PUBLICATION UPDATE 6: NEW PUBLIC RESOURCE TO ASSIST LIMESTONE CONSERVATION EFFORTS IN MALAYSIA

2 September 2021

Researchers have just released a publicly accessible online resource that contains the most comprehensive information on Malaysia’s limestone hills to date. Containing detailed maps, photos, and data in the form of 7 separate eBooks, the resource is titled ‘Conservation of Limestone Ecosystems of Malaysia’.

Limestone hills harbour unique biodiversity and provide numerous ecosystem services to humans, but face intensifying disturbances from forest loss, agricultural expansion, and infrastructure development. In the National Policy of Biological Diversity 2016-2025, the protection and restoration of limestone ecosystems are listed as one of the 17 national biodiversity targets.

In order to find out which limestone hills warrant urgent protection, a team of researchers felt the need to create a public database that includes information on their location, biodiversity, surrounding land use and extent of habitat disturbance.

With the help of satellite images, drone technology and ground verification, researchers have now accurately mapped 1393 limestone hills in Malaysia, with 911 located in Peninsular Malaysia, and 482 in Malaysian Borneo.

“After two years of analysis, compiling information, and travelling more than 22,000 km, I think we now have an almost complete picture of how Malaysia’s limestone hills are doing.” said Foon Junn Kitt, Project Coordinator of Rimba’s Project Limestone, who led the intensive field surveys.

You can click on or scan the QR code on the following book covers to download each volume.

Funded by the National Conservation Trust Fund via Universiti Malaysia Sabah, this new resource can now assist state governments, scientists and conservationists in identifying biologically important limestone hills for protection and rehabilitation.

“Rather than viewing our database as static and complete, it should be regarded as an evolving platform for users to collect, store, update and analyse spatial and biological data from limestone hills to better inform decisions regarding their management”, said lead researcher, Associate Professor Liew Thor-Seng from Universiti Malaysia Sabah and Principal Investigator of Project Limestone.

As limestone is an invaluable resource for the cement and construction industry, it is not possible to completely halt the quarrying of limestone hills.

“For the first time, we have a land-use planning tool that can not only help state governments and scientists identify which limestone hills should be urgently protected to prevent further species extinctions, but also reduce the number of hills that need to be sacrificed for development through better planning”, said co-researcher, Professor Gopalasamy Reuben Clements from Sunway University and co-researcher of Project Limestone.

An online gazetteer for limestone outcrops in Malaysia can be used to locate limestone outcrops of interest. 

Example pages of the detailed information for each limestone outcrop.

Malaysia has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions intensity of GDP by 45% by 2030, relative to the emissions intensity of GDP in 2005. As such, we cannot afford to lose any more natural carbon sinks such as limestone hills.

The researchers hope that this tool will be widely used to better manage limestone hills in Malaysia. Ultimately, better management of unique and vulnerable ecosystems is vital to help reduce biodiversity loss and tackle the global climate crisis. Each eBook can be downloaded by simply clicking on the book covers above or at the following links: 

Thor-Seng Liew, Junn-Kitt Foon, Gopalasamy Reuben Clements (2021) Conservation of Limestone Ecosystems of Malaysia

• Part I, Acknowledgements, Methodology, Overview of limestone outcrops in Malaysia, References, Detailed information on limestone outcrops of the states: Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Terengganu, Selangor, Perlis. Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu. 509 pp. ISBN 978-967-25534-0-3, e-ISBN 978-967-25534-4-1. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14907846.v5

• Part II, Detailed information on limestone outcrops of Perak. Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu. 470 pp. eISBN 978-967-25534-1-0. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14907867.v5

• Part III, Detailed information on limestone outcrops of Kedah. Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu. 638 pp. eISBN 978-967-25534-5-8. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14907873.v5

• Part IV, Detailed information on limestone outcrops of Pahang. Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu. 642 pp. eISBN 978-967-25534-6-5. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14907876.v5

• Part V, Detailed information on limestone outcrops of Kelantan. Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu. 1050 pp. eISBN 978-967-25534-7-2. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14907882.v5

• Part VI, Detailed information on limestone outcrops of Sarawak. Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu. 572 pp. eISBN 978-967-25534-2-7. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14907885.v5

• Part VII, Detailed information on limestone outcrops of Labuan and Sabah. Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu. 490 pp. eISBN 978-967-25534-3-4. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14907888.v5

This press release first appeared in Rimba on 02 September 2021. 

Below is a reverse-chronological archive of project updates which originally appeared on ResearchGate Projects (a feature no longer available there):

Presentation at the National Geoscience Conference 2019

In October 2019, we discussed the project concept and updates at Malaysia's national level conference for geoscientists. 

Conference abstract: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337545538_Database_and_conservation_of_limestone_hills_in_Malaysia

Presentation at the 29th International Congress for Conservation Biology

In July 2019, we discussed and exchanged ideas about the project at the ICCB 2019 symposium on "Conservation of the Biodiversity of Karst Limestone in SE Asia, Lessons from the Peninsular Malaysian Experience".

Conference abstract: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334746302_Strengthening_limestone_biodiversity_conservation_in_Malaysia_through_land_snail_studies_and_ecosystem_mapping

Project Activities

From February 2018 to February 2020, we have undertaken the following activities:

(1) Completed literature review of all Malaysian limestone outcrops for ecosystem mapping

Reviewed 129 publications from libraries, research repositories, natural history collections and field notes.

(2) Completed field work to ground-truth existing and identify new limestone outcrops in Peninsular Malaysia using drones and on-site surveys.

Undertaken 18 field trips across 22,711 km by land (4WD, car and trekking) and water (boat and kayak at sea, rivers and lakes).

Systematically ground-truthed and mapped 908 limestone outcrops using drones and site surveys with GPS.

Flown 223 drone flights totalling 23 flight hours and 314.77 km of flight distance.

Field work involved 17 field assistants and 43 agencies, offices, companies and personnel.

(3) Mapped all limestone outcrops in Malaysia.

Updated map of all Peninsular Malaysia outcrops through literature review and ground-truthing.

Created map of all Malaysian Borneo outcrops through literature review.

(4) Collected and analysed all biogeophysical attributes for limestone outcrops in Peninsular Malaysia.

Geographical attributes, habitat conditions and human activities

(5) Prepared final report and the Malaysian limestone karst (mykarst) database.

Project Update

Project proposal was submitted to The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Malaysia (NRE). Funding for the project was granted by NRE under The National Conservation Trust Fund (NCTF) in October 2017. Project commenced in February 2018.

Grant proposal can be accessed here: https://figshare.com/articles/Grant_proposal_for_research_on_Conservation_of_Limestone_Ecosystem_in_Malaysia_/5852859

Project Goal

Limestone karsts have high levels of species endemism and is a priority ecosystem for conservation in Malaysia’s National Policy on Biological Diversity. This project aims to:

(1) create the first national limestone karst database (MYKARST),

(2) enrich on-site information of vulnerable and important limestone hills in Peninsular Malaysia,

(3) perform a conservation prioritisation excercise for limestone karsts in Peninsular Malaysia.

Project funded by the National Conservation Trust Fund for Natural Resources, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Malaysia and undertaken by the Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah.