FINAL VERSION FOR APPROVAL - Sdn Bhd - WWF Malaysia

Gunung Stong State Park Preliminary Management Plan
from the GSSP area. This smaller portion of GSSP is roughly the same size as the area within
the Gunung Stong Utara Forest Reserve described above.
5.4 Inclusion of the Dabong Limestone Hills in Management Planning
for GSSP
Though not part of the GSSP, the Dabong limestone hills containing the Gua Ikan group of
caves merit attention for the following reasons:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
The caves harbour bat populations that are important for pest control and
pollination. Any reduction in their numbers may negatively affect the fruitfarming
industry, and other wild plants that rely on bats for pollination. Bats are
important for seed dispersal and pollination of economically important plants
such as Parkia speciosa (petai), Durio zibethinus (durian), Tamarindus indicus
(tamarind), Anarcadium occidentale (cashewnut), Musa spp. (bananas) and
Sonneratia caseolaris (berembang) (Fujita, 1988).
The limestone hills harbor several rare and endemic species of plants such as the
Vaughn’s balsam (Impatiens vaughinii) and the aquatic aroid, Cryptocoryne
affinis.
They are part of the itinerary for visitors to GSSP. Unmitigated increase in visitor
numbers will disturb bats, and they will roost elsewhere.
Some of the cave animals may be new to science, or are new records for
Malaysia. This is especially likely for some snail and trapdoor spider species.
The unique flora and fauna of the Dabong limestone hills are under threat from unregulated
recreational activities, fires set by smallholders and illegal land-clearing (see the cave survey
report in the Annex to this preliminary management plan). These hills and caves need to be
better protected and further studies should be conducted to fully appreciate the biodiversity
value of the area. Ideally, the land immediately surrounding these limestone hills should not
be converted to other land-uses and should be maintained as a buffer area.
It is therefore recommended that the management of the Dabong limestone hills to be
integrated with that of GSSP, in order to provide some form of control over land management
surrounding these hills and better regulation of recreational activities. The hills are too
isolated from GSSP for them to be included in the state park area but they should be gazetted
as part of the Serasa Forest Reserve and therefore placed under the management of the
Kelantan State Forestry Department, the same management authority as GSSP.
5.5 Greater Involvement of Local Communities
The local communities of the GSSP area are mostly involved in agriculture activities,
typically the cultivation of rubber, oil palm, and fruits, in schemes developed by KESEDAR
and RISDA, although some have been working on farmlands encroached into forest reserves.
Salaried workers are schoolteachers, police, government healthcare-workers, and employees
of the KPK Sawmill at Meranto. Being rural-based, small-scale agriculturalists, their incomes
are lower compared to urban dwellers; nevertheles, there are no signs of abject poverty.
Being of simple needs and tastes, there seems to be a high sense of contentment, and
satisfaction in doing simple work.
Demographically, there seems to be relatively few adults of age between 20 to 30, probably
because they are either completing their higher level of studies elsewhere, or working
elsewhere. Those working may be contributing part of their income to the parents, and this
possibly accounts for their contentment. However, the adolescents and late teens are at risk of
indulging in unproductive activities, such as illegal motorbike or car racing, which had led to
some fatal accidents. Being close to the border of Thailand, where cheap drugs are more
readily available, drug abuse through meth-ampethamines may become a major problem. This
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