Nearly 40 endemic tree species on red list

Conservators all out to protect them under forest master plan

KOTA KINABALU: Comprehensive measures are being taken by Sabah foresters to ensure the conservation of 39 endemic tree species that have been identified as critically endangered.

Sabah Chief Conservator of Forests, Datuk Frederick Kugan, said these threatened endemic trees will be identified under the forest master plan for protection.

“Under our forest master plan, we will identify High Conservation Value forests to be protected.

“The presence of endemic tree species will be part of the criteria in determining these areas,” he said when contacted yesterday.

Other measures, Kugan said, include establishing an arboretum, including ex-situ and in-situ conservation of these critically endangered trees, as well as protecting mother trees.

“These threats to endangered species could be due to multiple reasons, including over-harvesting, while climate change could be a factor in influencing the flowering pattern of the species,” he said when asked if threats to these species come from natural climatic causes, illegal logging or both.

Kugan was commenting on the release of the book Red List of Sabah Endemic Trees that identified 204 or about 70% of endemic Sabah tree species that face threats from climate change.

The overall assessment was carried out on 291 tree species that were classified under categories such as “critically endangered”, “endangered”, or “vulnerable” based on the standards of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species covering the period from 2018 to 2022.

The assessment was part of the global tree assessment initiative through a collaboration between the Sabah Forestry Department, the Botanical Garden Conservation International, and IUCN Species Survival Commission Global Tree Specialist Group.

The assessment found that about 66% of the endemic tree species were considered to have stable populations.

The Red List book was launched at the just concluded three-day Heart of Borneo international conference in Kota Kinabalu.Kugan said information from the assessment will contribute to long-term forest management strategies and plant species conservation programmes to meet Sabah’s sustainable development goals.

According to a statement by the state Forestry Department, 95% of the 291 tree species were assessed by researchers from the department, a Dr Colin Maycock, and interns from Universiti Malaysia Sabah.Joan T. Pereira, Alviana Damit, Sandy Tsen Tze Lui, Reuben Nilus and John B. Sugau compiled the publication that was funded by the Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Ministry under Sabah’s Heart of Borneo project.

The department said it hopes that through the publication, there will be greater awareness on the current conservation status of Sabah’s endemic tree species, with priority for the 39 critically endangered species.