TAMAN NEGARA BELUM ( THE ROYAL BELUM PARK)
Royal Belum State Park – Royal Forest
In the northernmost corner of Perak, 117,500 ha were declared as the Royal Belum State Park by Duli Yang Maha Mulia (DYMM) Sultan Azlan Shah, Sultan of Perak on 31 July 2003. This park is managed by the Perak State Parks Corporation. The Royal Belum is composed mainly of pristine tropical rainforest, with many river systems, and small grassland areas, some abandoned agricultural plots, and Tasik Temengor, a large man-made lake. Forests found here include lowland dipterocarp, hill dipterocarp and lower montane types with a distinctive northern element as the area borders Thailand. The Royal Belum is part of the larger Belum-Temengor forest landscape, one of the largest blocks of forest in Peninsular Malaysia. Wildlife surveys show that Royal Belum is an important habitat for large mammals like the seladang (Bos gaurus), Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) and Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni). The area is also home to the endangered Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), one of very few left in Peninsular Malaysia. Belum-Temengor is the only forest in Malaysia with all 10 species of Malaysian hornbills including large flocks of the plain-pouched hornbill (Rhyticeros subruficollis). The Belum area’s natural attractions and rich flora and fauna ensured that it was identified in the National Ecotourism Plan as a priority site for ecotourism. The State Government‘s efforts to gazette, plan and manage Royal Belum is supported by WWF-Malaysia through our “Strengthening the Protected Areas System of Peninsular Malaysia” project which provides technical support to the Park. Additional work in the area is also carried through the Honda Rhino project to conserve endangered Sumatran Rhinoceros. Part of this project is to develop a tourism management plan which forms part of Royal Belum’s management plan. This will help guide the Perak State Parks Corporation in planning and implementing development projects in Royal
Belum.
Introduction and History The Royal Belum forest is located in the Gerik, Perak, area (Hulu Perak). It is believe that the forest reserve coverage is about 290,000 hectares and with more than 146,000 hectares of virgin forest. The forest is divided into two sections: the upper Belum area, which stretches to the Thai-Malaysian border covering 117,500 hectares of impenetrable jungle and the lower Belum mostly covered by Temenggor Lake. The State of Perak has decided to preserve the Belum and Temenggor forests as a permanent nature reserve for research. The entire forest of Belum and Temenggor was considered a ‘black area’ and was placed under a State of Emergency from 1948 until 1989. The communist party of Malaya was extremely active in that area and according to sources; the East-West Highway proposed by an army General believed cutting a road through the area would hamper the communists’ movements. However, this road was constantly under threat of being bombed and sabotaged by renegades. Peace has since reigned over the area after the signing of the Haadyai Accord in 1989.
Main Attraction RAFFLESIA FLOWER Rafflesia is a
genus of
parasitic flowering plants. It contains approximately 28 species (including four incompletely characterized species as recognized by
Willem Meijer in 1997), all found in southeastern Asia, on the
Malay Peninsula,
Borneo,
Sumatra,
Thailand and the
Philippines.
[1] Rafflesia was found in the
Indonesian rain forest by an Indonesian guide working for Dr.
Joseph Arnold in 1818, and named after
Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the leader of the expedition. It was discovered even earlier by
Louis Deschamps in
Java between 1791 and 1794, but his notes and illustrations, seized by the British in 1803, were not available to western science until 1861.
[citation needed] The plant has no stems, leaves or true roots. It is an
holoparasite of vines in the genus
Tetrastigma (
Vitaceae), spreading its absorptive organ, the
haustorium, inside the tissue of the vine. The only part of the plant that can be seen outside the host vine is the five-petaled
flower. In some species, such as
Rafflesia arnoldii, the flower may be over 100 centimetres (39 in) in diameter, and weigh up to 10 kilograms (22 lb). Even the smallest species,
R. baletei, has 12 cm diameter flowers. The flowers look and smell like rotten body, hence its local names which translate to “corpse flower” or “meat flower” (see below). The foul odor attracts insects such as flies, which transport pollen from male to female flowers. Most species have separate male and female flowers, but a few have bisexual flowers. Little is known about seed dispersal. However,
tree shrews and other forest mammals eat the fruits and disperse the seeds.
Rafflesia is the official state flower of
Indonesia, the
Sabah state in
Malaysia, and of the
Surat Thani Province,
Thailand. The name “corpse flower” applied to
Rafflesia can be confusing because this common name also refers to the titan arum (
Amorphophallus titanum) of the family
Araceae. Moreover, because
Amorphophallus has the world’s largest unbranched
inflorescence, it is sometimes mistakenly credited as having the world’s largest flower. Both
Rafflesia and
Amorphophallus are flowering plants, but they are only distantly related.
Rafflesia arnoldii has the largest “single” flower of any flowering plant, at least in terms of weight.
A. titanum has the largest “unbranched” inflorescence, while the talipot palm (
Corypha umbraculifera) forms the largest “branched” inflorescence, containing thousands of flowers; the talipot is monocarpic, meaning the individual plants die after flowering.
SALT LICKS “Salt lick” redirects here. For other uses, see Salt lick (disambiguation). A
mineral lick (also known as
salt lick or
natural lick) is a natural
mineral deposit where animals in nutrient-poor
ecosystems can obtain essential
mineral nutrients. In an ecosystem, salt/mineral licks often occur naturally, providing the
sodium,
calcium,
iron,
phosphorus and
zinc required in the springtime for
bone,
muscle and other growth in
deer and other wildlife, such as
moose,
elephants,
cattle,
woodchucks,
domestic sheep,
fox squirrels,
mountain goats and
porcupines. Harsh weather exposes salty
mineral deposits that draw animals from miles away for a taste of needed nutrients. It is thought that certain fauna can detect
calcium in salt licks.
