Since I've mentioned them in every column so far, and will surely do so again, I dare say you already know the reg-indonesia archives (gopher://gopher.igc.apc.org:2998/7REG- INDONESIA). Simply the best place to start looking on any topic to do with Indonesia. However, let's now look for some sites with dedicated info on Kalimantan.
Whole net
If you draw a complete blank on where to begin, why not search the entire World Wide Web? Yes, every one of the many millions of individual Web sites. There are now many (free!) 'search engines' around that can do this in a variety of ways. They compete for the honour of your presence.
One that has won rave reviews lately is Infoseek, at http://www.infoseek.com. Their blurb says - perhaps a little unkindly to the others - 'there is intelligent life on the net'.
I typed in the keyword 'Kalimantan' and got the first ten of over 2,000 Web site addresses, each with a little summary. A disappointing jumble of travel stories and mining announcements. I'd been insufficiently specific. When I narrowed the search by adding the word 'Dayak' I got lots of English news stories about the recent violence among the 100 or so left over.
Forests
However, even with Infoseek, you need inside knowledge. Think of Kalimantan and what do you see? Forests? Mines? Transmigration towns? Indigenous peoples?
Forests first. Try the wonderful Gaia forests site at http://forests.lic.wisc.edu/forests/gaia.html. It is devoted to worldwide rainforest and forest conservation, indigenous issues, and ecological activism opportunities. When you click on their 'World Forests' icon, up comes a directory of action alerts from around the globe.
Indonesia is there with news clippings (in English!) going back six years. Pulp mills, indigenous land rights, eco- labelling, the Down to Earth reports on Kalimantan's million- hectare project - all there. Then there are links to the global Greenpeace site, WWF, Econet, etc.
I first saw the Gaia forest site in the excellent Indonesia- Canada Forum homepage. This, incidentally, is now called the Indonesia-Canada Alliance, and their new address is http://www.ics.bc.ca/ica.
Mines
The huge Busang gold find in East Kalimantan, perhaps the world's biggest and at the heart of some rough politicking lately, may only be the beginning. There's talk of a Kalimantan Gold Belt running right across the island.
Info-Mine (http://www.info-mine.com) is the Web's premier site for information about mining companies and properties around the world. Don't expect Gaia-style calls for protests - this is hard business data.
A lot of it is free but, like the tits-and-bums pages, you run into 'pay up first' walls when it gets really interesting. Under 'Hot Areas' there's an Indonesian Resources Page with numerous company press releases and brokerage reports. Mostly gold here, no coal - which Kalimantan also has in abundance.
Others
A couple of other Kalimantan sites for you to check out. Nature Reserves of Kalimantan (http://www1.tip.nl/users/t008530/kaliman.html, newly designed by Ed Colijn in the Netherlands), has a complete list of all its national parks, with eco-tourist information on accommodation and flora and fauna.
More academic is the Borneo Research Council site, at http://www.mdx.ac.uk/www/hap/brc.html. This British group brings together research in the social, biological and medical sciences over the whole island, regardless of political boundaries. But the site is still under construction, and gives you only some names and addresses, and a list of their publications.
Gerry van Klinken
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