The Kuching Wetlands National Park (KWNP; ms, Taman Negara Tanah Lembap Kuching) is a

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

Petra Jaya Petra Jaya is a suburb of Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. This suburb was named after sixth Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Yahya Petra of Kelantan, Tuanku Yahya Petra of Kelantan (1975-1979). History The suburb was founded in the 1970s by Sarawak chief mini ...

Kuching District The Kuching District is an administrative district within Kuching Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. It is subdivided into two subdistricts which is Kuching Proper and Padawan. The population of the entire District was 617,887 at the 2010 Census. ...

Kuching Division Kuching Division is one of the twelve administrative divisions in Sarawak, Malaysia. Formerly part of what was called the "First Division", it is the center and the starting point of modern Sarawak. Kuching Division has a total area of 4,559.5 ...

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. It is the remains of the former Sarawak Mangrove Forest Reserve which covered 170 km². Located 30 km from

Kuching Kuching (), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak River ...

, the Wetlands National Park was gazetted in 1992 and covers an area of 66.1 km² on the estuarine reaches of the Sibu Laut and Salak rivers. The park is composed of coastal, marine and freshwater ecosystems. The predominantly saline and deltaic

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

system includes an extensive network of marine waterways and tidal creeks, formed by the interconnecting rivers of Sungei Sibu-Laut, Batang Salak and Sungei Santubong that form the boundary of the park. Some small patches of heath forest are found within the park.

Biodiversity

The park is the home of at least three predominantly arboreal primates; the endangered

proboscis monkey The proboscis monkey (''Nasalis larvatus'') or long-nosed monkey is an arboreal Old World monkey with an unusually large nose, a reddish-brown skin color and a long tail. It is endemic to the southeast Asian island of Borneo and is found mostly ...

(''Nasalis larvatus''), the long-tailed macaques and the silvered langurs.

White-bellied sea eagle The white-bellied sea eagle (''Haliaeetus leucogaster''), also known as the white-breasted sea eagle, is a large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Originally described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, it is closely related t ...

mudskippers Mudskippers are any of the 23 extant species of amphibious fish from the subfamily Oxudercinae of the goby family Oxudercidae. They are known for their unusual body shapes, preferences for semiaquatic habitats, limited terrestrial locomotion and ...

and

horseshoe crabs Horseshoe crabs are marine and brackish water arthropods of the family Limulidae and the only living members of the order Xiphosura. Despite their name, they are not true crabs or crustaceans: they are chelicerates, most closely related to arachn ...

are also present. Otters and the Irrawaddy dolphins can also be sighted. On nearby

Mount Santubong Mount Santubong ( ms, Gunung Santubong) is a mountain in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. It is located about 35 km north of the state capital Kuching. Biological importance In 1855 a British naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallacewho was stayi ...

hornbills Hornbills (Bucerotidae) are a family of bird found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly coloured and sometimes has a casque on the upper mandibl ...

can be seen.

Historical Interest

In the 12th century, the area was an important trading post between the interior peoples for their jungle produce predominantly animal parts valuable in Chinese medicine traded with the Chinese for their pottery and earthenwares. Past and existing excavations have unearthed remains of the former Iron smelting industries active hundreds of years past. The Impressive Mt. Santubong acted as a clear navigational point for these traders no doubt.

Future

Many jobs depend upon this habitat for the rich abundance of fish that are spawned and grow amongst the protection of the root systems. Timber is extracted for construction and several charcoal factories. The tourism industry is starting to grow offering wildlife cruises. The heavy decline in the proboscis monkey population caused by hunting, was largely arrested by the educational efforts of the Sarawak Forestry department protecting and banning the trade of these animals. Mangroves serve as important coastal defences absorbing strong waves and reputably up to 95% of the waves energy in extreme cases, such as a

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

king tide A king tide is an especially high spring tide, especially the perigean spring tides which occur three or four times a year. King tide is not a scientific term, nor is it used in a scientific context. The expression originated in Australia, Ne ...

limiting damage. This attribute alone should be cause to justify their existence. Extensive development predominantly housing but including quarrying and retail premises is occurring outside the parks boundary. These habitats are used by the many animals found in the park, thus increasing the pressure on this small reserve. As future development increases surrounding the park the existing

gene pool The gene pool is the set of all genes, or genetic information, in any population, usually of a particular species. Description A large gene pool indicates extensive genetic diversity, which is associated with robust populations that can surv ...

will have to suffice since breeding between animals outside the park will no longer be possible.

Conservation

One suggestion is to: Protect a corridor/strip of land from development for the purpose of migration and breeding of animal species between other nearby habitats. Implementation would be possible with government intervention since existing routes are still currently feasible i.e. some undeveloped tracts still exist. Kuching wetlands N. P. is only about 20 km from

Bako National Park Bako National Park is a national park in Kuching Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. Established in 1957, it is the oldest national park in Sarawak. It covers an area of at the tip of the Muara Tebas peninsula at the mouth of the Bako and Kuching River ...

which is well catered for receiving visitors.

References

* Beavitt, W. & Tuen.A.A (2010). Swamp - Kuching Wetlands National Park. UNIMAS: Kuching. pp. 112. Sarawak, Malaysia, Borneo, William Beavitt & Dr Andrew Alek Tuen.

External links