Probably indispensable

"The Ecology of Kalimantan" is an 800-page reference work on the status of the environment in Indonesian Borneo, otherwise known as Kalimantan. It's also the third volume in the series "The ecology of Indonesia".

I only skimmed this volume, but it does look promising.

There is a general introduction to Borneo, and more specific chapters on various habitats. Coastal habitats include rocky shores, beaches and beach forests, coral reefs, mangrove etc. The section on fresh water habitats deal with rivers, lakes and swamp forests. Further chapters cover lowland rain forests, cliffs and caves, or Mount Kinabalu, the highest peak on the island. There is also a chapter on man-made lakes. In short, we are dealing with a competent, encyclopaedic reference work!

The chapters on resources and conservation have "deep green" and ZPG overtones, although not as extreme as in the book on Oman I reviewed earlier. How readers react to this part of the book, will no doubt be a function of their political convictions.

Nevertheless, "The ecology of Kalimantan" is probably indispensable for scientists and others dealing with ecological problems in this particular part of Indonesia, and therefore I give it four stars.