Malaysian Highlands - A Threatened Ecosystem

Most of us have been to the highlands at one point in our life.  To many Malaysians and foreign tourists the highlands are favourite destinations for holidays and sightseeing. The cool ambience and the beautiful sceneries are among the reasons people flock to these hills, some of which are just a few hour drive from the city. Among the well known highlands in Malaysia are the Cameron Highlands, Genting Highlands, Fraser’s Hills,all in Pahang and Mount Kinabalu in Sabah. The less known areas are Maxwell Hills in Perak, Bukit Tinggi in Pahang, Gunung Ledang in Johor, Gunung Jerai in Kedah, Gunung Stong and Lojing Highlands in Kelantan, the Bario Highlands in Sarawak, and many more.

The highlands resorts such as Genting, Cameron Highlands and Frasers Hills often become a perfect refuge to the city dwellers looking for entertainment (the casino and theme park in the case of Genting) and just a quiet weekend getaway for families and friends. The temperate like weather, the soft blowing winds, the lush tropical greens, the exotic looking ferns, the mesmerizing flowers,  and the occasional morning mists were always soothing and refreshing.

The Malaysian Borneo has its own share of the highlands. Their legendary Mount Kinabalu and the surrounding Kinabalu National Park attracted thousands of visitors and climbers every year from all over the world. The mountain peak is the highest in Southeast Asia, with an elevation of 4,014 meters. Comprising approximately 30 per cent of the island of Borneo’s land area, the Borneo highlands, also known as the Heart of Borneo (HoB), covers more than 22 million hectares of tropical rainforest across three countries: Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia (Kalimantan) and Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak). It is the largest remaining mass of trans-boundary tropical forest in Southeast Asia. It is home to an astounding six per cent of the world’s biodiversity, from the orangutan to the world’s largest flower, and containing the headwaters for 14 of Borneo’s 20 major rivers.

The Malaysian highlands are indeed one of the planet’s richest treasure troves. It is the source of natural capital that can contribute to the well being of the country in many ways some of which have not been imagined and fully realized before.  

The Prevailing Images of Malaysian highlands:

 

Photo Caption: A beautiful scenery of the Banjaran Titiwangsa, An English Cottage style building in MARDI Research Station in Cameron Highlands, and Farms in Lojing Highlands, Kelantan.

The highlands ecosystem can be defined as the interacting systems of the biological communities and their non-living surroundings in regions of relatively high elevation (> 1000 m above sea level), typically characterized by slightly decreased temperature and a milder climate compared to the lowlands.

The adverse physical conditions brought by the different geomorphology and soil types and the milder temperature of the highlands asserted and influenced a different evolutionary pressure on the flora and fauna as compared to those found in the lowlands. The physiological and behavioural adaptations of these biological organisms at these high altitudes are different from their counterparts in the lowlands. As a result often we found that there is a high level of endemism in the highland ecosystem – a situation where there is a high proportion of flora and fauna that can be found in the highlands are “endemic” or only found in the highlands, not elsewhere. 

Example of plants endemic to the highlands are the Rafflesia flowers, certain orchid species,  pitcher plants, certain bryophytes, ferns and alike. The same has been recorded for animals such as snakes, lizards, snails, amphibians and even birds.

We are fortunate to be “gifted” with the highlands. Even though the country is located within the hot and humid tropical belt, we were “blessed” with patches of highlands that are considered distinct in terms of its ecosystem. Around 2.6 m ha (or 19 %) out of a total 13.2 m ha of land mass in Peninsular Malaysia are considered highlands (500m>). There are eight mountain ranges in Peninsular Malaysia and another eight in Borneo. Due to the high elevations, the forests found on the highlands are distinctively different from their lowland counterparts.

The Highlands are fragile ecosystem crucial for various human necessities, especially in terms of biodiversity, water catchment and water supply, climate moderator and soil conservation. The highlands have been proven to be a major source of tourism revenue for the country. These are what we call as “The Natural Capital” – goods and services that nature provides for our sustenance, our living, our economy. Losing this precious heritage means that we are losing our long-term benefits from the various tangible as well as intangible goods and services that these ecosystems have been providing us for ages.   

