Deadly jungle roads of Borneo

Added: 2026-05-11

[00:00:49]For 140 million years, this Emerald Haven has been concealing hoards of hidden treasures.

[00:00:58]It swallowed up many adventurers in its time.

[00:01:02]The Borneo forest appears entirely impassable.

[00:01:09]There's nothing it can do to stop the most ferocious of its predators, man and machine.

[00:01:27]The forest slows their progress as best it can.

[00:01:46][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] Youssef's mission is to set up a lumber camp before nightfall.

[00:02:09]But his battle with the forest has only just started.

[00:02:42][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] Behind Youssef, two other trucks have come to a standstill.

[00:03:02][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] The bulldozer attempts to reduce the danger by scraping off the layer of earth covering the road.

[00:03:33][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] Borneo is shared between three countries.

[00:03:59]Indonesia occupies over two-thirds of the island.

[00:04:10]Resources are abundant.

[00:04:14]Diamonds, gold, iron, petrol, coal.

[00:04:19]All these resources are exclusively exploited.

[00:04:25]Borneo is slowly dying.

[00:04:31]Its forest is stripped of its rare wood, such as Teak or Ebony.

[00:04:38]The procession of trucks never ends.

[00:04:49][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] When it comes to ferrying loads, seven days a week towards ports and big cities, anything goes.

[00:05:12]Each route brings its own danger.

[00:05:21]Borneo has even more havens with well-hidden secrets.

[00:05:46]Having been at the wheel for more than 15 years, Echo is somewhat of a veteran.

[00:05:52]It's undoubtedly his legendary cautiousness, which has allowed him to stay alive.

[00:05:56][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] Today, none of the traders disturb the convoy's progress.

[00:06:37]But just past this turn, a much feared obstacle stands in the way.

[00:06:42]This unstable bridge must be crossed very slowly.

[00:06:48]Echo presses the brake pedal to the floor.

[00:06:54][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] The brakes seem to be struggling to support the load.

[00:07:35]They're steaming hot.

[00:07:40][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] Echo is forced to stop before his truck catches fire.

[00:08:03]The other trucks are in a similar state.

[00:08:22]One hour later, the convoy sets back off.

[00:08:25]The drivers are on edge, but they're rewarded for their ordeal with a salary of €500, three times higher than the country's average.

[00:08:33][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] With another child on the way, Echo chooses not to take the most dangerous routes.

[00:09:05]Unlike Youssef.

[00:09:10]He's now been carrying his house on the back of his truck for seven hours.

[00:09:17]He's tired but remains focused.

[00:09:37]On arrival at the delivery point, there remains a delicate maneuver.

[00:09:44]With no crane to help them, the forest workers must rely on their own resourcefulness.

[00:09:55]This embankment under the bulldozer acts as an unloading dock.

[00:10:12][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] The houses haven't yet finished their journey.

[00:10:48]They're headed for the riverbank.

[00:10:54]The men will live in the depths of the jungle for 11 months.

[00:11:01]Their food will be basic but they'll still be able to have fresh eggs.

[00:11:30]There remains one thing to be done, and it's rather important.

[00:11:34]The inhabitants of Borneo believe that each tree is home to a spirit.

[00:11:38]Before cutting them down, they ask for the spirit's permission for fear of incurring their wrath.

[00:11:51]The chief of the neighboring tribe is in charge of the offerings.

[00:11:58][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] Amongst the gifts is this pig.

[00:12:15]He's not too happy.

[00:12:25]He's sacrificed straight away.

[00:12:33]His head is given to the gods and the rest to the men.

[00:12:48]The men need not wait for a response from above.

[00:12:54]By the looks of it, it's a categorical no.

[00:12:56]The torrential rain pounds down on the camp and it doesn't come without consequence.

[00:13:04]On their days off, the men only earn half of their usual salary.

[00:13:08]But none of them would risk working with a chainsaw or driving on earth that's been turned into mud.

[00:13:25]They're left to their own devices and there's little to do but talk, and hope that the wrath of the god doesn't last for too long.

[00:13:50]Three days and several sacrifices later, the rain has given way to bright sunshine.

[00:13:58]This seemingly quiet village hides a terrible past.

[00:14:02]Keeping your head on your shoulders was not easy here.

[00:14:08]The Dayak tribe used to have a tradition of cutting off the heads of their enemies.

[00:14:15]The tradition was long-lasting.

[00:14:17]The last decapitation took place in the sixties.

[00:14:21]Nowadays, the only heads the Dayak's cut off are pig heads.

[00:14:26]Evangelized by American pastors, the tribe has now become a peaceful one.

[00:14:32]The Indonesian government donated these little houses in order to keep them under control.

[00:14:42]These nomadic warriors have been transformed into peaceful hunters.

