Kinabatangan River

The main tributaries from the mouth:{{cite web|url=https://www.riversnetwork.org/V1/index.php/component/content/?view=article&id=108&catid=277&Itemid=179|title=Kalimantan-Borneo|last=Eric|first=Tilman}}

With the early Chinese traders' settlement around the river mouth area,{{cite book|author=David Levinson|title=Encyclopedia of World Cultures|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tM0ZAQAAIAAJ|year=1993|publisher=G.K. Hall|isbn=978-0-8168-8840-5|page=80}}{{cite book|author1=Melvin Ember|author2=Carol R. Ember|title=Cultures of the world: selections from the ten-volume encyclopedia of world cultures|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OMlaAAAAYAAJ|year=1999|publisher=Macmillan Library Reference|page=244|isbn=9780028653679}} the name Kina Batañgan was used by the indigenous people of the area for the river, with the word Kina being a reference by the indigenous Dusun for the Chinese people.{{cite book|author=Sir Spenser St. John|title=Life in the Forests of the Far East|url=https://archive.org/details/lifeinforestsfa03johngoog|year=1863|publisher=Smith, Elder and Company|page=[https://archive.org/details/lifeinforestsfa03johngoog/page/n365 327]}}{{cite book|author1=Kam Hing Lee|author2=Chee Beng Tan|title=The Chinese in Malaysia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=35NuAAAAMAAJ|year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-983-56-0056-2|page=383}} The Orang Sungai traditionally lived along the river banks and were of mixed ancestry, including Dusun, Suluk, Bugis, Bajau as well the Chinese. The earliest Chinese traders settlement on the banks of the Kinabatangan River had been established since the 7th century, where they traded in edible-nest swiftlet, beeswax, rattan and ivory. In the 15th century, a sister of the Chinese Kinabatangan settlement leader married the sultan of Brunei.{{cite book|author=Robert Nicholl|title=From Buckfast to Borneo: Essays Presented to Father Robert Nicholl on the 85th Anniversary of His Birth, 27 March 1995|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4L4hbXlYQd0C|year=1995|publisher=University of Hull|isbn=978-0-85958-836-2|page=190}}{{cite web|url=http://www.pusat-sejarah.gov.bn/sultanbrunei.htm|title=Sultan-Sultan Brunei|trans-title=Sultans of Brunei|language=ms|publisher=Government of Brunei|access-date=25 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170128124306/http://www.pusat-sejarah.gov.bn/sultanbrunei.htm|archive-date=28 January 2017|url-status=dead}} During the British North Borneo era, the river served as the route for goods and timber exports, navigable for steam launches as well for smaller boats.{{cite book|author=David Sunderland|title=British Economic Development in South East Asia, 1880–1939|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OCkxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT5|date=5 July 2017|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-351-57306-1|page=5}} William Burgess Pryer attempted to establish a market at one location called Domingol along the river coast, but the plan did not flourish.{{cite book|author=Henry Ling Roth|title=The Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b4ra_BW72oUC&pg=PR209|year=2012|publisher=BoD – Books on Demand|isbn=978-3-86403-425-1|page=209}}

File:Orangutan kinabatangan.jpg

The river area, including Labang and Kuamut, were formed by the Early and Middle Miocene periods, while large parts of the river system from the Maliau Basin were formed during the Early and Late Miocene.{{cite journal|url=https://gsm.org.my/products/702001-100637-PDF.pdf|title=The origin of the 'circular basins' of Sabah, Malaysia|author1=Allagu Balaguru|author2=Gary Nichols|author3=Robert Hall|journal=Bulletin of the Geological Society of Malaysia, Royal Holloway University of London|via=Geological Society of Malaysia|year=2003|access-date=25 May 2019|page=337|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524033404/https://gsm.org.my/products/702001-100637-PDF.pdf|archive-date=24 May 2019|url-status=dead}}{{cite journal|url=https://gsm.org.my/products/702001-100610-PDF.pdf|title=Tertiary stratigraphy and basin evolution of southern Sabah: implications for the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of Sabah, Malaysia|author1=Allagu Balaguru|author2=Gary Nichols|author3=Robert Hall|journal=Bulletin of the Geological Society of Malaysia, Royal Holloway University of London|via=Geological Society of Malaysia|year=2003|access-date=25 May 2019|page=29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524033206/https://gsm.org.my/products/702001-100610-PDF.pdf|archive-date=24 May 2019|url-status=dead}} Towards the river mouth, the area is made of Middle Miocene chaotic deposits. The ecology of the upper reaches of the river has been severely disrupted by excessive logging and clearing of land for plantations, although the original lowland forest and mangrove swamps near the coast have largely survived, providing sanctuary for a population of saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) and containing some of Borneo's highest concentrations of wildlife.{{cite journal|url=http://files.webb.uu.se/uploader/858/MFS-195nordkvistliten.pdf|title=Anthropogenic disturbance along the Kinabatangan River in Borneo, Malaysia and the distribution and abundance of the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus)|author=Michelle Nordkvist|journal=The Tropical Ecology Minor Field Study Working Group, Committee of Tropical Ecology|via=Uppsala University|year=2003|access-date=25 May 2019|issn=1653-5634|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525014600/http://files.webb.uu.se/uploader/858/MFS-195nordkvistliten.pdf|archive-date=25 May 2019|url-status=dead}}

