15 more Bakun species saved
Vanes Devindran, The Star 7 Apr 10;
KUCHING: Four totally protected species of mammals and 11 totally protected species of birds have been rescued from the Bakun hydroelectric dam area before its impoundment soon.
The animals rescued under a Wildlife Rapid Assessment programme include the Bornean Gibbon, Clouded Leopard, Giant Squirrel, Banded Langur and the Hornbill.
Sarawak Forestry Corporation managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Len Talif Salleh said this brought the number of animals collected from the area to 27 mammal and 38 bird species.
He said the corporation was working together with the dam’s developer, Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd, on the programme and it was progressing smoothly.
“We have set up the infrastructure and logistics to enable us to rescue the animals especially those endemic to the area and release them in areas not affected by the reservoir,” he told a press conference here yesterday.
On plants, he said the corporations’s wildlife monitoring and rescue team had collected 393 plant species - 57% of them trees, 16% shrubs and climbers, 14% from the herbs family, 8% palms, 3% aroids and 2% orchids.
The corporation’s general manager of Protected Areas and Biodiversity Conservation Wilfred Stephen Landong said the first stage of impoundment was expected to begin this month and there could be 18 permanent islands created once the dam was fully operational.
“For plants, a nursery has already been established and it contains most of the collections whereas the relocation of the animals will be done at various stages of impoundment,” he explained.
Once impounded, the reservoir which spans over Batang Balui, Sungai Murum, Sungai Bahau, Sungai Pelepeh and Sungai Linau will have a surface area of 695 sq-km when it reaches the maximum operating level.
The Bakun catchment area situated in the Upper Rajang River Basin, covers an area of about 14,750 sq-km which is 11% of the state and equal in size to Kelantan.