[00:14:49]Ali catches live birds and resells them at markets.

[00:14:52]In Indonesia, owning birds as a sign of good fortune.

[00:14:58][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] It's a Verdun blue bearded bird.

[00:15:25][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] The trap works if the bird sings.

[00:15:41]If it doesn't, Ali simulates a mating ritual with the help of a bird song recording.

[00:15:47][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] Bird catcher now has his nephew on board with his work.

[00:16:17]Nothing beats a bit of work experience to learn the tricks of the trade.

[00:16:24]It's been a few years since Ali started catching birds in his garden.

[00:16:30]But deforestation means that birds are now rare.

[00:16:35]Ali is forced to venture further and further in the forest.

[00:16:45]His old moped is struggling.

[00:17:13]Hunting is becoming more and more costly for him.

[00:17:16][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] Two hours of walking later, Ali and his nephew finally find a nice clearing.

[00:18:17][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] The blue-bearded bird is on top form and starts to sing its love song.

[00:18:44][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] The wait continues.

[00:19:39]There's not a single bird in sight, and even Ali's bird has stopped singing.

[00:19:45]Time for a bit of help.

[00:19:47][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] The bird eats but still refuses to sing a single note.

[00:20:25]Ali resorts to his speakers but the sound is far from natural.

[00:20:30]It's not looking hopeful.

[00:20:35]Especially seeing as not too far away.

[00:20:38]A chainsaw is hard at work making its own music.

[00:20:46]It's racket resonates through the jungle, as does the thud of the trees falling.

[00:21:04]Borneo is living through an ecological disaster.

[00:21:07]In just 20 years, the island has lost 85% of its primal forest.

[00:21:14]The equivalent of two-thirds of France.

[00:21:22][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] The Dayak's live in harmony with nature.

[00:21:45]But in just a few years, all the natural habitats will have disappeared.

[00:21:53]After three days of torrential rain, the wood cutters have eagerly taken up work once more.

[00:22:01]Each of them makes sure to speed up the cutting and transporting of the wood.

[00:22:06]The forest workers want to make up the wages they've lost.

[00:22:20]This giant grows one centimeter every year.

[00:22:23]It's taken thousands of years to grow to this size.

[00:22:28]It's wood is the hardest and densest in the world.

[00:22:31]Giving it the name Ironwood.

[00:22:37]Even once on the ground, it's still managing to make the woodcutter lives difficult.

[00:22:42]Sheer weight of the tree is dragging the bulldozer towards the ravine.

[00:23:14]Even in their steel cages, drivers aren't fully protected.

[00:23:18][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] It's proving impossible to extricate the wood, especially as the bulldozer is now stuck.

[00:23:58]To free it, the forest must once again pay a heavy price.

[00:24:10]The wood cutters cut down a tree and slide the logs under its tracks.

[00:24:41]The battle between wood and steel last more than an hour.

[00:25:02]The tree will end up being turned into plywood boards.

[00:25:20]Youssef is leaving to load up ten tons of Ironwood but the rain has transformed the tracks into muddy trenches.

[00:25:47]The driver stays calm.

[00:25:48]He knows that getting worked up won't help.

[00:25:53]Especially today, he'll be tackling completely unexplored tracks.

[00:25:57][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] The ogres of the forest devour everything in their path.

[00:26:28]Bulldozers extend the path for the workers as they go along.

[00:26:33][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] Each new track brings it own unknown dangers.

[00:27:02]According to the drivers, there have never been any deaths, only injuries.

[00:27:10]Each of them accepts the risks for one very important reason.

[00:27:14][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] The drivers earn a fixed salary with added bonuses if they manage to transport more wood than expected.

[00:27:41]It's not looking promising for today's bonus.

[00:27:46]The bulldozer brings back bad news.

[00:27:47]The road is impassable.

[00:27:51]Unless the drivers, use this technique nicknamed The Conga.

[00:28:34]His return journey promises to be eventful.

[00:28:38]He'll take on the same route from the opposite direction, fully loaded.

[00:28:43]Out of 260 million inhabitants in Indonesia, 39 million don't have access to drinkable water but the country's development is improving exponentially, thanks to the excessive exploitation of its natural reserves.

[00:28:58]The east coast of Borneo is no exception.

[00:29:00]It too has seen the extent to which humans will go in order to exploit its resources.

[00:29:05]Its sea beds are filled with black gold.

[00:29:08]The future oil wells are 150 kilometres away from the archipelago of Darwin.

[00:29:17]And the island of Maratua, The inhabitants of this coral reef are hoping that oil extraction won't pollute their unharmed lands.

[00:29:43]Rauf is a fisherman.

[00:29:47]Like Ali, the bird catcher.

