AbstractHistorical development and the adoption of rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) in swidden agricultural systems and its effect on the forest landscape in Borneo (Malaysia and Indonesia) are discussed. Firstly, it is argued that, as long as there was no pressure for land, swidden-fallow farmers who grew rice in Sarawak (Malaysia) and West Kalimantan (Indonesia) could easily incorporate rubber into the fallow component without encroaching on primary forest or greatly affecting the broader forest landscape of primary and secondary forests and forest gardens. Secondly, it is argued that the introduction of rubber by swidden agriculturalists in West Kalimantan actually had a positive effect on reforestation through the creation of structurally complex and floristically diverse forest gardens.