Tempasuk Plain
Location:
6°23'-6°32'N, 116°2l'-116°31'E; on the northwest coast of Sabah, stretching from
Kota Belud town in the south to Kampong Rampayang Laut in the north, Sabah.
Area:
Over 13,000 ha, including 12,200 ha in Kota Belud Bird Sanctuary.
Altitude:
0-3m.
Biogeographical Province:
4.25.12.
Wetland type:
01, 02, 05, 07, 08, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20 & 21.
Description of site:
Primarily a freshwater wetland bisected by a major road, comprising four
main areas:
1. On the eastern side of the road, an area of low wet swamp land with open pools, bordered by a narrow strip of swamp forest along the northern boundary of the Bird Sanctuary, and backed by low hills.
2.On the western side, an open sandy foreshore backed by dunes which lead into grazed grassland with wet areas and seasonal pools. A small area of mangrove occurs near Kuala Tempasuk.
3. The southern third is taken up with cultivation, mainly wet rice and small settlements. Two large rivers run through the area forming the northern and southern boundaries of the existing Bird Sanctuary. The northern river is lined with fairly extensive riverine forest.
4. A poorly known area to the north of the Kawang-kawang River. From Kampong Rampayan Laut for about 5 km upriver, mangrove forest predominates, grading into nipa swamp backed by a small area of lowland dipterocarp forest. The total area of mangrove swamp in 1978 was 1,518 ha.
Run-off from low hills and the foothills of Mount Kinabalu supplies many small streams and the two large rivers. Local rainfall is the principal factor determining wetland conditions (except for the wet rice fields). The water depth varies throughout the wetland and depends on rainfall. Pools in the grassland are generally less than one metre deep; the depth of water in the reed swamp varies from 30 cm to I .5m, and that in the rice paddies, up to 30 cm. The water is fresh, except in the rivers near their mouths where it is brackish. Changes in water level can be quite rapid, and after heavy rainfall, the water level in the main lake can rise by as much as one metre in 12 hours. Only the lower reaches of the rivers are affected by the tides, which have an average range of about 3m.
Climatic conditions:
Humid tropical climate with an average annual rainfall of 2,260 mm at Kota Belud. The wettest month is June (200-400 mm) and the driest, December (100-200 mm). The dry season is in November-March, and the wet season, May-September. Mean temperatures range from 23°C to 30°C.
Principal vegetation:
There are six distinct habitat types:
1. A long sandy beach backed by dunes.
2. Grazing land with short rough grass, pandans, various shrubs and bushes, some open woodland in the Kerah River area, and ditches and buffalo wallows with Eichhornia crassipes and Juncus sp.
3. Swamp Forest, with strangling figs Ficus sp where the water is fresh, and dominated by Avicennia alba and A. marina with some Nypa swamp where the water is brackish.
4. Swamp, mainly mixed grasses.
5. Densely populated cultivated land, with rice as the main crop, in the south.
6. Open water areas.
Surrounding areas Consist of agricultural land and some evergreen moist forest. There are some remnants of coastal forest with fine Ficus and Sterculia behind the sand dunes, grading into Antidesma woodland. There is also a small area of lowland dipterocarp forest.
Land tenure:
2,670 ha Grazing Reserve; 110 ha Foreshore Reserve; 7,510 ha titled land (either under private ownership or occupied by schools and government agencies); 1,740 ha unallocated land; 170 ha tenure unknown. Low hills to the east of the sanctuary have been allocated to the Malaysian Army. Most other land is either state owned or titled land.
Conservation measures taken:
Most of the wetland is included in the Kota Belud Bird Sanctuary (12,200 ha), established in 1960. The Sanctuary includes the area of low hills to the east of the wetland, but excludes areas of swamp forest and swamp to the north of the Kawang-kawang River. The Bird Sanctuary legislation forbids hunting but does not control habitat changes, e.g. drainage or burning. There has been virtually no enforcement of the Bird Sanctuary status, especially in recent years, and there are no on-site indications of the Sanctuary e.g. signposts.
