(MY) choking our forest reserves

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The Star - Tuesday January 23, 2007

 

Choking our forest reserves

 

By RICK GREGORY

 

Plans for a tree plantation along the East-West Highway, on land

bordering the Belum and Temenggor forests, can only spell ecological

disaster.

 

FOR decades, the presence of communist insurgents kept Malaysia's

northern frontier free from exploitation. Too dangerous to open up for

tourism or development, the Belum-Temenggor forest stood in pristine

splendour as the nation built superhighways and superstructures, and

extracted timber from other forests.

 

Sprawling over 3,000 sqkm, an area four times the size of Singapore,

the mostly intact primary rainforest is now a treasure trove of

biodiversity.

 

The main intrusion into this wilderness was the construction of the

East-West Highway in 1975, a 124km strip of tarmac stretching from

Gerik to Jeli to reach Kelantan and the east coast.

 

Intruder: An acacia seedling. The Perak state government plans to

create a 4km-wide swathe of acacia trees along the East-West Highway.

– Picture by Sanjit/MNS

Not until 1989 did insurgents cease activities, thus enabling logging

to commence a few years later when the curfew was lifted. But the

habitats remained healthy enough to sustain megafauna such as the

Malayan tiger and Asian elephant, the entire menagerie of 10 Malaysian

hornbills, special plants such as the large Rafflesia flower and

ancient cycads, a range of monkeys and gibbons, as well as a number of

orang asli communities.

 

The East-West Highway divides this enormous, but single, ecosystem

into its two main parts: Belum Forest Reserve to the north and

Temenggor Forest Reserve to the south. So far, the highway is not

considered a major barrier to wildlife migrations, and the few

incidences of human-animal conflicts warrant caution but not drastic

change.

 

Signboards now inform motorists of elephant crossings and give helpful

hints on how to deal with wild animal encounters. Imagine being in too

much of a hurry to safely gaze at these magnificent pachyderms exiting

nearby roadside jungles.

 

But a threat looms over the Belum and Temenggor forests – the Perak

Government intends to cultivate a 4km-wide swathe of acacia trees

along the East-West Highway.

 

Jumbo crossing: Elephants routinely cross the East-West Highway as

they use forests on both sides of the road. – Picture by Osman Baba

If planted, this ecological commotion has by far the greatest

potential to turn Belum-Temenggor into a fragmented landscape with

dire consequences. Big animals require large spaces, so forest size is

critical for wild mammals to retain breeding populations with

sufficient pools of genetic diversity.

 

Planted forests

 

Forest plantations are the new forests. Fast-growing species, such as

acacia, are touted to produce furniture-quality timber and fibre for

the pulp and paper industry. Fast growth means shorter harvest

rotations, thus plantations are seen as one way to supplement

declining timber harvests from reserves and state land.

 

However, plantations are meant for marginal lands, not to supplant

vigorous forests. In fact, the acacia plan goes against Forestry

Department policies.

 

Statements from officials say that " new establishment of forest

plantations must be outside permanent reserved forest " and that they

" must also take into consideration the current concern for environment

and biodiversity conservation. " Belum Forest Reserve is already slated

for protection as part of the Royal Belum Park; whereas, some areas in

the Temenggor Forest Reserve are under a cease logging directive from

Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Tajol Rosli Ghazali that begins

this year.

 

So far, Perak has revealed little about its acacia plantation plan.

But there is little merit in considering plantations along the

East-West Highway.

 

Nuisance: Being the only animal that forages in acacia plantations,

bearded pigs may dominate the highway zone landscape. – Picture by

Mohala

Acacia plantations are sterile monocultures: one tree type,

unpalatable leaves, limited wildlife cover, and unsuitable habitat for

most species. It is devoid of the type of biological life that exudes

from rainforests. Let's review two examples from Sumatra and Sarawak,

where large-scale acacia plantations are mixed within protected area

landscapes.

 

Paper mills in Sumatra demand wood supplies from both natural forests

and plantations. Problems arise when acacia trees from plantations

cannot provide enough logs to sustain mill requirements, putting

pressure on natural forests. Acacia plantations and oil palm estates

surround the Tesso Nilo National Park, part of the largest remaining

area of lowland forest critical for tigers and elephants.

