Loagan Bunut
Location:
3°42'-3°52'N, 114° 10'-114°18'E; 45 km SSW of Marudi, Fourth Division, northern Sarawak.
Area:
19,000 ha area of proposed National Park 10,740 ha.
Altitude:
Mostly below 75m maximum elevation 128m
Biogeographical Province:
4.25.12.
Wetland type:
11 & 14.
Description of site:
A seasonal freshwater lake, Loagan Bunut, and surrounding areas of seasonally flooded forest. Loagan Bunut is Sarawak's largest freshwater lake, covering some 800 ha when fully flooded during the rainy season. The lake dries up during the dry season (in August and perhaps other months), leaving only a small permanent river course across the lake bed. It floods to a depth of 2-3 metres at other times. The lake is fed by local run-off and several tributaries of the Baram River System. Large areas of forest around the lake are flooded during the rainy season.
Climatic conditions:
Humid tropical climate with an annual rainfall of 3,000-4,000 mm. The region is markedly drier than the coastal zone, and has a pronounced dry season from June to October which appears to restrict the formation of extensive freshwater swamps.
Principal vegetation:
No information is available on the aquatic vegetation. Seasonally flooded forest and secondary vegetation in surrounding areas.
Land tenure:
The local inhabitants (Berawan) claim ownership. The Government has indicated that they will be appropriately compensated for the acquisition of their land and lake when the area is gazetted as a National Park.
Conservation measures taken:
The forests are protected in the Lower Baram Forest Reserve and Marudi Forest Reserve.
Conservation measures proposed:
The lake and surrounding forests totalling 10,740 ha have been proposed as a National Park. The Sarawak State Conservation Strategy has recommended that ecological surveys be carried out to assess the resource potential and to determine the environmental requirements of Loagan Bunut. A proposed survey of the status and distribution of Tomistoma schlegelii and Crocodylus porosus in Sarawak by WWF Malaysia has been approved by the State Government and is expected to produce recommendations for management. The lake's potential for designation as an International Biosphere Reserve should be investigated.
Land use:
Fishing, shifting cultivation (including hill rice) and logging. Most of the area is unsuitable for permanent agriculture.
Possible Changes in Land use:
Once the National Park has been established, fishing activities will be scaled down.
Disturbances and threats:
Logging in the water catchment area will have an adverse effect on water quality and is likely to cause problems with flooding. Intensive fishing causes a considerable amount of disturbance, and shifting cultivation continues to destroy the natural vegetation. A road is currently under construction to link Miri, the Divisional Headquarters, with Long Te, a riverine trading community near to Loagan Bunut. Once the lake becomes accessible by road, disturbance will increase as more hunters, fishermen and tourists are attracted to the area.
Economic and social values:
The lake supports a locally important fishery. Forestry would be feasible on a sustainable yield basis if the rotation period were not less than 70 years (Brunig
1962).
Fauna:
At least ten species of fishes are found in the lake, including Helostorna temminckii, Oxyleotris marmorata, Notopterus sp, Osteochilus sp, Mystus sp, Puntius bulu and Cyclocheilichthys sp.
Little information is available on the waterfowl, although it is known that there are breeding colonies of Phalacrocorax carbo and Anhinga melanogaster. There are unconfirmed reports of young False Gharials Tomistoma schlegelii in the lake, and hatchlings of the Estuarine Crocodile Crocodylus porosus have been observed in Sungei Teru.
Special floral values:
No information.
Research and facilities:
Forest inventories and a soil survey have been carried out, and Cox and Gombek (1985) conducted a crocodile survey in 1985.
References:
Brunig (1962); Cox & Gombek (1985); DID Sarawak (1979/80); Department of Agriculture (1982c); WWF Malaysia and State Planning Unit of Sarawak (1985); Watson (1985).
Criteria for Inclusion:
1b, 2a, 2b, 2c.
Source:
Boniface Anat Litis.