Tasek Cini
Location:
3°25'N, 102°56'E; south of Sungei Pahang and north of Bukit Cmi, State of Pahang.
Area:
202 ha of open water and 700 ha of swamp; total area of proposed Nature Reserve Park 3,800 ha.
Altitude:
Under 76m.
Biogeographical Province:
4.1.1.
Wetland type:
11, 14 & 21.
Description of site:
One of the two large natural freshwater bodies in the Malay Peninsula. It is a lake system consisting of open water, freshwater swamp and swamp forest. The lake is surrounded by primary forest rising to 641m on Bukit Cmi, and making an aesthetically pleasing landscape. The area consists of 13 open water bodies draining northwest into Sungei Pahang via Sungei Cmi. The area floods during the northeast monsoon (October to January). The largest part of the proposed park is classified in soil suitability class 3 (one serious limitation to crop growth and suitable for a restricted range of agricultural and forest crops). In the northeast and in the centre, a minor part is graded in class 2 (moderate limitation to crop growth and suitable for a not too wide range of agricultural and forest crops). A small area near the centre is graded as class 5 (soil with at least one very serious limitation to crop growth and best retained under forestry use).
Climatic conditions:
Humid tropical climate, with rain from both the northeast and southwest monsoons. The average annual rainfall at Mersing is 2,500-3,000 mm; the monthly rainfall varies between a maximum of 500 mm in December and a minimum of about 100 mm in April. There is a marked wet season from October to December or January.
Principal vegetation:
Submerged, floating and emergent aquatic vegetation including tall riparian stands of Pandanus spp, and floating Nymphaea lotus and Nelumbo nucifera. Other aquatic plants include Aponogeton undulaius, Hydrilla verticillata, Hydrostemma kunstleri and Utricularia spp. There is a substantial area of freshwater swamp forest.
Land tenure:
State owned (State Government of Pahang). The surrounding areas are owned by the State Government of Pahang, FELDA and private owners.
Conservation measures taken:
None
Conservation measures proposed:
The area has been proposed as a Game Reserve, National Park or Nature Park Reserve.
Land use:
The northern and north western parts of this proposed park are gazetted as Malay Reserves. Fisheries for local use, and tourism; accommodation facilities and a restaurant were completed in 1986. In the surrounding areas, there are six irrigation projects of the Department of Drainage and Irrigation along the Sungei Pahang, as well as rubber and coconut plantations, mixed horticulture, rice-fields, coarse grassland and urban areas. Logging takes place in the water catchment area.
Possible Changes in Land use:
No Information.
Disturbances and threats:
Logging in the water catchment area (approximately 60% logged) and further land reclamation for agriculture both result in siltation and associated water quality problems. This could seriously damage Tasek Cmi's tourism potential. The area south of the lake has been licensed for logging. Areas to the north and east are Forest Reserve. In the centre of the proposed park and on the southeastern boundary, an estimated total area of 900 ha is designated as current or potential mining land.
Economic and social values:
Fisheries and tourism. The area is aesthetically attractive, and has good potential for further tourist development if the ecosystem remains intact. The area is also of great scientific and natural interest, and is important as a gene pool because of its many indigenous plant and animal species.
Fauna:
No information.
Special floral values:
An extremely good example of a rare habitat in Malaysia. Tasek Cmi is one of only five localities in the world known to support the aquatic plant Hydrostemma kunstleri, and hosts other endemic plants such as species of Pandanus and Gnetum gnemonoides. The rare and vulnerable Aponogeton undulatus occurs at only one other locality in Peninsular Malaysia (Sungai Sedihi).
Research and facilities:
Some botanical studies have been carried out.
References:
DID Pahang (undated); EPU (1980); Government of Malaysia, State of Pahang (1972); Pahang State Forestry Department (undated); Soepadmo (in press); Wong (1979).
Criteria for Inclusion:
1a, 2b, 2d.
Source:
Ahmad Fuad Embi, Chop Ai Kuang and George A.C. Tee.