The Danum Valley, Sabah, Malaysia (Island of Borneo) is about 438 square kilometers of lowland and hill dipterocarp forest. It is bounded on the east and south by the Segama River and the northern boundary lies near the Danum River. It is one of the few remaining large expanses of dipterocarp forest in Borneo. The topography rises from 150 m above sea level to about 1090 m above sea level. Adjacent to the forest are areas that have been logged at various times, so that the primary forest is surrounded by secondary forests of varied ages. The photos here were taken in and around the Danum Valley over a period of two months in 1989.

Much has been written, and will continue to be written about logging rainforests. It reduces biodiversity and contributes to climate change and yet it continues because of human needs and greed. The damage it does to the life support system of the planet is considerable. Yet, there is some evidence that if forests are left alone to regenerate they will. And, if pockets of forest are left in place as refugia for plants and animals the loss of biodiversity can be reduced. The following has been modified from the Borneo Tropical Rainforest Foundation Web Site:

Borneo, the third largest island in the world, is of global importance for its outstanding biological diversity and its importance to global climate change .Borneo is a major rainforest ecosystem that is part of a the Sundaland Hotspot. A 10 hectare plot of rainforest in Borneo may contain more than 700 species of trees - a number equal to the total tree diversity of North America. Borneo now represents the largest remaining area of rainforest in Sundaland, the islands of Java and Sumatra, together with peninsular Malaysia, have been largely stripped of their lowland rainforest and much of their montane forests are degraded.

Indonesian Borneo continues to undergo rapid changes including:

Rapid loss of rainforest to a combination of road construction, logging, legal and illegal (as much as 80% of logging in Kalimantan is illegal), rampant fire post-logging and clearing for palm oil and other plantations.

Recurrent fire is burning peatlands and forests, causing globally significant CO2 emissions.

A crisis exists in Indonesian Borneo with rampant illegal logging, including in protected areas such as national parks. One globally important national park, Tanjung Putih, is estimated to have been 80% illegally logged in the past 5 years. The new President of Indonesia has made it a high priority to act on illegal logging in Borneo.

Tree diversity on Borneo is spectacular. There are 3,000 species including 267 from the family Dipterocarpaceae, commercially valuable Southeast Asia hardwoods. No less than 155 of these are endemic to the island. Borneo also has more than 2,000 species of orchids.

Borneo supports 358 bird species and the largest selection of Sundaland endemics with 37. Sumatra has 397 species and 22 endemics, while Java, despite its smaller size, still has an impressive number of 289 bird species and 30 endemics.

Of Sundaland's 328 mammal species, 115 (38.5 percent) are endemic to the hotspot. The highest endemism is found among the rats and mice, 53% of which are found nowhere else in the world. Borneo holds the most mammal species in the hotspot with 222 and the most endemics with 44.

Views of the Danum Valley and the Segama River in 1989. Danum is home to a diverse flora including an estimated 8,000-10,000 higher plant species. The flora is dominated by lowland forest consisting mostly of trees of the family Dipterocarpaceae which form a canopy of up to 70m in height. Between 80-90% of all canopy trees within the area belong to this family. Although a complete species list does not exist for the fauna, there are estimated to be over 120 mammal species, approximately 300 species of birds, at least 60 amphibians and 75 species reptiles. The presence of the Orangutan and Malayan Sun Bear contribute to the conservation status of the area.

Invertebrates in the Danum Valley. Termites (upper); an Assassin bug (middle). A large millipede coiled into a defensive posture (fourth). A large scorpion (bottom)

Sumatran Rhinoceros, Dicerorhinus sumatrensis. Photographed at Sepolok, Sabah, Malaysia. These small (1.5 m at shoulder, up to 950 kg) rhinos live in the Danum Valley, but are rarely seen. Current estimates are that there are about 300 individuals left across its distribution. The Sumatran rhino is one of the oldest living mammalian genera, dating to the Oligocene. Today it is found in scattered groups in hill forests of Burma, Thailand and Malaya as well as the islands of Borneo and Sumatra.

Sunday Market, Kota Kinabalu. Note that woven baskets, fruits and vegetables and bush meat (including a large fruit bat on the left side of the cooler) are available as well as dogs for pets or the pot.