LAHAD DATU: Just before sunset, a group of visitors watched excitedly as a lone flying black squirrel slowly made its way up to the highest point of a tall tree, before it plunged and slided into another tree.
The small mammal’s presence is indeed very significant because the magas tree where it lived is actually standing right in the compound of the quiet and tranquil Kawag Danum Rainforest Lodge (KDRL), in the district of Lahad Datu.
KDRL is in the logged-over Kawag Forest Area, which is situated inside the Ulu Segama Malua Forest Reserve that is part of the 242,000 ha of the Ulu Segama Malua-Sustainable Forest Management Project (USM-SFMP).
For the flying squirrel, forest restoration effort in a disturbed vegetation like the Ulu Segama Malua Forest Reserve brings genuine hope and future to the endangered wildlife in Malaysia, particularly Sabah.
In fact, the Kawag Forest Area (KFA), sited in the Greater Danum Valley Conservation Area and Ulu Segama Malua, has been identified as a wildlife tourism region under the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC).
In 2012 and 2013 the State Government regazetted the Ulu Segama Forest Reserve and Malua Forest Reserve to Class 1 Protection Forest Reserve respectively to protect more high conservation value area.
Since its inception in 2006, the USM-SFMP has implemented several initiatives towards restoring and conserving contiguous forest reserves in the Ulu Segama-Malua.
Activities being carried out include silviculture treatment, forest restoration, wildlife monitoring, forest resource management and community forestry.
According to Sabah Forestry Department (SFD), forest restoration, silviculture and wildlife monitoring were implemented in collaboration and supported by local and international stakeholders.
Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Kawag Forest Area in Lahad Datu set for geotourism
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