Conservation measures proposed:
Payne & Parish (1985), the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology (1983) and Lansdown (1986) have made a number of recommendations for management including the following: a) strengthening the legal status of the Bird Sanctuary; b) instigating effective wardening, and controlling casual disturbance; c) formation of a management committee; d) management of agricultural practices; e) development of the site for tourism, and improvement of facilities for tourism; and f) promotion of public awareness and cooperation. There is an urgent need for detailed studies on the ecology of the site.
Land use:
Cultivation of rice, grazing by domestic livestock (water buffalo, cattle, goats and horses), and to a lesser extent, cultivation of cassava, sago, coconuts, bananas and mangos; some shifting agriculture and plantations of hardwoods in adjacent areas.
Possible Changes in Land use:
There are plans to drain an extensive portion of the Bird Sanctuary in the Kerah Swamp area. Under the Fifth Malaysia Plan (starting in 1986/87), a pumping station is to be installed to reduce surface water, and under the Sixth Plan (1990/95), more drainage canals are to be constructed. The Aquabio Prawn Farm is to be expanded from its existing 40 ha to 4,000 ha, at the expense of open grazing land.
Disturbances and threats:
The principal threats are large-scale drainage of the swamp for agricultural purposes and conversion of grazing land to aquaculture ponds. Mangroves and nipa are being cleared for kampungs, and the swamp vegetation is burned to create suitable grazing habitat. There is a considerable amount of disturbance from local people and domestic livestock, and some illegal hunting, including the shooting and netting of birds. Some 20-50 pigeons (Treron Spp, Chalcophaps indica and others) are netted every day in the northern part of the Bird Sanctuary. Shifting cultivation on adjacent hillsides is also a problem.
Economic and social values:
An important area for rice-growing and livestock production. The Bird Sanctuary is outstanding in Malaysia for its variety of habitats and numbers and diversity of waterbirds, and thus has considerable potential for tourism and scientific research. It is also unique in Malaysia in that it contains a substantial agricultural community whose management practices have a direct influence on the distribution and abundance of the waterbirds.
Fauna:
Fishes include Trichogaster trichopterus, Helostoma temminckii and Puntius binotatus.
The Sanctuary is an important wintering area for large numbers of waterfowl; some 14 species of herons and egrets, seven species of ducks, eight species of rails and crakes, 30 species of shorebirds and eight species of terns have been recorded. Leptoptilos javanicus, Ciconia stormi, Threskiornis melanocephalus, Platalea leucorodia and Hydrophasianus chirurgus have also been observed. The site is very important for wintering Anas querquedula and there are substantial numbers of Porphyrio porphyrio and Glareola maldivarum. There are large roosts of non-breeding egrets Egretta spp (up to 5,000), Circus aeruginosus and several species of passerines, notably Hirundo rustica (up to 200,000), Motacilla flava (over 25,000 in November 1985) and Pycnonotus goiavier, Lonchura malacca. The great variety of migratory birds, many of which occur in very large numbers, is a major feature of the site, and it seems likely that Tempasuk Plain is a critical staging and wintering area for a number of species.
Mammals include a species of otter, probably Aonyx cinerea, occurring in quite large numbers, and small numbers of Macaca fascicularis, Nasalis larvatus and Felis bengalensis. Marine turtles use the beach for nesting, but no details are available concerning the species or numbers involved, except that Caretta caretta was observed in February 1986. Monitor lizards (Varanus spp) are abundant. Frogs include Rana limnocharis, R. nicobariensis, R. rugulosa, Polypedates leucomystax and Kaloula baleata. The invertebrate fauna includes four species of dragonfly (Libeliulidae), one species of Zygoptera, one species of Nepidae (Hemiptera) and one species of leech (Hirudinaria sp).
Special floral values:
An outstanding area for its wide variety of wetland habitats.
Research and facilities:
Several faunal and floral surveys have been conducted, e.g. by the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology in 1983, by Interwader in 1984, by Payne and Parish in 1985, and by Lansdown in 1986 and 1987, but no permanent facilities are available at the site.
References:
Axell (1985); Beadle & Whittaker (1985); Lansdown (1986, 1987b & in prep); Payne & Parish (1985); Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology (1983).
Criteria for Inclusion:
1b. 2a, 2b, 2c, 3b.
Source:
J. Payne, C. Phillipps, D. Parish and R.V. Lansdown.