Indonesia’s parliament passed a law approving the relocation of its capital from slowly sinking Jakarta to a site 2,000 kilometres away on the jungle-clad Borneo islandthat will be named “Nusantara”.
The new capital is in East Kalimantan province on the Indonesian part of Borneo.
Borneo Island
About: Borneo is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia.
Location: At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and east of Sumatra. It spans both the Northern and Southern hemispheres.
Adjoining areas: The Island is surrounded by the South China Sea to the north and northwest, the Sulu Sea to the northeast, the Celebes Sea and the Makassar Strait to the east, and the Java Sea and Karimata Strait to the south.
Divisions: The island is politically divided among three countries: Malaysia and Brunei in the north, and Indonesia to the south. 73% of the island is Indonesian territory.
Ecology: The Borneo rainforest is estimated to be around 140 million years old, making it one of the oldest rainforests in the world.
Endemic forest species: Borneo elephant, the eastern Sumatran rhinoceros, the Bornean clouded leopard, the hose's palm civet and the dayak fruit bat.
