Waterfalls

Kalimantan (Borneo) is the third-largest island in the world. Three countries share Borneo: Indonesia, Brunei, and Malaysia.

Borneo is home to the world’s most dense and remote rainforests, as well as about 12 million people, 75 percent of whom live in Indonesia’s Kalimantan (KAH-lee-MAHN-tahn) region. Given the harsh nature of Kalimantan’s interior and lowlands, most settlements are along the rivers and coasts. Indonesia governs the southern two-thirds of Borneo, while

Malaysia and Brunei control smaller northern and western sections. Indonesia calls its region Kalimantan, which is divided into four provinces:

♦ Central Kalimantan, with the capital of Palangkaraya

♦ East Kalimantan, with the capital of Samarinda

♦ South Kalimantan, with the capital of Banjarmasin

♦ West Kalimantan, with the capital of Pontianak

Kalimantan is Indonesia’s second-largest province. It generates a substantial amount of wealth for the country because of its vast natural resources, including timber and gold. Its extensive oil reserves are now a key part of Indonesia’s economy, and diamonds, rare woods, rattan, and resin also are harvested from the island’s interior.

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Rainforest Lily Pad

Indonesia is home to the second-largest rainforest in the world – second only to Brazil – with about 350 million acres. These forests contain an estimated 4,000 species of trees, 30,000 flowering plant species, 500 species of mammals, more than 1,500 species of birds, and 5,000 varieties of orchids. The flora of Indonesia ranges from the tiny orchid to the giant rafflesia plant—the largest flower in the world (up to three feet across). Many of these plants and animals are only found on these islands. Plants are integral to local life across Indonesia’s many islands. Local people use approximately six thousand species of plants for traditional herbal medicines and for important rituals and ceremonies.

Indonesia’s agricultural products include rubber, coconut, coffee, tea, cocoa, corn, spices, palm oil, tobacco, rice, and an abundance of vegetables and fruit, including more than a hundred types of bananas. The country has some of the richest timber resources in the world and the largest concentration of tropical woods, including teak, pinewood, rattan, and bamboo.

Technorati Tags: giant rafflesia plant, Indonesia’s agricultural products, Indonesian rainforest