[00:29:49]He's made his own equipment with whatever he could put together.

[00:29:52][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] Rauf dives into the coral reef, a whole hour away from the shore by canoe.

[00:30:42][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] The fisherman doesn't always succeed.

[00:31:26]This Marine turtle would be a fine catch but Rauf doesn't shoot it.

[00:31:31]The villagers are all in agreement that they should protect the symbol of the island.

[00:31:40]Rauf tries another reef.

[00:31:43]It's another hour away in his canoe.

[00:32:18]With the rain and the strong currents, fatigue is setting in fast.

[00:32:25]But returning empty-handed isn't an option.

[00:32:52]But fortune favors the brave, sometimes.

[00:32:55]five hours of fishing for only four fish.

[00:32:58][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] Rauf is one of a group of sea nomads named The Bajau.

[00:33:31]In the past, they navigated from island to island on their floating houses, letting the winds and currents decide their path.

[00:33:38]Then, just like the Dayak's, the government made them settle on this otherwise deserted archipelago.

[00:33:45]Without realizing that this would provide them with a certain treasure trove unlike any other in the world.

[00:33:56]Hidden right at the end of this lake.

[00:34:07]When sea levels sank 10,000 years ago, part of the sea's water became trapped here, forming this saltwater lake.

[00:34:24]Many plant and animal species are trapped here.

[00:34:36]Like these jellyfish of which there are millions in the lake.

[00:34:44]Any diver would be forgiven for not wanting to go near them, but Rauf doesn't hesitate to pick them up.

[00:34:50][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] The jellyfish don't have any predators in the lake.

[00:35:05]Over the centuries, their defense system has disappeared as it's no longer useful to them.

[00:35:13]In order to protect them, the Bajau have enforced strict rules.

[00:35:22][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] Only Borneo's neighboring country Malaysia has a similar like.

[00:36:00]With the development of tourism, this unique ecosystem is at risk of disappearing just like Borneo's forest.

[00:36:23]Youssef is loading up his ten tonnes of wood.

[00:36:27]With such a heavy load, he's dreading traveling back on the route marked out the same morning by the bulldozers.

[00:37:21][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] Every time he drives on a dangerous route, Youssef's thoughts turn to his family, who are waiting for him 5000 kilometers away.

[00:38:28][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] Just one short month.

[00:38:50]It's rarely long enough for him to get over his exhaustion.

[00:39:34]Tomorrow, the logs will take a completely different route to reach the sea and the shipping ports.

[00:39:42]At the heart of this green hell, temperatures can easily reach 36 degrees and humidity levels verge on 100%.

[00:39:51]After ten hours of driving, the men are exhausted.

[00:40:08]They spend 11 months on average in these simple huts.

[00:40:13]Sometimes, some of them break down and want to give it all up.

[00:40:17]It's at this point that these slaves of the forest pull together.

[00:40:24][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] All these tree trunks put together weigh thousands of tons.

[00:41:49]To transport them, the trucks use gigantic quantities of petrol.

[00:41:57]The quickest and most cost-effective way of getting them to the port is by water.

[00:42:07]This job falls to the Dayak tribe.

[00:42:18]The ropes holding the raft together can easily trap their hands and feet.

[00:42:39][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] The journey down to the port should be nothing more than a simple formality.

[00:43:01]But in certain places, the river twists and turns and the current changes direction.

[00:43:11]The small engine is struggling.

[00:43:18]I mean, put up a good fight.

[00:43:20]It eventually gives up.

[00:43:26][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] On this day, almost 30 rafts headed down the river.

[00:45:10]In this ecological massacre, it's the forestry companies who are the real winners.

[00:45:16]Once the forest has been stripped of all it has to offer, it's replaced by oil palm plantations or even entire towns.

[00:45:25]Sometimes, very rarely.

[00:45:27]Mother nature gets her own back on the intruders.

[00:45:46]It's hard to imagine that only 20 years ago, a housing development with around 100 houses was built here.

[00:45:53]It was completely swept away in 2001 by a hurricane and the huge waves that came with it.

[00:46:03]For Argus Bay, the property developer.

[00:46:06]The dramatic events stirred his conscience.

[00:46:12][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] Instead of rebuilding the houses, the builder decided to start gardening.

[00:46:33]After having removed the rubble, Argus Bay replanted hundreds of thousands of trees.

[00:46:38]They now form a green barrier which prevents the erosion of the coast.

[00:46:46][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] Argus build his housing development within a few months.

[00:47:45]It took him 20 years to replant 100 hectares of mangrove.

[00:47:50][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio] Today, these large proboscis monkeys with their rather peculiar noses are once again repopulating the area.

[00:48:15][*Bahasa Malaysia* spoken audio]