Tawai Forest Reserve is a protected forest reserve in Telupid District of Sandakan Division,

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...

, Malaysia. It was first created in January 1972, before being designated as a Class 1 Protection Forest by the Sabah Forestry Department in 1984. It was fully demarcated in 2002, resulting in an area of . The reserve is mostly mountainous, consisting of

ultramafic Ultramafic rocks (also referred to as ultrabasic rocks, although the terms are not wholly equivalent) are igneous and meta-igneous rocks with a very low silica content (less than 45%), generally >18% MgO, high FeO, low potassium, and are composed ...

forest, upland mixed

dipterocarp Dipterocarpaceae is a family of 16 genera and about 695 known species of mainly tropical lowland rainforest trees. The family name, from the type genus ''Dipterocarpus'', is derived from Greek (''di'' = two, ''pteron'' = wing and ''karpos'' = fru ...

forest and

kerangas The Sundaland heath forest, also known as ''Kerangas'' forest, is a type of tropical moist forest found on the island of Borneo, which is divided between Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, as well as on the Indonesian islands of Belitung and Bangk ...

forest. Mount Tawai, at , is within the reserve. It is flattest near its northern and eastern edges. The Tawai waterfall is located within the reserve, part of the many rivers which flow through it. Protection of these headwaters was part of the reason for the reserve's establishment. The reserve has been badly affected by fires that have spread into the reserve from nearby settlements and

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...

plantations.

Illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a pro ...

has occurred in areas of dipterocarp forest. Illegal logging and land clearance has occurred in some portions of the reserve. There are plans for the Pan-Borneo Highway to be expanded in part through the northern portion of the reserve. The forestry department runs a Rainforest Camp to generate tourism money, providing access to the clean river water of the reserve, rainforest treks, and a waystop near the path of the Sandakan Death Marches.

Flora

1,070 floral species have been identified within Tawai Forest Reserve, 1030

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s, 25

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...

s, 13

gymnosperm The gymnosperms ( lit. revealed seeds) are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, ''Ginkgo'', and gnetophytes, forming the clade Gymnospermae. The term ''gymnosperm'' comes from the composite word in el, γυμνό� ...

s, and 2 lycophytes. With 98 species

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to Borneo, 35 endemic to Sabah, and 4 endemic to the local area, it has the highest endemism of forest reserves within inland Sabah. The area is important for tree species including '' Anisoptera'', '' Dipterocarpus'', '' Hopea'' and '' Shorea'' species. An orchid species, '' Paraphalaenopsis labukensis'', is endemic to the area. The forests are in good condition, aside from areas near the border of the reserve, especially the Ruku Ruku valley in the northeast, which is mainly secondary forest. Most of the reserve is ultramafic forest. At least 38 dipterocarp species have been identified.

Fauna

Tawai Forest Reserve is home to animals including wild boar,

clouded leopard The clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''), also called the mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into South China. In the early 19th century, a cl ...

, barking deer, red leaf monkey and gibbon. Bird species include

grey-breasted babbler The grey-breasted babbler (''Malacopteron albogulare'') is a species of bird in the family Pellorneidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropi ...

and the near-threatened

scarlet-breasted flowerpecker The scarlet-breasted flowerpecker (''Prionochilus thoracicus'') is a species of bird in the family Dicaeidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subt ...

, with a total of 47 species being identified. Butterflies inhabit shaded areas, including the poorly understood ''

Delias henningia ''Delias henningia'', also called the Malayan Jezebel, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It was described by Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz in 1821. It is found in the Indomalayan realm. The wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a ...

''.

Borneo elephant The Borneo elephant, also called the Bornean elephant or the Borneo pygmy elephant, is a subspecies of Asian elephant ''(Elephas maximus)'' that inhabits northeastern Borneo, in Indonesia and Malaysia. Its origin remains the subject of debate. A d ...

s inhabit parts of the reserve, often concentrated in flat areas that are being considered for highway expansion.

References

External links

Tawai – Protected Planet
{{Protected areas of Sabah Forest reserves of Sabah Borneo lowland rain forests