The island is home to 33 cultural ethnic groups, stretching from the mountains of Southwest Sabah to East Sulu, Sandakan, indigenous ethnic groups have reside along the 560km river, living for generations on the rich and abundant soil called home. For centuries, biodiversity on the island attracted many to grow, harvest, hunt, and unfortunately sometimes, thieve.

Sabah Rainforest is the the treasure trove of Biodiversity. Protecting and accommodating iconic wildlifes such as the endangered Orangutan, Borneo Pygmy Elephant, the Sun Bear, adorable Sunda Pangolin, and much more... It's rich biodiversity is like a unique diamond on earth, as the saying goes, "as rare as a four leaf clover." In fact, believe it or not there was even a tiger! The Borneon Tiger, or Borneo Tiger is possibly an extinct tiger population that lived on the island of Borneo during prehistoric times. Although a live Borneon Tiger has not been conclusively recorded, but the indigenous Dayak people believe in its existence, and occasionally report sightings!

As of recently, modernization of society resulted in the deterioration of Eco-Preservation and the importance of Eco-Protection. People of Borneo love their homeland, but it does not stop the idea of modern revolution spreading like wildfire amongst younger generations. Nowadays, logging, mining, and plantation development have contributed to massive deforestation and impacting the island's orangutan population. Such corrosive actions have caused the perish of thousands of wildlife. To date, Borneo has lost nearly 150,000 Orangutans over the last 16 years. It is certainly an important issue local authorities should pin-point on. Useful factors like enforcing stricter laws and educate youngsters as well as the public on the country's flora and fauna are the few ways to combat the uprising ecosystem wildlife crisis. 

Currently, the only activist environmental NGO in Sabah is the Non-Governmental Organization - the Sabah Environmental Protection Association (SEPA). It was founded in 1983 and has since continued to preach and protect ecological wonders of Sabah. Fortunately, the Island of Borneo is filled with people who love, and treasure its gifts and gems of its precious soil. The indigenous have always been respectful towards mother nature, and the future generations will continue to do so. Hopefully many more units and groups will be formed in effort to educate and protect the natural ecosystems of our homeland, The Land Below The Wind. I hope youngsters will acknowledge the importance of the ecosystem and its biodiversity of Borneo.