire, forest damage, and illegal logging. Increased exploitation of the forests of West Borneo, including gold mining and illegal burning, has led to the certain extinction of hundreds of orchid species. According to a Global Forest Watch 2002 report, Indonesia is experiencing one of the most dramatic losses of forestland in the world. Reports showed that at the current rate of loss, Borneo's forests could vanish completely by 2010.

Economic factors, including illegal collecting and selling of wild orchids by domestic or foreign "orchid hunters", along with increasing consumer demand for orchids, also contribute to the endangerment of Borneo's native orchids.

Compelled by concern for the demise of Borneo's native orchids, Chairani Siregar of the College of Agriculture at the University of Tanjungpura (Indonesia) undertook a 3-year study to locate and record endangered native orchid species in West Borneo. According to Siregar, "until recently, there were few records kept of the orchids native to West Borneo. For this reason, research was conducted to identify and create an inventory of all orchid species that exist (in West Borneo) before they and their habitats become extinct. The study was done in 10 counties and one municipal city in West Borneo. Orchids found were identified and recorded by species. A total of 197 species of orchids were identified.

Siregar is committed to cultivating all vulnerable and endangered species of orchids before they become extinct, adding that "local government intervention and participation in conservation, cultivation and marketing of orchids are necessary" for the popular flowers' survival.

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Text :
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717110241.htm
Chairani Siregar. Exploration and Inventory of Native Orchid Germplasm in West Borneo, Indonesia.

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Danau Sentarum National Park

West Kalimantan is a province of Indonesia. It is one of four Indonesian provinces in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital city Pontianak is located right on the Equator line. The province has an area of 146,807 km² with the population of about 3.74 million people (As of 2000 census). Major ethnic groups include the Dayak, Malay, Chinese, which make up about 90% of the total population. The rest are Javanese, Bugis, Madurese, and other ethnicities.


The borders of West Kalimantan roughly trace the mountain ranges surrounding the watershed of the Kapuas River, which drains most of the province. West Kalimantan is subdivided into two urban cities (kota) and ten rural regencies (kabupaten). The cities are Pontianak and Singkawang; the regencies are Sambas, Bengkayang, Pontianak, Ketapang, Landak, Sanggau, Sekadau, Sintang, Melawi , Kapuas Hulu, and the youngest regencies Kayong Utara and Kubu Raya. About 29 percent of the population lives in the Pontianak area.
There was a serious outbreak of communal violence in the province between indigenous Dayak and Madurese settlers in late 1997 and early 2000, resulting in about 500 deaths.

History
The history of West Kalimantan can be dated back to 17th century. Dayaks was the main inhabitants of the province before 17th century. The Malay migrated to West Kalimantan and built their own sultanates. The facts that there are many Chinese population in this province was there used to be a republic built by Chinese miners called Lanfang Republic after defeated the local Malay sultans. The government of Lanfang Republic was ended in West Kalimantan after the Dutch occupation in 1884.
West Kalimantan was under Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945, when Indonesia declared its Independence. During the Japanese occupation, more than 21,000 people in Pontianak (including sultans, nobleman, women and children) were kidnapped, tortured and massacred by Japanese troops. Japanese intelligence had become concerned ethnic Chinese were planning to start a rebellion, and were worried that people in the city had received guns and ammunition from the Chinese government.

After the end of war, the Japanese officers in Pontianak were arrested by allied troops and brought in front of an international military tribune. During the trial, it was revealed that the plan to start the rebellion did not exist and instead was only an imaginary plan created by Japanese officers who wanted to get promoted.
The massacre occurred from April 23, 1943 to June 28, 1944 and most of the victims were buried in several giant wells in Mandor (88 km from Pontianak). Allied forces occupying the area after the war found several thousand bones, and more than 60 years after the massacre, several secret graves of the victims were found in Mandor and the surrounding areas.
A monument called Makam Juang Mandor was created to commemorate this tragic event.
West Kalimantan was the site of substantial fighting during the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation under the Sukarno government in the mid-1960s. After Suharto deposed Sukarno in 1965, the confrontation was quickly resolved. Domestic conflict continued, however, for another ten years between the new military Suharto government and fighters organized during the confrontation and backed by the banned Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

References :

•Indonesia's Population: Ethnicity and Religion in a Changing Political Landscape. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. 2003.

•Davidson, Jamie S. and Douglas Kammen (2002). Indonesia's unknown war and the lineages of violence in West Kalimantan. Indonesia 73:53.

•Yuan, Bing Ling (1999). Chinese Democracies - A Study of the Kongsis of West Borneo (1776 – 1884).

•Images from http://www.indonesia-tourism.com/

Betung Karihun National Park

In Kapuas Hulu and bordering on Sarawak, Malaysia, this park spans 132,000,000 hectares.

The cost of Danau Sentarum offers excellent opportunities for fishing and boating; see the floating houses that dot the coast and head inland through meandering waterways that take you through the silent, brooding forests. Don’t miss the chance to experience the beuty of this park !

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