 

Shrinking habitats cause elephants, which are not fond of acacia, to

seek fruits and fresh leaves in other areas, such as village gardens

and oil palm plantations.

 

In Sarawak, the government started developing 150,000ha of acacia

plantations in a Planted Forest Zone (PFZ) in 2003, in order to meet

the raw material demands of pulp mills. The PFZ is a mosaic of planted

trees, natural forests, riverine buffers and wildlife corridors, the

latter two as conservation set-asides.

 

Grand Perfect, the implementing consortium, states in its website

(www.plantedforestspro ject.com) that " planted forests are established

where the natural forest has been degraded by earlier logging

activities or shifting cultivation. "

 

Ecologically, researchers have found that the only animals foraging in

acacia plantations are bearded pigs, a hardy species known to adapt to

secondary growth in fragmented forests.

 

Converting a complex tropical forest into a monoculture crop does not

make sense.

 

Tree plantations are best suited to rehabilitate degraded lands, not

used as a reason to " create " degraded lands. Currently, the East-West

Highway is just a scar dissecting a fairly intact ecosystem. But a

4km-wide acacia plantation is essentially a clear-cut creating two

distinct habitat halves unable to ecologically function as before due

to its fragmented state.

 

Here are some of the possible consequences for Belum-Temenggor if the

East-West Highway becomes a corridor for pulpwood:

 

# Loss of ecotourism potential – Today the chance still exists to see

elephants and other wildlife while travelling the East-West Highway.

Tomorrow, pulpwood lorries may cruise down the road like army ants on

the march. Why turn the opportunity to use the highway as an artery

into a natural heritage journey into a crass visual lesson for

tourists in tropical deforestation?

 

Ecotourism is a long-term strategy that can benefit local communities,

enhance state revenue, bolster the nation's biodiversity claims and

protect wildlife resource interests.

 

# Fragmentation folly – Severing Belum-Temenggor splits one of

Malaysia's more stable sanctuaries for animal survival, invaluable

because of its size and prime lowland forests that are vital for large

mammals.

 

The acacia plantation will act as a barrier that prevents easy access

across the highway, reduces cover that exposes animals to danger for

too long and disturbs migratory patterns and territorial needs

essential for finding scattered food resources and potential breeding

partners.

 

Great divide: Clearing of land flanking the East- West Highway will

widen the divide between the Belum and Temenggor forests, thus

hampering wildlife migration. – Picture by Sanjit/MNS

# A plethora of pigs – Bearded pigs migrate to find food. They

congregate in large herds, crossing rivers, scampering along hilltop

ridges, and travel great distances all in an effort to eat.

 

Being the only animal found to forage in acacia plantations, pigs may

dominate the highway zone landscape and become a nuisance for

travellers who have to avoid their mass migrations and midnight

crossings.

 

Plantation managers may even have to resort to hunting pigs to reduce

the damage to tree seedlings.

 

# Widening the conflict zone – Elephants and other animals are known

to forage on agricultural crops and destroy cultivated fields. So far,

it seems elephants stay out of acacia plantations but opening the

East-West Highway to human presence will only increase the frequency

of conflicts, especially in areas near to established animal trails.

 

In Indonesia, villagers poisoned elephants and set up illegal snare

traps to prevent herds from eating crops.

 

If bearded pigs prefer acacia plantings, then will tigers move in to

feast on one of their prey species? Then, will poachers move in to

take advantage of the chance to bag an endangered species for big

money on the black market?

 

# Expanding the paper trail – Despite huge acacia plantations, large

paper mills in Indonesia continue to source wood from natural forests

to keep up with production and debt payment demands. What if 40,000ha

along the highway is not enough? Pressure to expand and illegal

encroachment may constantly plague and over-ride conservation concerns

to satisfy the pulp and paper industry.

 

The East-West highway is integral to the economic growth of Malaysia's

north zone. The Belum-Temenggor forest is integral to the biological

diversity and environmental integrity of Malaysia's natural resource

base.

 

It is a bit ironic that communists stopped the first wave of unimpeded

development in the northern frontier. Now, Malaysians must decide on

whether the East-West Highway maintains its surroundings as a haven

for nature or becomes a road that pushes the boundaries of

capitalistic indulgence.

 

# The writer is a consultant auditor for forest management and oil

palm plantations.