The shrinking swampland
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By Idros Ismail New Straits Times 12 January 2004
In time, and with increasing development pressures, the largest remaining tract of peat swamp forest in Malaysia
— along the Sungai Bebar in Pahang —will be decimated if prudent management practices are not instituted as soon as possible. Black water? Yes, the water of the forested flood plains of Sungai Bebar in Pahang's Pekan district is black — testimony to the fact that the area is replete with peat.
The high organic content of the soil, which is characteristic of peat swamp forests, gives rise to a unique ecosystem that is as rich as it is fragile.
Statistics provide an alarming insight into the depleting amount of Peninsular Malaysia's peat swamp forests (PSF).
In just over 40 years, it has shrunk in area from 670,000 hectares to the current 180,000ha, of which 160,000ha alone are in Pahang.
The greatest impact on PSF has come from land-use changes, especially from agriculture, drainage and unsustainable logging practices.
Development and economic expediencies will continue to exert increased pressure for land, and in the future, the PSF may not be spared, too.
But it is not just land use within the PSF itself that is a threat. Clearing of adjacent land has an impact upon peat swamp forests.
Clear felling of trees and imprudent land clearing in the buffer zones sur-rounding the PSF affect the peat in sev-eral ways. These include the lowering of ground water table and changes in flow pattern, with flood implications.
The alteration of the PSF ecosystem due to such activities considerably increases the chances of extinction of the entire plant and animal pop-ulations.
Conserving the PSF is crucial not only to ensure sustainable use of the rich resources contained within, but also to protect endangered plant and animal species. In the process, environmental stability is main-tained.
The 160,000-ha PSF in south-east Pahang is by far the largest in mainland tropical Asia.
Over half (about 90,000ha) are located within four production forest reserves — Pekan, Nenasi, Resak and Kedondong — which are managed by the Pahang Forestry Department.
The department has the task of ensuring that both conservation and sustainable use of PSF resources are safeguarded.
During the last decade, PSF on State land have increasingly been targeted for agricultural development to the extent that in the very near future, these forests will only be found in the Permanent Forest Estates (PFE).
According to a publication by the de-partment, the PSF in south-east Pahang "continues to face tremendous pressures in the forms of timber harvesting and other unsustainable uses that threaten to fragmentise and degrade the (PSF) ecosystem".
The publication further adds: "The degradation and subsequent loss of the PSF and its bio-diversity would certainly affect, among others, the livelihood, tradition and culture of the communities living in the vicinity of the PSF, particularly the forest-dependent Orang Asli." The Jakun Orang Asli depend on the PSF for water, food, housing, medicine and cultural needs. In addition, local non-indigenous villagers as well as industries in the area harvest fish and draw water from the PSF.
Being a wetland, the PSF is characterised by water-logged soil. Undisturbed PSF possess a tremen-dous ability to retain water during wet periods and then release it during dry periods.
If the PSF is drained, for instance, by log extraction canals or agriculture, the change in the hydrological regime may destroy the sponge effect of the swamp as a result of irreversible drying-up of the soil.
The PSF, hence, play a crucial role in flood mitigation and regulation of water flows from the watersheds. Located in the coastal belt, the Pahang PSF also acts as a buffer in preventing the intrusion of saline water inland.
Other than loss of fauna habitat, the drying-up of PSF poses an inherent danger in the form of peat forest fires.
Peat fires are extremely difficult and expensive to put out. Dry peat creates an easily ignitable and extremely good burning material.
The 1997/98 drought and haze showed clearly how peat fires could present public health hazards on a large scale.
In terms of bio-diversity, many of the flora and fauna species found in the south-east Pahang PSF are unique and globally important. The rich and diverse PSF eco-system provides great opportunities for scientific research and development, education, recre-ation and tourism.
Peat swamp forests serve as a gene bank of potentially useful plant species as well as provide valuable forest products such as timber and food.
A total of 216 species of tree flora, 63 mammal, 192 bird and 30 fish species have been recorded in the PSF. Many are on the Malaysian list of protected species, while some are on the international list of endangered species.
Animals especially adapted to aquatic and semi-aquatic habitats thrive very well in the PSF environ-ment.
The hairy-nosed otter, for instance, is known to exist only in PSF, being its primary habitat. It is an extremely rare and elusive species, with only two known to be in captivity (in Thailand).
There have been sightings of the otter in other parts of Southeast Asia. In 1994, a hairy-nosed otter was found dead near a PSF in Kuala Rompin. It was the first finding of the animal after a decade. Before that, it was thought to be extinct.
Turtles and terrapins have been regu-larly harvested by the Orang Asli for food as well as for sale. There is fear that over-harvesting will jeopardise the survival of these animals.
The same fear shadows the freshwater fish population. If not regulated, over-fishing may affect the livelihood of the Orang Asli.
Signs of this threat are evident in the PSF, with huge fishing traps being strung across Sungai Bebar. Not surprisingly, these illegal fishing methods are employed by "outsiders" with large-scale commercial interests.
But the main economic value of the PSF lies in the timber resources, which remain an important source of revenue for the Pahang Government.
Ramin (gonystylus bancanus), a timber species which thrives in the swamp forest environment, is highly sought-after in the international market and is classified as "vulnerable" by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre.
In 2002, the export value of sawn ramin timber from Peninsular Malaysia alone — a large part of which originated from the Pahang PSF — amounted to RM49.5 million.
As it stands, all Pahang PSF are classified as production forest reserves and may potentially be logged.
Unless sustainable forest management (including selective logging) is practised, there is a real danger of the depletion of the ramin timber species beyond sustainability. If managed wisely, the PSF will be able to provide revenue to the State in perpetuity.
Even so, selective logging may still have a detrimental impact on the PSF. The clearing of the forest canopy, for example, exposes the peat layer to increased evaporation resulting in the drying-out of the peat. This may increase the risk of fire during drought periods.
With so much at stake, it is imperative that the PSF be prudently managed, with a balance between environmental concerns and development and economic needs.
It is with this broad aim in mind that an initiative between the Malaysian Government and a United Nations agency is currently in place.
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World Islamic Tourism Mart / Malaysia
WITM 2012 InCoMTHU Conference will feature quality and world renown speakers not only from Malaysia but from around the globe. In its 6th Year, the WITM InCoMTHU Conference 2012 will have speakers fro (16/05/2012)
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