Ting Hui Ng, Noor Haliza Hasan, Petherine Jimbau, Boon Hee Kueh, Song-Quan Ong, Marcela Pimid, Homathevi Rahman, Monica Suleiman & Evan S.H. Quah

Abstract. The BORNEENSIS Collection, housed at the Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ITBC), Universiti Malaysia Sabah, in northern Borneo, is one of the most important biological repositories in Southeast Asia. The collection, set up in 1996 and consisting of the Herbarium (BORH) and the Zoological Collections (BOR), was established with the goal of becoming a key reference collection for Bornean flora and fauna, especially those native to Sabah, that supports and assists biodiversity research and education. We provide a comprehensive account of the history of the collection, its current management status and holdings, and its roles in supporting local and international biodiversity and biosystematics research, undergraduate and postgraduate education and training, and in supporting non-formal educational outreach activities. Building on the experiences and challenges faced by BORNEENSIS thus far, we provide recommendations for the continued relevance of BORNEENSIS in terms of the continuity of collections care and management, promoting equitable specimen-based research and collections-based education and training, strengthening outreach efforts, and learning from our counterparts via improved networking.

Key words. natural history collection, university museum, herbarium, zoological, Malaysia, Southeast Asia

Read article here: RBZ-2026-0021