Binsuluk Forest Reserve
Map showing the location of Binsuluk Forest Reserve
Map showing the location of Binsuluk Forest Reserve
Binsuluk Forest Reserve
Location in Borneo
LocationSabah, Malaysia
Nearest cityBeaufort, Beaufort District
Coordinates5°28′43″N 115°40′52″E / 5.4786°N 115.6811°E / 5.4786; 115.6811
Area121.06 km2 (46.74 sq mi)
Established1984
Governing bodySabah Forestry Department[1]

Binsuluk Forest Reserve is a protected forest reserve on the Klias Peninsula, in Beaufort District of Interior Division, Sabah, Malaysia.[2] It was designated as a Class 1 Protection Forest by the Sabah Forestry Department in 1992.[3][4] Its area is 12,106 hectares (121.06 km2).[3] The reserve is mostly flat, consisting mostly of peat swamp forest, with a small area of mangroves.[1] The peat forests within this reserve, along with those in the nearby Klias Forest Reserve, are the last peat forests in Sabah.[5]

Being mostly peat forest, the reserve faces high fire risks. Large fires occurred in 1997–98, burning most of the park.[6] In 2016 large fires in peat bogs, which were caused by fires spread to Binsuluk and other forest reserves from nearby open burning, contributed to the 2016 Malaysian haze.[7][8] Over half of the reserve were burnt during this event.[5] Open burning caused yet another forest fire in 2020, this time burning 274 hectares (2.74 km2).[9]

Flora

Binsuluk and Klias Forest Reserves have a combined species richness of at least identified 134 tree species. Four species of Nepenthes pitcher plants have been recorded.[10] Some tree species are Dryobalanops rappa, Shorea platycarpa, Dactylocladus stenostachys and Gonystylus bancanus. However the status of these species is uncertain given the fires and logging activities.[1] An IUCN assessment in 2019 did not include Binsuluk as part of the species habitat for Dryobalanops rappa.[11]

Fauna

Binsuluk Forest Reserve is home to mammals including wild boar, sambar deer and macaque monkeys.[1] There are five amphibians found between the two forest reserves, Hoplobathracus rogulosa, Rana erythraea, Rana glandulosa, Polypedates coletti, and Polypedates leucomystax. Saltwater crocodiles are present on the peninsula. 66 butterfly species have been discovered within the peat forests.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Binsuluk". Sabah Forestry Department. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  2. ^ Sheldon, Frederick H (October 2015). "Gazetteer and site-based history of the ornithology of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo". Occasional Papers of the Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University. 1 (86): 7. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Binsuluk Protection Forest Reserve". Malaysia Biodiversity Information System (MyBIS). Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (Malaysia). Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  4. ^ "FORESTS (CONSTITUTION OF FOREST RESERVES AND AMENDMENT) ENACTMENT 1984 (No. 4 of 1984)" (PDF). State of Sabah. July 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Forest fire ravages most of Binsuluk reserve". The Star. 14 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  6. ^ Henry Bernard; Nellcy Joseph; Esther Lonnie Baking; Tung Siaw Ean; Yasuyuki Tachiki; Felicity Oram; Jaya Seelan Sathiya Seelan; Faisal Ali Anwarali Khan (21 November 2019). "Animal use of rehabilitated formerly fire damaged peat-swamp forest in western Sabah, Malaysia" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 67: 660–661. doi:10.26107/RBZ-2019-0047.
  7. ^ Tang Ruxyn (5 April 2016). "Who And What Is Causing This Terrible Haze In Sabah?". Says. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  8. ^ "200ha of Binsuluk forest reserve still burning - Wan Junaidi". New Straits Times. 6 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Authority believes open burning among causes of Binsuluk forest fire". Malay Mail. 29 March 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Klias peninsula". BirdLife. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  11. ^ Hamidi, A.; Robiansyah, I.; Randi, A.; Hoo, P.K.; Khoo, E.; Kusumadewi, Y.; Julia, S. & Maycock, C.R. (2019). "Dryobalanops rappa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T36431A143153322. Retrieved 10 April 2021.

External links

Protected areas of Sabah
Categories