Belum-Temengor is the largest continuous forest complex in
Peninsular Malaysia. Specifically, it is located in the
Malaysian state of
Perak
Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...
(
Hulu Perak) and crosses into
Southern Thailand. Belum-Temenggor is divided into two sections. Belum is located up north right by the Malaysia-Thailand border while Temenggor is south of Belum. The
Royal Belum State Park is entirely contained within the forest complex. Bang Lang National Park is on the Thailand side of the border.
Description
Belum-Temenggor is believed to have been in existence for over 130 million years, making it one of the world's oldest rainforests, older than both the
Amazon and the
Congo
Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa:
* Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...
. In the heart of the forest lies the manmade lake of Tasik Temenggor, covering 15,200 Hectares which is dotted with hundreds of islands.
The area has been identified as an
Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) Rank 1 under the Malaysian
National Physical Plan and recognized by
Birdlife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...
as an
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
. The Malaysian federal government has labelled the area as a whole as an essential water catchment area and part of
Central Forest Spine and plans to protect the forest under the Malaysian
National Forestry Act. Despite that, between the two, only part of Belum Forest Reserve has been gazetted as a State Park while the rest are production forest open for development. Temenggor in particular is facing considerable deforestation due to logging. Environmental organizations such as
Malaysian Nature Society and the
World Wildlife Fund have been lobbying both the state and the federal government to gazette the area as a park. The state government of Perak, however, has resisted the effort, citing that logging provides the state with more than
RM 30 million in revenue.
Nevertheless, the state government gazetted , part of the Belum forest reserve as state park on May 3, 2007.
There is a plan to convert natural forest to plantation forest along the
East-West Highway
East West (or East and West) may refer to:
*East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture
Arts and entertainment
Books, journals and magazines
*'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...
.
Fauna and flora
Belum-Temenggor's relatively untouched forest is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna including 14 of the world's most threatened mammals including the
Malayan tiger,
,
white handed gibbon,
Malaysian sunbear and
tapir. Other animals include
seladang,
wild boars, numerous species of
deer,
pythons and
cobras.
As of 2019, due to poaching and the depletion of prey, the number of tigers in Belum-Temengor Forest Reserve has declined about 60 percent over a period of 7-8 years, from approximately 60 to 23.
Belum Temenggor is home to over 300 avian species. It is the only existing forest where all 10 species of
hornbill
Hornbills (Bucerotidae) are a family (biology), 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 (an ...
that inhabit Malaysia are found, namely the
white-crowned hornbill
The white-crowned hornbill (''Berenicornis comatus''), also known as the long-crested hornbill or white-crested hornbill (leading to easy confusion with the African white-crested hornbill), is a species of hornbill.
Taxonomy
It is monotypic wi ...
,
bushy-crested hornbill,
wrinkled hornbill,
wreathed hornbill,
plain-pouched hornbill,
black hornbill,
Oriental pied hornbill,
rhinoceros hornbill,
great hornbill and
helmeted hornbill.
Malaysian Nature Society
/ref> In the forest, one can also find 3,000 species of flowering plants, including 3 species of '' Rafflesia'', the world's largest flower.
See also
* Geography of Malaysia
The geography of Malaysia includes both the physical and the human geography of Malaysia, a Southeast Asian country made up of two major landmasses separated by water—Peninsular Malaysia to the west and East Malaysia to the east—and numerou ...
* Temenggor Lake
References
External links
* The Malaysian Nature Society. "''Every name helps keep our forests intact. We need more.''"
* Novista. "''Temenggor - Biodiversity In The Face of Danger''"
Belum Temenggor
Official website
Eco Adventure Royal Belum
Travel Ideas from Virtual Malaysia
The Treasure that is Royal Belum Rainforest
A Journey to Royal Belum
A photo essay eco adventure
Travel Ideas for Royal Belum
{{Northern Corridor Economic Region
Hulu Perak District
Important Bird Areas of Malaysia
Nature sites of Malaysia