Entrance to the park
Natural Heritage Status:
Kuala Sepetang Mangrove Park is part of the Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve and is well known internationally as a mangrove conservation area. It is fame for the best managed mangrove forest in the world. It has rich mangrove biodiversity that sustain the mangrove forest. The park is home to flora and fauna unique to the mangrove habitat.
Kuala Sepetang Eco- Educational Centre
Gazettement :
Kuala Sepetang Mangrove Park is one of the 9 forest reserves of Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve stretching from Kuala Gula to Bagan Panchor. It was established in 1992 with an area of 20 hectares. Present status as Eco-Education Center.
Accessibility:
To the park: Accessible using the 10km main road from Taiping and 84 km from Ipoh.In the park: Boardwalks and bridges spread over the park with interpretative information.
Affordability:
Entrance to the park is free. No parking fee. Gated at night. Campsite and chalet available with reasonable fee. The park is well visited and popular among educational groups. Locals used the park as a jogging track. Foreigners and researchers visited the park to study about the mangrove management.
Level of Development:
Facilities for campers available. Canteen and convenient store available in the park. Boardwalks, interpretative boards and accommodation facilities within the 20 ha Education park. Kuala Sepetang town and Kampung Menteri are two populated areas around the park.
Popularity:
This park is perhaps the only green lung around Kuala Sepetang. The locals used the extensive boardwalks as jogging track. Popular during public and school holiday with visits from educational institutions and schools. An estimated average of 500 visitors per month. Campers need to apply for permit from the district forestry office before they are allowed to camp inside the park. Other attractions are visiting charcoal factory, bird watching, visiting historical site, fishing village, aquaculture and angling. The Educational Center at Kuala Sepetang provides opportunities for researchers and school children to study mangroves ecosystem, the flora and fauna of the mangroves and its sustainability relationship with man.
This park is perhaps the only green lung around Kuala Sepetang. The locals used the extensive boardwalks as jogging track. Popular during public and school holiday with visits from educational institutions and schools. An estimated average of 500 visitors per month. Campers need to apply for permit from the district forestry office before they are allowed to camp inside the park. Other attractions are visiting charcoal factory, bird watching, visiting historical site, fishing village, aquaculture and angling. The Educational Center at Kuala Sepetang provides opportunities for researchers and school children to study mangroves ecosystem, the flora and fauna of the mangroves and its sustainability relationship with man.
Briefing to students
Accommodation:
Free entrance to the park.
Chalet and camping facilities available.
Free entrance to the park.
Chalet and camping facilities available.
Threats:
According to forestry, the biggest threats to the mangroves are illegal human activities and lightning that damages the mangrove plants.Garbage: Garbage bins ransacked by wild monkeys and causing littering in the park.Development: Facilities are new and in proper order. Chalets spread deep into the mangrove forest. Sewage could be a problem if no proper maintenance schedule adopted. Freshwater from chalets could affect the mangrove ecosystem.
According to forestry, the biggest threats to the mangroves are illegal human activities and lightning that damages the mangrove plants.Garbage: Garbage bins ransacked by wild monkeys and causing littering in the park.Development: Facilities are new and in proper order. Chalets spread deep into the mangrove forest. Sewage could be a problem if no proper maintenance schedule adopted. Freshwater from chalets could affect the mangrove ecosystem.
Mitigation:
Trash bins should be “monkey-proof” to prevent littering of the park.Culling of over populated long-tailed macaques which also damages mangrove plants.Continuous maintenance culture should be adopted to keep facilities functioning. No further development of facilities into the forested area.
Trash bins should be “monkey-proof” to prevent littering of the park.Culling of over populated long-tailed macaques which also damages mangrove plants.Continuous maintenance culture should be adopted to keep facilities functioning. No further development of facilities into the forested area.
Conservation: Mangrove Conservation: Mangrove forests are a unique habitat. They are inter-tidal, supporting salt tolerant vegetation and are composed of muddy shores, lagoons and tidal estuaries. They serve multiple roles – being habitats for wildlife such as mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and water birds, both resident and migratory. The mangrove is also credited with maintaining an aquatic ecosystem for all sorts of fish, crustaceans and insects. This habitat also provides many amenities recognised beyond its boundaries. Mangroves play an important role in the environmental system, among which includes functioning as a giant filter for water and other effluents and stabilising the shorelines and soil condition from soil loss due to wind and high wave action (Rosnani Ibarahim, 2007). Mangrove vegetation comprises 11 families and 28 species that include trees, herbs, climbers and shrubs. The vegetation consists of almost pure stands of stilt roots of Rhizopora spp. and pneumatopores of Avicennia and Sonneratia with an understorey of Bruguiera spp.( Abdullah Mohd, 2007)
A shy dusky leaf monkey among the larger fauna seen in the park
Forest Management :
The silvicultural program of harvesting of the mangrove forests of Larut and Matang district has been consistently managed under a 30-year rotation system since 1950. This systematic and sustainable mangrove management has been internationally recognized as among the best managed mangrove ecosystem in the world.Year 0 Clear felling of selected areas, except for 5 meter buffer zone along the river banks.Year 1 Identifying areas for forest replanting. Eliminating fern trees.Year 2 Replanting of forest trees, especially at sites where less than 75% of naturally planted saplings remain.Year 3 Assessment of areas and determine if new replanting needed.Year 15 First thinning (felling) carried out.Year 20 Second thinning carried out.Year 30 Final felling carried out.
Fauna :
The mangrove forest is rich breeding ground for many marine fauna including fish, prawn, crab, mudskippers, mud lobsters, mollusks and crustaceans. It is also the home for various species of birds, primates, reptiles, bats, otters and other mammals. All the fauna depended on this mangrove habitat to live. They are part of the ecosystem in a complex food-chain between predator and prey. Removing one species from the food-chain could affect the whole ecosystem.
credit : www.malaysianaturalheritage.com
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