Unless the highland ecosystem, its wildlife, exquisite nature, tranquil beauty, crisp clean air and crystal clear water can be shown to have real and substantial value, decisions are often made in favour of fast economic gains and alternative land uses such as residential development and agricultural projects. The slow but steady degradation of the highlands due to unsustainable timber extraction, intensive agriculture exploits and the rapid expansion of human activities in certain highlands in the last few decades are testimonies to the fact that we do not give much heed to the importance of preserving these “natural capital” for the sake of our own present and future economic, social and environmental benefits.

Most of the highlands in Malaysia are covered with the dipterocarp forest – characterised as high density forests with high biological richness. These forests serve important ecological functions such as water catchment, top soil retention, and maintaining hydrological balance. Most of the sources of water for our homes, agriculture and industry are from these forests. They act like “sponges” that absorb and retain water for us to use as we need. Take away or destroy this sponge, then we will have torrents of water running downhill thick with silts and mud, destroying the slopes and causing flash floods which often plague our cities. 

Landslide Incidents in Malaysia              (1994 – 2013) Kampung Raja, Cameron Highlands (1994) Karak Highway (1995) Gua Tempurung, Ipoh (1996) Balik Pulau, Penang (1998) Bukit Awana, Penang (1998) Bukit Antarabangsa, Ulu Klang (1999) Jln Tun Sardon, Balik Pulau (1999) Simunjan, Sarawak (2002) Taman Hillview, Bukit Antarabangsa (2002) Jalan Tapah, Cameron Highlands (2004) Batu Gajah, Perak (2006) Bukit Belimbing (2006) Section 10, Wangsa Maju (2006) Presint 9, Putrajaya (2007) Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur (2007) Taman Melawati, Ulu Klang (2007) Taman Mewah, Bukit Antarabangsa (2008) Putra Heights, Subang Jaya (2013) Jalan Mahameru, KL (May, 2013) Bukit Nanas, KL (2013)

Devastating catastrophes due to landslides were not uncommon in our recent history. Between 1994 and 2013 20 landslide incidents have been recorded (see insert). Among the more tragic ones were the June 1995 landslide in a Genting Highlands slip road, which resulted in at least 21 deaths and 22 injuries; the Gua Tempurung landslide in 1996 and the Kampung Raja landslide in 2000 which resulted in six deaths, cutting off links for more than 15,000 people living in the Blue Valley Estate and Kampung Raja, Cameron Highlands.

The highlands ecosystem is a unique storehouse for our genetic bank, they are rich in biodiversity. More than half of wild orchid species are indigenous to the highlands. Many of the yet to be discovered medicinal plants are believed to be naturally grown in the highlands. The largest flower in the world from the genus Rafflesia is mostly found in the highlands.

There are seven hill stations in Malaysia, some opened during the colonial days meant to serve as holiday retreats to the European masters such as Cameron Highlands and Fraser Hills in Pahang. The more recent ones were Maxwell Hill in Perak and Penang Hill. Genting Highlands turned out to become a casino resort in late 50’s. Gunung Jerai in Kedah and the Kinabalu National Park in Kundasang, Sabah were developed mostly after Malaysia’s independence in 1957.

While these hill stations remain as favourite tourist destinations, the real carrying capacity (the number of tourists a particular area can actually carry without damaging the ecosystem) is not known. There have been reports of increasing temperatures in Cameron Highlands and Genting Highlands due to massive forest clearings in the surrounding areas, and in the case of Cameron Highlands the rapid expansion of agriculture and human settlements.

Rapid deforestation and a slow catching up game for reforestation has been the main culprit. A recent study conducted by a team of scientists from the University of Tasmania, University of Papua New Guinea, and the Carnegie Institution for Science estimated that almost 80% of the rainforests in Borneo have been heavily impacted by logging or clearing. The study was based on analysis of satellite data using Carnegie Landsat Analysis System-lite (CLASlite), a freely available platform for measuring deforestation and forest degradation. At best only 45,400 square kilometres of the 230,000 square kilometres of forest cover has been cleared in Malaysian Borneo. The map below (figure 4) shows where these remaining spots of intact forests are (green in colour) in the Malaysian Borneo.

A recent NASA study revealed that Malaysia saw a 115% increase in deforestation during the first three months of 2013, the highest among five countries where deforestation was detected, followed by Nepal (114%), Mexico (92%), Argentina (72%), and Madagascar (51%). (The Star, 21^st June, 2013). This alarming rate of deforestation is a cause of concern.  The seeds of environmental destruction begin in the highlands and gradually seep into the valleys and into our cities and finally our homes.  Unless real transformation takes place, this cascading environmental degradation will continue its carnage into the future.