Imbak Canyon Conservation Area

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Summary

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Leaflet

• Northeast Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus morio) are present in Imbak Canyon Conservation Area.
• It has been estimated that 24 (CI: 15-37) individuals occur in the site.
• The orangutan population trend is unknown.
• The site has a total size of 300 km².
• Key threats to orangutans are habitat loss, roads giving access to hunters.
• Conservation activities are not documented.

Site characteristics

The Imbak Canyon Conservation Area (ICCA) is located in the eastern state of Sabah, Malaysia. Most of the habitat in the area comprises lowland dipterocarp rainforest, and montane forest mixed with patches of montane heath (Nakabayashi et al. 2020). The Imbak Canyon is approximately 750 m deep, 3 km wide and 30 km long; the floor of the canyon lies at 250 m above sea level, and that rim of the canyon reaches approximately 1,000 m above sea level (Bernard et al. 2013). The highest point at the site is Mount Kuli, at 1,684 m asl (Bernard et al. 2013). The site was once a part of the Yayasan Sabah Concession Area; heavy logging occurred then around the periphery of the ICCA (Nakabayashi et al. 2020). The site was gazetted as a Class I (Protection) Forest Reserve in 2009, and logging activity was totally prohibited. The forest inside the canyon is relatively pristine (Bernard et al. 2013). However, due to logging activities in the past and the proximity to some human settlements and plantations, the forests surrounding the ICCA are generally heavily disturbed (Bernard et al. 2013). The site is an important area for carnivore conservation in Sabah, as it is home to 14 species, including the Hose's civet, a rare species endemic to Borneo (Bernard et al. 2013).

Table 1. Basic site information for Imbak Canyon Conservation Area

Species	'Pongo pygmaeus morio
Area	300 km²
Coordinates	Lat: 5.160605 , Lon: 116.929972
Type of site	Conservation area
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest, Subtropical/tropical moist montane forest
Type of governance

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

Table 2. Ape population estimates reported for Imbak Canyon Conservation Area

Species	Year	Occurrence	Encounter or vistation rate (nests/km; ind/day)	Density estimate [ind./ km²] (95% CI)	Abundance estimate (95% CI)	Survey area	Sampling method	Analytical framework	Source	Comments	A.P.E.S. database ID
Pongo pygmaeus morio	2012					Imbak Canyon Conservation Area	Camera trap		Bernard et al. 2013	1 individual captured by one camera trap photo
Pongo pygmaeus morio	2014-2017			0.18 (0.11-0.27)	24 (15-37)	Imbak Canyon (unlogged forest)	Aerial (drones/plane/helicopter)		Simon, Davis & Ancrenaz 2019	55.93 km of aerial transect covered

Threats

The areas surrounding the ICCA are full of active and abandoned logging roads, providing easy access to hunters going into the ICCA (Bernard et al. 2013). The northern and western borders of the site are close to human settlements and oil palm plantations. Local villagers and oil palm plantation workers hunt in the area, but poaching may also be carried out by people from nearby towns (Bernard et al. 2013). Illegal collection of gaharu (Aquilaria spp.) tree resin also occurs at the site. Resin collectors are likely to also hunt game animals, as they normally stay up to three months in the forest (Bernard et al. 2013).

Table 3. Threats to apes reported for Imbak Canyon Conservation Area

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
10 Geological events		Absent
12 Other threat		Absent
2 Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	Present (unknown severity)	Oil palm plantations in the surrounding areas (Bernard et al. 2013).	Ongoing (2013)
4 Transportation & service corridors	4.1 Roads & railroads	Present (unknown severity)	Areas surrounding the ICCA are fraught with logging roads, either active or abandoned, providing easy access to hunters (Bernard et al. 2013).	Ongoing (2013)
5 Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Present (unknown severity)	Hunting signs, including cartridges, abandoned camps, and photos of suspected hunters carrying firearms, recorded during a 2012 survey (Bernard et al. 2013).	Ongoing (2013)
5 Biological resource use	5.2 Gathering terrestrial plants	Present (unknown severity)	Tree resin collectors who stay in the area for months at a time likely hunt (Bernard et al. 2013).	Ongoing (2013)
1 Residential & commercial development		Unknown
3 Energy production & mining		Unknown
6 Human intrusions & disturbance		Unknown
7 Natural system modifications		Unknown
8 Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseases		Unknown
9 Pollution		Unknown
11 Climate change & severe weather		Unknown

IUCN Threats list

Challenges

Regular law enforcement activities are needed, as well as the establishment of guard posts (Bernard et al. 2013).

Table 5. Challenges reported for Imbak Canyon Conservation Area

Challenges	Specific challenges	Source	Year(s)
4 Institutional support	4.1 Lack of law enforcement	Bernard et al. 2013

Enablers

Table 6. Enablers reported for Imbak Canyon Conservation Area

Enablers	Specific enablers	Source	Year(s)
1 Site management
2 Resources and capacity
3 Engaged community
4 Institutional support
5 Ecological context
6 Safety and stability

Documented behaviours

Table 7. Behaviours documented for Imbak Canyon Conservation Area

Behavior	Source
Not reported

References

Simon, D., Davies, G., & Ancrenaz, M. (2019). Changes to Sabah's orangutan population in recent times: 2002-2017. PloS one, 14(7), e0218819. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0218819

Bernard, H., Ahmad, A. H., Brodie, J., Giordano, A. J., Lakim, M., Amat, R., ... & Sinun, W. (2013). Camera-trapping survey of mammals in and around Imbak Canyon Conservation Area in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 61(2).

Nakabayashi, M., Salam, P. M. S. B., Leung, L. Y., Ahmad, A. H., & Battin, J. B. (2020). Effect of Logging on the Ficus Community at Batu Timbang Research Station, Imbak Canyon Conservation Area, Sabah. Journal of Tropical Biology & Conservation (JTBC), 17, 233-249.

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