Book unveils secrets of Danum Valley
KOTA KINABALU: A book containing images and information from 25 years of studies at the worldrenowned Danum Valley Conservation Area in Lahad Datu was launched here yesterday.
The 568-page book, complete with 250 images of the virgin forest at the Ulu Segama Forest Reserve, will provide better insight and serve as a guide to visitors.
Co-written by Hans Hazebroek from the Netherlands, Sabah Parks chairman Datuk Seri Tengku Dr Zainal Adlin Tengku Mahmood, and Yayasan Sabah Conservation and Environmental Division group manager Dr Waidi Sinun, it took four years to complete.
“Readers will get invaluable information on the Danum Valley. Visitors to the valley can put their own observations into the right context with the knowledge they get from this book,” said Hazebroek, a geologist by training, after the launch, which was held in conjunction with Yayasan Sabah’s opening of the Danum Valley 2016 Wildlife and Resources Survey seminar here yesterday.
“The monograph (book with detailed research information) merges different sciences, from biology and soil erosion to hydrology, into a coherent overview of the whole ecosystem.
“The discovery of new species is also documented,” he said, adding one of the new species discovered in Danum Valley was the spectacled flowerpecker, first discovered in 2009 at the Borneo Rainforest Lodge canopy walkway in the conservation area.
The seminar was held to deliberate findings from a survey conducted between Aug 15 and 29 to obtain the latest information on the biodiversity in the Danum Valley. The last survey was completed in 2005.
A total of 133 researchers from government departments and agencies took part in the survey, taking data from 11 locations in the 43,800ha ecological site.
Yayasan Sabah director Datuk Sapawi Ahmad said the survey would also assess the risks of poaching, fire and encroachment, as well as the prospects of ecotourism development. His speech was read by his deputy, Datuk Rosmawati Lasuki.