Bornean orangutans, proboscis monkeys, Borneo elephants and Sunda clouded leopards are some of the most remarkable mammals that can be found along the river. There are also many bird species, such as the family of hornbills: black hornbill, wrinkled hornbill, white-crowned hornbill, rhinoceros hornbill, and oriental pied hornbill.

The endemic Ganges shark (Glyphis fowlerae) is found in the lower reaches.

File:Proboscis Kinabatangan.jpg

In many villages along the river, the demand for freshwater fish has always been high, and the livelihoods of villagers have greatly depended on the income from catches.{{cite book|author1=Uwe Tietze|author2=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations|title=Credit and Microfinance Needs in Inland Capture Fisheries Development and Conservation in Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ihTrWUKDvLUC&pg=PA131|year=2007|publisher=Food & Agriculture Org.|isbn=978-92-5-105756-8|page=131}} Each year, the lashing rains of the northeast monsoon cause the river to swell rapidly. Unable to disgorge into the sea quickly enough, the river frequently overflows its banks and spreads across the flat land of its lower reaches, creating a huge floodplain.

File:Tree planting with APE Malaysia.jpg

In 1997, {{convert|270|km2|0|abbr=on}} of the lower Kinabatangan floodplain were declared a protected area.{{cite web|url=https://www.animamundimag.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Kinabatangan-The-River-of-Life-2.pdf|title=Borneo's Kinabatangan [The River of Life]|publisher=Anima Mundi|year=2017|access-date=25 May 2019|page=14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525004024/https://www.animamundimag.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Kinabatangan-The-River-of-Life-2.pdf|archive-date=25 May 2019|url-status=dead}} Much of the deeper river area is protected under the Lower Kinabatangan Sanctuary, a {{convert|28000|hectare|0|abbr=on|adj=on}} reserve established in 1999 that provides a variety of habitats for flora, especially a freshwater swamp forest, mangroves, palms, and bamboo, as well as fauna, such as Hose's langurs, proboscis monkeys, orangutans, pig-tailed macaques, gibbons, slow lorises, elephants, Sunda clouded leopards, and rhinoceros. In 2001, the lower Kinabatangan floodplain was upgraded into a bird sanctuary area through the efforts of non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Following media attention after a decapitated elephant's head was found floating down the river in 2006, the protected area was gazetted as the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary through the Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment of 1997 under the purview of the Sabah Wildlife Department in 2009.{{cite web|url=http://www.kats.gov.my/ms-my/biodiversiti/BioD%20Knowledge/RiparianGuideline.pdf|title=Box 2. Kinabatangan – Corridor of Life (a case study)|via=Ministry of Water, Land and Natural Resources, Malaysia|access-date=25 May 2019|page=12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524084206/http://www.kats.gov.my/ms-my/biodiversiti/BioD%20Knowledge/RiparianGuideline.pdf|archive-date=24 May 2019|url-status=dead}}

