South Kalimantan

Kalimantan Selatan ( German South Kalimantan ), sometimes abbreviated Kalsel, is an Indonesian province on the island of Borneo. It lies in the southeast of the island and is the smallest but most densely populated province of Borneo.

The population of the province is made up of Malay and Dayak. As part of the resettlement policy of the Indonesian government, numerous people were resettled from overpopulated regions in the province ( transmigration ), which leads to conflicts. Capital is Banjarmasin with 580,000 inhabitants.

Economically important is the timber industry and the plantation economy, especially rubber is grown. Play a smaller role of coal mining and fishing. As in many other Indonesian provinces raises the clearing of rain forests to massive ecological problems. Another big problem is the use of highly toxic mercury for artisanal gold mining in the amalgam method. The contamination of air and water affects around 225,000 people. 2013 has this failure to " Nomination" throughout Central and South Kalimantan performed among the top 10 of the most contaminated areas of the world by the Blacksmith Institute. Through educational work among the miners, the Institute tries to improve the situation.

In the 15th century established a Hindu Kingdom embossed in the region, which was under Islamic rule from the 16th century and became the Sultanate of Banjarmasin. 1860 the region came finally under the Dutch colonial administration and the sultanate was dissolved. Kalimantan Selatan in 1950 became a province of the newly independent Indonesia. First, also the area of Kalimantan Tengah belonged to the province; However, the resident Dayak won in 1957 the spin-off.

Administrative divisions

Kalimantan Selatan consists of the following 11 administrative districts ( kabupaten ) and two cities ( kota ):