Borneo is the richest rainforest island of all, home to 60,000 species of plants and animals. 6,000 of them are unique — and more are discovered almost daily. But this "paradise" is an illusion; the lush forest is effectively growing on a desert, with the soil shallow and poor in nutrients, having been leeched by aeons of incessant rain. We discover how the intense competition for nutrients has led to the forest becoming one of the most biodiverse places on the planet.