Activities Report 1999 Sept Newsletter
Belum Forest Reserve as a National Park
The Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) commends
the move by YB Datuk Law Hieng Ding, Minister of Science, Technology and
Environment (MOSTE) to protect the Belum and Ulu Muda area and as well
as other areas for wildlife conservation. These transboundary reserves
with Thailand, are a welcome move, as the artificial international boundaries
have no meaning to the animals. The space is suitable for migration and
territorial home. The chances of animals travelling out of their home range
are reduced and buffer zones such as minimal activity forests surrounding
the area will act as a barrier.
The importance of the Belum Forests
(which includes Temenggor, and Grik Forest Reserve) has long been the concern
of MNS as well as other NGOs and the public. Since the major MNS Belum
I scientific expedition in 1993/4 and the smaller Belum II expedition in
1998, MNS has discovered a unique habitat, and a very rich and diversified
range of wildlife and plants. One of the interesting discoveries is the
rare Rafflesia flower, which is the biggest bloom in the world. Many big
mammals have been sighted in this undisturbed area, such as the seladang,
elephants, tigers and tapirs, along
with evidence of the endangered Sumatran rhinoceros.
With Taman Negara representing the flora
of central Peninsular Malaysia and the Endau Rompin, with its affinity
to the West Borneo flora representing the southern end of the Peninsula,
the third piece of the jigsaw of the northern flora, will obviously be
in Belum. Belum with its neigh-bouring Ulu Muda area, is large enough to
be a reserve for conservation. However, with the increasing wildlife population
as reported by MOSTE there is a need for a larger area and the provi-sion
for animal corridors for the migration and expansion of territory within
the species. As such, to allow for such migration and better ‘gene-mixing’,
ideally, the Belum Forests should be linked with the Stong, Perias and
Nenggiri Forest Reserves by a series of more or less protected areas. These
reserves will finally be the reality for the posterity of wild animals
in Peninsular Malaysia.
Why protect such a large area? This
is an important investment for us, as the forest and animals play a crucial
role to our own survival. The forest is a reservoir of pharmaceutical products,
wild food stocks, natural pesticide and herbicide, natural fibres, wood
products, ecotorism, and perform the natural cycle system of air, water,
rain and nitrogen, fundamental to our continued existence.
Letter to the Editor, Kuala Lumpur, 2/8/99 (Star 5/8, NST 6/8)
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Created on 3rd Sept 1999