Borneo

Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans.
Jacque Cousteau

I am in the harbor city of Pangkalanbun, on Indonesian Borneo, ready to penetrate the surrounding jungle in search of the "man of the forest," the elusive orangutan. My destination is Tanjung Puting National Park, home of Camp Leakey, the research station of Birute Galdikas, who has been living with and studying these great apes since 1971. I have prepared months for this adventure and am well aware that the regime in Jakarta has raped the Indonesian rain forest beyond recognition along much of coastal Borneo. But certainly not where I'm going, a national park, where nature is safe.

I awaken fresh and eager to explore this wild kingdom. We board a klotuk, the standard river cruiser in these parts, and set sail for the Sekonyer River which will take us to Camp Leakey, two days upriver. I park myself on the top deck to search for wildlife and wild humans. Hours pass and I see nothing of interest, not a single bird, snake, monkey, or head hunter. Only an occasional sad faced fisherman, dressed in tattered western garb. They catch no fish as I putt-putt past.

At the end of the day my sightings list consists of three proboscis monkeys, a solitary hornbill, and too many sad faced fishermen. And that's it for an entire day in paradise. I am stunned.

I complain to my Indonesian guide who informs me that wildlife has mostly fled this area after construction of a massive gold mine on the Sekonyer, well past Camp Leakey. The mine employs 800 locals. Try to imagine their paychecks and then try to imagine who gets the gold.

In the mining process huge quantities of mercury are dumped into the river, poisoning the entire food chain, top to bottom, all the way downriver to the sea. This includes people, but who cares with all that gold for the taking. The only thing that really matters around here is another regime in Jakarta is getting filthy rich, and closing their eyes to the filthy poverty and environmental desecration in their country. The Sekonyer River has become a "Love Canal." I am penetrating a toxic dump, not a heart of darkness. (next photo)

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Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans. Jacque Cousteau I am in the harbor city of Pangkalanbun, on Indonesian Borneo, ready to penetrate the surrounding jungle in search of the "man of the forest," the elusive orangutan. My destination is Tanjung Puting National Park, home of Camp Leakey, the research station of Birute Galdikas, who has been living with and studying these great apes since 1971. I have prepared months for this adventure and am well aware that the regime in Jakarta has raped the Indonesian rain forest beyond recognition along much of coastal Borneo. But certainly not where I'm going, a national park, where nature is safe. I awaken fresh and eager to explore this wild kingdom. We board a klotuk, the standard river cruiser in these parts, and set sail for the Sekonyer River which will take us to Camp Leakey, two days upriver. I park myself on the top deck to search for wildlife and wild humans. Hours pass and I see nothing of interest, not a single bird, snake, monkey, or head hunter. Only an occasional sad faced fisherman, dressed in tattered western garb. They catch no fish as I putt-putt past. At the end of the day my sightings list consists of three proboscis monkeys, a solitary hornbill, and too many sad faced fishermen. And that's it for an entire day in paradise. I am stunned. I complain to my Indonesian guide who informs me that wildlife has mostly fled this area after construction of a massive gold mine on the Sekonyer, well past Camp Leakey. The mine employs 800 locals. Try to imagine their paychecks and then try to imagine who gets the gold. In the mining process huge quantities of mercury are dumped into the river, poisoning the entire food chain, top to bottom, all the way downriver to the sea. This includes people, but who cares with all that gold for the taking. The only thing that really matters around here is another regime in Jakarta is getting filthy rich, and closing their eyes to the filthy poverty and environmental desecration in their country. The Sekonyer River has become a "Love Canal." I am penetrating a toxic dump, not a heart of darkness. (next photo)

© Danny Kimberlin 2015