The Greater Ulu Muda Forest Complex (GUMFC) is a large expanse of lowland

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'' = f ...

forest in

Baling The Baling District is an administrative district in southeastern Kedah, Malaysia. Located about 110 km from Alor Setar, it borders Perak and Betong, the southernmost town of Thailand. Name The name Baling can be traced to a series of ...

and Sik Districts,

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman and historically as Queda, is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km2, and it consists of the mainland ...

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 ...

, on the border with

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. The area has high biodiversity thanks to relatively low rates of poaching and human intrusion. A number of endangered species are known to be present in the GUMFC. The forest is in the

Peninsular Malaysian rain forests The Peninsular Malaysian rain forests is an ecoregion on Malay Peninsula and adjacent islands. It is in the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome. Geography The ecoregion covers most of the southern Malay Peninsula in Malaysia ...

ecoregion. The water that it provides through the man-made Muda, Pedu and Ahning lakes provide water to the Muda agricultural area as well as much of

, Penang and

Perlis Perlis, ( Northern Malay: ''Peghelih''), also known by its honorific title Perlis Indera Kayangan, is the smallest state in Malaysia by area and population. Located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, it borders the Thai provinces ...

. The forest has been both selectively and illegally logged in the past, possibly causing excess

sedimentation Sedimentation is the deposition of sediments. It takes place when particles in suspension settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to the ...

of the water courses, and the future of the forest remains uncertain. The majority of the forest is not very accessible, the easiest point of entry being the KOPAM jetty on Muda Lake. Ulu Muda Wildlife Reserve covers an area of 1152.57 km². The reserve adjoins San Kala Khiri National Park in Thailand.Wikramanayake, Eric; Eric Dinerstein; Colby J. Loucks; et al. (2002). ''Terrestrial Ecoregions of the Indo-Pacific: a Conservation Assessment.'' Washington, DC: Island Press.

References

{{coord missing, Malaysia Baling District Sik District Forests of Malaysia Landforms of Kedah Wildlife sanctuaries of Malaysia