[1] It is estimated that there are at least 60 salt licks scattered around the Belum area. The salt licks are important for the animals’ wellbeing and there is a potential for the operators to develop certain areas for eco-tourism. However, these plans must be researched extensively because it has been proven that introduction of people to the area will cause the animals to flee from their usual waterholes and saltpans, which has occurred in Taman Negara. The animals are sensitive to change. Salt licks are usually covered with all types of animal tracks. The Sambar Deer, the Kijangs, Tapirs, Elephants, wild boars, the Sumatran Rhino, Seladang and the Malayan Gaur – come down to the licks, usually under the cover of the darkness.
Luas kawasan bagi hutan simpanan ini dilaporkan meliputi seluas 290, 000 hektar. Hutan Belum ini dibahagikan kepada bahagian atas dan bahagian bawah. Bahagian atas hutan belum ini ditutupi oleh 117, 500 hektar kawasan hutan yang tebal dan memasuki sempadan Thailand-Malaysia. Kawasan hutan yang luas ini boleh dianggap seperti tembok semulajadi dan "gazette" sebagai zon keselamatan/ selamat. Taman simpanan Belum dan Temenggor dibiarkan tumbuh meliar kerana Kerajaan Perak telah memutuskan untuk mengekalkan kawasan tersebut sebagai simpanan semulajadi bagi tujuan penyelidikan. Bahagian atas hutan belum merupakan 90% yang belum diteroka manakala bahagian bawah umumnya dilitupi oleh hutan sekunder. Memang merupakan kawasan yang amat luas untuk menjalankan penyelidikan!!!
Kebanyakan ubat-ubatan yang diluluskan telah diambil dan diproses dari herba-herba dan tumbuhan-tumbuhan. Penyelidik dari serata dunia sedang bertungkus-lumus untuk mencari penawar bagi penyakit seperti:
Kanser, alzheimer, parkinson, meningtis, dan sebagainya.
Mereka percaya bahawa cecair penawar itu terletak di dalam tumbuh-tumbuhan hutan hujan tropika. Tetapi, hutan hujan tropika sedang diteroka dengan kadar yang sangat mengejutkan, kita mungkin suatu hari akan menghapuskan hutan yang indah ini dan sekaligus memusahkan segala penawar yang diharapkan dapat mengubati pelbagai penyakit.
Hutan Belum dibuka untuk pengurusan taman eko-tourism:
Terletak di utara hujung Perak, pelancaran taman royal belum menandakan "major milestone" dalam pemuliharaan sejarah negara. Sebagai taman terakhir di semananjung yang akan dibuka kepada umum untuk pelancongan, rancangan pengurusan taman secara terperinci menjadi isu yang amat penting, TAN CHENG LI menulis.Artikel diterbitkan dalam the star, 9 september 2003. Belum, belum, beluuuummm! ini merupakan bunyi yang dihasilkan oleh belalang besar yang menghuni hutan ini. Oleh itu, hutan ini telah diberi nama Belum.
Walaupun kebanyakan pakej pengembaraan/aktiviti akan membawa anda melalui hutan sekunder, terdapat kawasan di bahagian bawah belum yang dipenuhi oleh spesis meranti,cengal, keruing dan merbau yang besar. Ini adalah nama-nama pokok kayu keras hutan hujan tropika yang semakin pupus. Tanah hutan hujan tropika adalah rendah dari segi nutrisi. Sebaik sahaja sebuah kawasan itu dibuka, nutrisi yang terdapat di dalam tanah akan mengalir pergi dan apa yang tertinggal di bawahnya adalah lumpur dan pasir.Jika anda mempunyai masa, cubalah menggali ke dalam tanah itu. Tanah yang "black" dan "rich" hanya menutupi bahagian paling atas yang nipis, di bawahnya cuma terdapat kawasan yang tiada apa-apa garam galian atau nutrisi. Ini agak menakjubkan bagi kehidupan yang boleh hidup di tempat sedemikian. Tetapi ia boleh.
Eko-sistem yang ideal ini telah berkembang dan tahan terhadap apa-apa perubahan selama 150milion tahun. Kebanyakan pokok kayu keras besar yang anda akan lihat mungkin telah hidup selama 150 hingga 600 tahun. Ini merupakan khazanah yang bernilai untuk dilindungi. Hutan Belum memang amat berharga di luar jangkaan.Ramai mungkin masih belum dapat menilai kepentingan eko-sistem ini. Mereka menggangap bahawa hutan merupakan halaman belakang rumah yang terbiar dan harus dibersih serta dikemaskan supaya kita dapat menjadikannya sebagai taman permainan atau tempat bekerja. Inilah yang sebenarnya terjadi pada kebanyakan hutan kita, semoga kehidupan boleh dikekalkan di belum!Harta karun tidak semestinya bersinar untuk kita melihatnya. Harta karun yang sebenar selalunya adalah yang tersembunyi dan mengambil masa untuk menjumpainya. Terdapat tumbuh-tumbuhan yang kelihatan biasa dilihat seperti lianas, beberapa jenis akar tumbuhan, dedaun dan kuntum tetapi sebenarnya menpunyai bahan-bahan bagi menghasilkan ubat-ubatan. Tumbuh-tumbuhan ini adalah herba yang mengandungi ubat dan telah dikumpul serta digunakan oleh orang asli dari generasi sebelumnya. Kesemua penyakit dikatakan boleh "diubati".