Does A Little Rainforest Depletion
Cause Big Problems For Wildlife?

Rainforest Depletion: Separating Species Along the East-West Highway

By Rick Gregory

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-Temengor forest complex stood in pristine splendour as the nation built superhighways and superstructures and extracted timber from other forests.

Leaving over 3,000 square kilometres – an area four times the size of Singapore - of mostly intact primary rainforest, Belum-Temengor is now a treasure trove of biodiversity.

Despite being a benefactor of past political conflicts, wildlife remains at threat. Logging of forested areas continues to degrade habitats and a three-kilometre wide swathe of acacia trees is proposed to parallel the East-West highway. If planted, this ecological commotion has by far the greatest potential to turn Belum-Temengor into a broken 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.

The East-West Highway, built in 1975, is a 124 km strip of tarmac stretching from Gerik to Jeli to reach Kelantan and the east coast. Not until 1989 did insurgents cease activities, thus enabling logging to commence a few years later when the curfew was lifted.

Habitats remained healthy enough to sustain megafauna such as the Malayan tiger and Asian elephant; the entire menagerie of ten Malaysian hornbills; special plants such as the large Rafflesia flower and ancient cycads; and a range of monkeys and gibbons, in addition to supporting a number of Orang Asli communities.

The East-West Highway divides this enormous, but single, ecosystem into two main parts: Belum Forest Reserve to the north and Temengor Forest Reserve to the south. So far the highway is not considered a major barrier to wildlife migrations, and the 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.

Forest plantations are the new forests

Fast-growing species, such as acacia, are touted to produce furniture quality timber and for use in 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 areas. It also helps to keep sawmills from ceasing operations and economic engines running.

However, plantations are meant for marginal lands, not to replace vigorous forests. According to statements from Forestry Department officials, “it is clear 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 protected as part of the Royal Belum Park; whereas, Temengor Forest Reserve continues to be logged.

How do these actions merit any consideration of plantations along the East-West highway? 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.

Case 1

• Paper mills in Sumatra demand wood supplies from both natural forests and plantation stock. Problems arise when acacia trees from plantations cannot provide enough logs to sustain mill requirements, putting pressure on natural forests until plantation trees mature. 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 to seek fruits and fresh leaves in other areas, such as village gardens and oil palm plantations. And biologists report that elephants are not fond of acacia.

Case 2

• In Sarawak, the government started developing 150,000 hectares of acacia plantations in a Planted Forest Zone totalling nearly 500,000 hectares in 2003. The aim is to meet the raw material demands of paper 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 Sdn. Bhd., the implementing consortium, stated in its website 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 pigs. Of course these hardy species, according to the Mammals of Borneo, are known to adapt to secondary growth in areas where forests have been fragmented into patches, circumstances that increase the likelihood of it being over-hunted.

So what can we expect to happen in Belum-Temengor if the East-West highway becomes a corridor for pulpwood? First, let’s examine the premise of converting a complex tropical forest into a monoculture crop. As pointed out above by science and policy statements, it doesn’t make sense. Tree plantations are best suited to rehabilitate degraded lands, not used as a reason to “create” degraded lands.

Now let’s speculate on the consequences if 30,000 hectares (3 km x 100 km) of healthy forests are cut down to plant acacia trees. Currently, the East-West highway is just a scar dissecting a fairly intact ecosystem. But a 3 km wide acacia plantation is essentially a clear-cut creating two distinct habitat halves with separated animal populations.

• Loss of Wilderness and Ecotourism Potential – Today you might 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 waste the opportunity to use the highway as an artery into a natural heritage journey, not a crass visual lesson for tourists in rainforest depletion. 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 and Migratory Mishaps – Islands are isolated habitats that restrict the movement of species. Large, contiguous forests cut into a patchwork of smaller areas function like isolated islands, only on land. Severing Belum-Temengor 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. An acacia plantation acts 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.
• A Plethora of Pigs – 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 trying to avoid mass migrations and midnight crossings. Plantation managers may even resort to hunting pigs to reduce the damage to tree seedlings.
• Widening the Human-Animal 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. And what about tigers? If pigs prefer acacia plantings, then will tigers move in to feast on one of their prey species? And 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 30,000 hectares is not enough? Pressure to expand and illegal encroachment may constantly plague and override 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-Temengor forest complex is integral to the biological diversity and environmental integrity of Malaysia’s natural resource base.

It’s 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.

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