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The incentives for resource extraction and development make the conservation of biodiversity challenging within tropical forestlands. The 2007 establishment of the Royal Belum State Park in the Malaysian state of Perak offers lessons for creating protected areas in tropical countries where subnational governments are major forestland owners. This article elucidates the social and political forces that influenced Royal Belum’s creation. Those forces included Malaysian conservation groups’ efforts to establish the ecological uniqueness of the site and rally public support to protect it; the Perak state government, which is the landowner under Malaysia’s constitution, seeking a protection option that would minimize the economic costs to it (and perhaps generate net economic benefits); and the federal government providing a legal framework and support for park protection and ecotourism development. Successful long-run protection of Royal Belum will require action beyond simply designating the area as protected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The expansion of industrial oil palm cultivation threatens tropical biodiversity globally, especially in developing countries. Driven by plans to generate economic revenue, large-scale plantations are emerging in Southeast Asia, Africa and Brazilian Amazon. However, the ecological impacts of the sector are poorly studied with respect to oil palm management system, and recommended conservation measures are based on limited data. We studied avifauna in oil palm landscapes in Peninsular Malaysia under different management systems (large plantation estates versus smallholdings) and age classes (uniform age versus mixed-age stands). We sampled 41 large plantation estates and 14 smallholdings, as well as 20 sites in an extensively logged peat swamp forest, the type of natural forest prior to conversion to oil palms. Compared with logged peat swamp forest, our results showed that forest conversion to oil palm cultivation may have eliminated 48–60% of bird species. We also found: (i) plantation estates and smallholdings supported similar bird assemblages but the latter supported significantly more species (P =0.007); and (ii) despite reduced species richness in oil palm landscapes, we found high abundance of some individual bird species in specific types of stands including some forest, migratory, and wetland species. Conversion of natural forest to oil palm landscapes should not occur in the future through clearing of primary or secondary native forests. To complement conventional conservation approaches (e.g. the establishment of protected areas) in palm oil-producing countries, existing plantation estates and smallholdings should be managed in ways to promote improved conservation outcomes, although oil palm landscapes maintained a fraction of the original forest biodiversity. Managing habitat heterogeneity at both a local and a landscape-level is highly recommended in oil palm landscapes to maintain and/or enhance avian biodiversity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The indigenous communities of Peninsular Malaysia with a population of approximately 150,000 people are collectively called the Orang Asli (original people) and consist of three major tribes, the Negrito, Senoi and Proto Malays, with six sub-tribes each. Traditionally the Orang Asli lived in and subsisted on the forests, but with increasing loss of forest areas, integration into mainstream society and urbanization, they are rapidly losing their traditional knowledge and culture. In an effort to record some of this precious indigenous knowledge, a questionnaire survey, visits and interviews were conducted with selected indigenous communities in 70 villages in Peninsular Malaysia. Macrofungi utilized for food and medicine were documented and fungi with potential for cultivation and commercialization were identified. Indigenous communities interviewed were the Semai, Temuan, Bateq, Che Wong and Jakun sub-tribes. Our results showed that at least 31 species of macrofungi were collected for food but only 14 species were used for medicinal purposes. All the fungi were collected for the communities’ own consumption and not for commercial purposes with the exception of Lignosus sp. (susu rimau) which is specifically sought for upon request by urban middlemen, mostly local herbalists. Although our interviews were mainly conducted with the village Tok Batin (headman), the women folk generally joined in the interviews and were most knowledgeable, providing much of the information. Generally, the younger generation, especially the men, were much less knowledgeable and less interested to learn about macrofungi utilization. Traditional knowledge including the utilization of mushrooms is passed down orally within the communities with the women playing an important role in this oral tradition. A booklet on the common mushrooms utilized by Orang Asli communities in Peninsular Malaysia has been published and distributed to all the communities surveyed as well as to the relevant government department in charge of Orang Asli affairs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In a recent article in this journal Zhang and colleagues investigated the factors affecting the distribution of a species of epiphytic fern Asplenium nidus L. in rain forest in Peninsular Malaysia. Here we suggest that their findings may be interpreted in the light of there being two cryptic species present, each with different ecologies, as is the case in Malaysian Borneo. We also discuss the implications of the existence of cryptic species when attempting to conserve forest diversity in the face of climate change and habitat conversion. Abstract in Malay is available at . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]