KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Forestry Department participated in an international effort with some 15 other organizations across the globe in the recent publication ‘The Red List of Dipterocarpaceae.’
It was published by the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), and launched in Singapore just last week.
This global assessment provides information on the conservation status of 535 species of Dipterocarpaceae from around the world.
Dipterocarps are a commercially important timber group that is found in 4 continents: Africa, Asia, Oceania and South America.
Asia has the highest number of species diversity, with Malaysia recording the greatest number of dipterocarp species (340 species), of which 211 species are threatened.
In Sabah, the dipterocarps form the principal source of commercial timbers, comprising groups commonly known as keruing, seraya, kapur, selangan batu and urat mata.
Established in 1987, BGCI is the world’s largest plant conservation network and provides the secretariat to the IUCN/SCC Global Tree Specialist Group.
This compilation is one of the largest red list publications released by BGCI to date in terms of scope and also international contribution.
It is also the first report to include country pages that provide an introduction to the forest management regime, strength, conservation measures in-place, and cross institutional links that are currently in-action.
The Chief Conservator of Forests, Datuk Frederick Kugan, was extremely pleased that the Sabah Forestry Department played a key role in producing this publication.
He commended the team from the Forest Research Centre in Sepilok for their effort in working together with both local and international researchers to contribute towards this international effort.
