Sites - Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

Ornithological information Padang Teratak (about 100 ha) in the Padas Damit area supports a large population of waterbirds such as Garganey Anas querquedula (2,000 in December 1984) and other globally threatened waterbirds with possibly 1% of the global population of Storm's Stork in its large freshwater swamp (DWNP, 1987; Beadle and Whittaker 1985; Wells et al., 1975). The mudflats are also utilized by migratory shorebirds. Other Near Threatened species recorded in the Klias Peninsula includes the Oriental Darter Anhinga melanogaster, Grey-headed Fish-eagle Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus, Lesser Fish-eagle I. humilis and Waterfall Swift Hydrochrous gigas (Møller, 2002; Sebastian, 1998; Smythies, 1999; Beadle and Whittaker 1985).

Site description (I) Physical CharacteristicsThe Klias Peninsula is located on the coast of south-western Sabah, forming the north-eastern shore of Brunei Bay, the south-western shore of Kimanis Bay and bounded on the inland side by Banjaran Crocker and on the western side by a ridge on a higher ground. Four major natural vegetation types occur in the area namely mangrove forest in coastal area, nipa swamp, freshwater swamp forest and peat swamp forest. Much grassland, scrub and other secondary growth occur throughout the peninsula (DWNP, 1987; Scott, 1989; Wells et al., 1975).(II) Climatic ConditionsOne of the heaviest rainfall sites in Sabah, annual average ca. 3,680 mm (at Weston), fairly evenly distributed with a low in February and a high in November. Annual average temperatures vary from 25-31^oC (DWNP, 1987).

Populations of IBA trigger species

Protected areas

Protected area	Designation	Area (ha)	Relationship with IBA	Overlap with IBA (ha)
Klias	Protection Forest Reserve	3,596	protected area contained by site	3,596
Pulau Tiga	State Park	15,864	protected area contained by site	15,864
SG. Binsuluk	Protection Forest Reserve	12,174	protected area contained by site	12,174

Habitats

Other biodiversity A scientific survey was conducted in two peatswamp Forest Reserves, the Binsulok and Klias Forest Reserves, in 1999 which yielded several interesting findings on flora and fauna.One hundred and thirty-four species from 59 families of trees were recorded, which were dominated by Dryobalanops rappa, Stemonurus scropioides, Palaquium rostratum, Gonystylus bancanus and Combretocarpus rotundatus (Berhaman Ahmad and John Baptist Sugau, 2000). Four species of Nepenthes namely N. ampullaria, N. bicalcarata, N. gracilis and N. rafflesiana were recorded (Takahashi and Berhaman Ahmad, 2000).Sixty-six butterfly species from 42 genera were discovered including two uncommon species, Thaumantis klugius and T. nouredin, which are restricted to dark forest understorey (Mohd. Fairus Jalil et al., 2000). Twenty-three species of fishes were collected from salt and freshwater sources (Mohd. Nadzri Ishak et al., 2000).Five species of amphibians, Hoplobathracus rogulosa, Rana erythraea, R. glandulosa, Polypedates coletti and P. leucomystax, were recorded (Ahmad Sudin and Maryati Mohamed, 2000).Four species of small mammals were recorded (Shigeki et al., 2000). Presence of Estuarine Crocodiles Crocodylus porosus (Stuebing et al., 1992, 1994). (I) Globally threatened mammals (IUCN, 2002): ENDANGERED: Proboscis Monkey Nasalis larvatus; VULNERABLE: Pig-tailed Macaque Macaca nemestrina; NEAR THREATENED: Long-tailed Macaque M. fascicularis, Pangolin Manis javanica, Oriental Small-clawed Otter Amblonyx cinereus; DATA DEFICIENT: Malayan Sun Bear Helarctos malayanus(II) Globally threatened reptiles (IUCN, 2002): ENDANGERED: Green Turtle Chelonia mydas; VULNERABLE: Asiatic Softshell Turtle Amyda cartilaginea(III) Globally threatened plants (IUCN, 2002): CRITICAL: Hopea pentanervia, Shorea platycarpa; ENDANGERED: Shorea teysmanniana; VULNERABLE: Combretocarpus rotundatus, Calophyllum havilandii, Gonystylus bancanus, Nepenthes bicalcarata

Management considerations Klias faces the threat of encroachment by adjacent community into its protected area whereas Binsulok has suffered several fires with only 25-30% of forest currently remains. Small scale of log stealing due to reasons unclear boundary set up by the Forestry Department, unaware of the status of reserve and local need for timber to build own house contributes to the existing conservation problems (Maryati Mohamed et al., 1999). A myriad of threats has been identified in the Klias Peninsula (DWNP, 1987; Wells et al., 1975) namely;Logging and quarrying are minor threats.Agricultural use of some cleared areas.Grazing animals in some open marshes.Sungai Padas heavily fished day and night.Extensive fishing in Klias delta mangroves. Subsistance and cash crop farming in adjacent areas.Mass conversion of mangroves into wood chips.

Protection status Some 31,053 ha are state-owned in five Forest Reserves (Sungai Binsulok, Klias, Padas Damit, Kampung Hindian and Menumbok) while the remainder of the region is either Stateland or privately owned. In 1978, 30,900 ha of the coastal parts the Klias Peninsula were gazetted as a National Park but was degazetted in 1980 (DWNP, 1987). It is the last remaining major peat swamp forest in Sabah. Both are Class 1 Forest Reserves, which prohibits logging (Maryati Mohamed et al., 1999).

References Ahmad Sudin and Maryati Mohamed. 2000. Notes on Amphibian Fauna of the Klias and Binsulok Forest Reserves, Sabah. In Maryati Mohamed, Mashitah Yusoff and Unchi S. (eds.). Klias-Binsulok Scientific Expedition 1999, pp. 55-58. Kota Kinabalu: Universiti Malaysia Sabah.Beadle, D. and Whittaker, A. 1985. Sabah Survey Report. In Parish, D. and Wells, D. (eds.). Interwader East Asia/Pacific Shorebird Study Programme. Annual Report 1984, pp. 79-117 . Interwader Publication No.2. Kuala Lumpur: Interwader.Berhaman Ahmad and John Baptist Sugau. 2000. A Check-list of the Flora of the Klias-Binsulok Peat Swamp Forests, Sabah, Malaysia. In Maryati Mohamed, Mashitah Yusoff and Unchi S. (eds.). Klias-Binsulok Scientific Expedition 1999, pp. 19-28. Kota Kinabalu: Universiti Malaysia Sabah.DWNP. 1987. Malaysian Wetland Directory. Peninsular Malaysia: Department of Wildlife and National Parks.IUCN. 2002. 2002 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. http://www.redlist.org (23 June 2003).Maryati Mohamed, Arlyna Abdullah, Leo Siawa, Md. Soffian Abu Bakar and George Adim. 2000. Birds of Klias and Binsulok Forest Reserves. In Maryati Mohamed, Mashitah Yusoff and Unchi S. (eds.). Klias-Binsulok Scientific Expedition 1999, pp. 59-68. Kota Kinabalu: Universiti Malaysia Sabah.Maryati Mohamed, Mohd. Noh Dalimin and Sining Inchi. 1999. Klias-Binsulok Peatswamps: Is there hope for them? (Abstract). International Conference & Workshop on Tropical Peat Swamps "Safe - Guarding a Global Natural Resource", 27-29 July 1999, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang.Mohd. Fairus Jalil, Nordin Haji Wahid and Maryati Mohamed. 2000. A Preliminary Assessment of the Butterfly Fauna of a Peat Swamp Forest. In Maryati Mohamed, Mashitah Yusoff and Unchi S. (eds.). Klias-Binsulok Scientific Expedition 1999, pp. 43-48. Kota Kinabalu: Universiti Malaysia Sabah.Mohd. Nadzri Ishak, Maryati Mohamed, Arifin Ag. Ali, Guraim Gueh and Dionysius Laison. 2000. Ichthyo Fauna of Klias and Binsulok - A Survey and its Significance. In Maryati Mohamed, Mashitah Yusoff and Unchi S. (eds.). Klias-Binsulok Scientific Expedition 1999, pp. 49-54. Kota Kinabalu: Universiti Malaysia Sabah.Møller, H.S. 2002. Birds of Weston, Klias Peninsula, Sabah. (Unpublished).Scott, D.A. (ed.). 1989. A Directory of Asian Wetlands. Gland: IUCN.Sebastian, A. 1999. 1997-1998 Records of Globally Threatened Species from Peat Swamp Forest in Malaysia. Suara Enggang 1: 17-18.Sebastian, A.C. 1998. Preliminary Ecological Assessment of the Klias Peninsula, Beaufort District, Sabah, Malaysia. Aonyx Environmental Services. (Internal Report)Sheldon, F.H. 1987. Habitat preference of the Hook-billed Bulbul Setornis criniger and the White-throated Babbler Malacopteron albogulare in Borneo. Forktail 3: 17-25.Sheldon, F.H., Moyle, R.G. and Kennard, J. 2001. Ornithology of Sabah: History, Gazetteer, Annotated Checklist, and Bibliography. Ornithological Monographs 52: 1-285.Shigeki, Y., Arlyna Abdullah and Bernard, H. 2000. Notes on Mammals of the Klias and Binsulok Forest Reserves, Sabah. In Maryati Mohamed, Mashitah Yusoff and Unchi S. (eds.). Klias-Binsulok Scientific Expedition 1999, pp. 69-74. Kota Kinabalu: Universiti Malaysia Sabah.Smythies, B.E. 1981. The birds of Borneo. Third edition. Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Society, and Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Nature Society.Smythies, B.E. 1999. The birds of Borneo. Fourth edition. Revised by G.W.H. Davison. Kota Kinabalu: Natural History Publications (Borneo).Stuebing, R.B., Ghazally Ismail and Ling, H.C. 1992. Distribution and abundance of the Indo-Pacific Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus Schneider) in the Klias River, Sabah. In Ghazally Ismail, Murtedza Mohamed and Siraj Omar. (eds.). Proceedings of the International Conference on Forest Biology and Conservation in Borneo, pp. 492. July 30-August 3, 1990. Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Center For Borneo Studies Publication No. 2.Stuebing, R.B., Ghazally Ismail and Ling, H.C. 1994. The Distribution and Abundance of the Indo-Pacific Crocodile Crocodylus porosus Schneider in the Klias River, Sabah, East Malaysia. Biological Conservation 69: 1-7.Takahashi, A. and Berhaman Ahmad. 2000. Nepenthes in the Peat Swamp Forest of Klias Forest Reserve. In Maryati Mohamed, Mashitah Yusoff and Unchi S. (eds.). Klias-Binsulok Scientific Expedition 1999, pp.29-34. Kota Kinabalu: Universiti Malaysia Sabah.Wells, D.R. 1976. Some bird communities in Western Sabah, with distributional records, March 1975. Sarawak Museum Journal 24: 277-286.Wells, D.R., Marshall, A.G. and Lowry, J.B. 1975. A Survey of the Proposed Klias National Park, Southwest Sabah. Project MYS 5/75. Kuala Lumpur: WWF Malaysia.

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