Since the beginning of the modern era in the early 1950s until 1987, the lower Kinabatangan area has been subjected to commercial logging activities, and more than {{convert|60000|hectare|0|abbr=on}} of its lowland rainforest have been developed into cocoa and palm oil plantations. This resulted in severe pollution of the river, which greatly affected the lives of villagers who had depended on the river for their livelihoods, attracting the attention of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment of the government of Sabah.{{cite web|url=http://bepi.mpob.gov.my/news/detail.php?id=4254|title=Kinabatangan River Needs Rescue From Pollution|author=Kamar Nor Aini Kamarul Zaman|work=Bernama|publisher=Malaysian Palm Oil Board|date=24 September 2007|access-date=25 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524091747/http://bepi.mpob.gov.my/news/detail.php?id=4254|archive-date=24 May 2019|url-status=dead}} In 2011, Nestlé launched a reforestation project of the riparian area along the Kinabatangan River in Sukau to create a landscape where people, nature, and agriculture activities could co-exist harmoniously in their need for water.{{cite press release|url=https://www.nestle.com.my/media/pressreleases/allpressreleases/rileaf_project|title=Nestlé brings RiLeaf to the Kinabatangan River|publisher=Nestlé|date=26 September 2011|access-date=25 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524092251/https://www.nestle.com.my/media/pressreleases/allpressreleases/rileaf_project|archive-date=24 May 2019|url-status=dead}} Most nature tourism in the Kinabatangan River area is concentrated around Sukau since it is accessible by road and offers comfortable accommodation to visitors prepared to pay for well-managed tours.{{cite thesis|title=Conservation, livelihoods and the role of tourism: a case study of Sukau village in the Lower Kinabatangan District, Sabah, Malaysia|author=Charlotte J. Fletcher|year=2009|publisher=Lincoln University|hdl = 10182/1339|type=Thesis}}

The only bridge crossing the river is located at Federal Route Federal Route 13, about {{convert|108|km|abbr=on}} from Sandakan. A {{convert|350|m|abbr=on}} bridge linking Sukau with Litang and Tommanggong was planned but cancelled in April 2017 after opposition from conservationists, including David Attenborough, due to potential adverse effect on the local pygmy elephant population.{{cite web|url=https://news.mongabay.com/2017/05/over-the-bridge-the-battle-for-the-future-of-the-kinabatangan/|title=Over the bridge: The battle for the future of the Kinabatangan|author=John C. Cannon|publisher=Mongabay|date=3 May 2017|access-date=25 May 2019}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/apr/21/attenborough-guardian-headline-halts-borneo-bridge|title=David Attenborough's 'Guardian headline' halts Borneo bridge|author=Jeremy Hance|newspaper=The Guardian|date=21 April 2017|access-date=25 May 2019}} The river can be visited all year round, although it is often flooded during the wettest part of the year in December and January. From April to October during the main flowering and fruiting season, the climate is generally fairly dry and a good time to spot many birds and animals. During the northeast monsoon from November to March, there are often heavy showers during the afternoons which usually extended until December and January. Through the rainy season, it is possible to negotiate many of the river channels leading into the oxbow lakes, where there is a greater concentration of wildlife.{{cite book|author1=Billy Kon|author2=King Li Lee|title=Borneo's Tropical Eden: Sabah|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qBZFAQAAIAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Simply Green|isbn=978-981-05-1412-9|page=122}}

File:Kinabatangan(1).jpg|The river in 1984.

File:RiversOfSabah SungaiKinabatangan-09.jpg|A signboard on a road bridge passing the river.

File:RiversOfSabah SungaiKinabatangan-01.jpg|The river seen from far.

File:Kinabatangan River (14177400033).jpg|Vegetation along the river.

File:Borneo clouded leopard.jpg|Bornean clouded leopard along the lower part of the river.

File:011191 00001 Nasenaffen am Kinabatangan.jpg|A group of Proboscis monkeys by the river Kinabatangan

011188-58- Orang Utan im Regenwald.jpg|Orang Utan by the river

• List of rivers of Malaysia

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• {{cite web|url=https://www.water.gov.my/jps/resources/Compendium/kompendium2018.pdf|title=Kompendium (Data dan Maklumat Asas JPS)|trans-title=Compendium (DID Basic Data and Information)|language=ms|publisher=Department of Irrigation and Drainage, Malaysia|year=2018|access-date=25 May 2019|page=26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524015804/https://www.water.gov.my/jps/resources/Compendium/kompendium2018.pdf|archive-date=24 May 2019|url-status=dead}}
• {{cite news |url=https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/how-scientists-and-a-community-are-bringing-a-bornean-river-corridor-back-to-life/ |title=How scientists and a community are bringing a Bornean river corridor back to life |author=Carolyn Cowan |work=Mongabay |date=22 November 2023}}

• {{commons category-inline|Sungai Kinabatangan|Kinabatangan River}}

{{Parks and Conservation Areas in Sabah}}

{{Geography of Sabah}}

Category:Rivers of Sabah

Category:Protected areas of Sabah

Category:Important Bird Areas of Sabah

Category:Nature sites of Malaysia

Category:Orangutan conservation

Category:Rivers of Malaysia