Sabah

Asia > Malaysia > Sabah

Summary

• Northeast Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus morio) are present in Sabah.
• It has been estimated that 9,558 (CI: 6,815-15,129) individuals occur in the site.
• The orangutan population trend is decreasing.
• The site has a total size of 76,000 km².
• Key threats to orangutans are forest conversion and fragmentation.
• Conservation activities have focused on orangutan rehabilitation, canopy bridges, involvement of local people in conservation activities, habitat restoration, and capacity building.

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  Kinabalu © HUTAN/KOCP
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  © HUTAN/KOCP
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  © HUTAN/KOCP

Site characteristics

Proboscis monkey © HUTAN/KOCP

Sabah is one of the 13 states in Malaysia, situated in the north of Borneo. The state covers about 76,000 sq. km. The state features the highest mountain in Malaysia, Mount Kinabalu, at 4,095 m. About 16% of Sabah's total forest area is under some form of protection (Butler 2020). Mangrove forests are found largely on the east coast facing the Sulu Sulawesi Seas. Sabah harbours a wide diversity of wildlife, including 221 recorded species of mammals, 98 of amphibians, 197 of reptiles, 664 of birds, and thousands of invertebrate species (Mannan et al. 2013). In addition to orangutans, proboscis monkey, tembadau, rhinoceros and pygmy elephant are also present in Sabah (Mannan et al. 2013).

Table 1. Basic site information for Sabah

Area	76,000 km²
Coordinates	5.212839 N, 116.996555 E
Designation	Unclassified
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical/tropical moist montane forest, rocky areas (e.g., inland cliffs, mountain peaks), subtropical/tropical heavily degraded former forest, subtropical/tropical mangrove vegetation above high tide level, plantations, urban areas

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

In the early 1980s, WWF-Malaysia estimated 4,000 orangutans in 5,000 sq. km. of Sabah’s primary forest in the eastern lowlands and central uplands. In the mid-1980s, the first aerial nest surveys were conducted; combined with habitat assessments, it was estimated that up to 21,000 orangutans inhabited Sabah´s forest reserves and state parks (Simon et al. 2019). Fifteen years later, in 2002-2003, an aerial and ground nest survey identified 16 major orangutan populations in Sabah with a total 11,000 individuals (Ancrenaz et al. 2005). The most recent aerial survey that followed, between 2014 and 2017, estimated 9,558 orangutans (95% CI: 6,815 to 15,129), with separate studies recording a further 800 orangutans in the Lower Kinabatangan region. This results in a conservative population estimate of 10,300 orangutans in Sabah’s Permanent Forest Reserve and wildlife sanctuary (Simon et al. 2019).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Sabah

Species	Year	Abundance estimate (95% CI)	Density estimate [ind./ km²] (95% CI)	Encounter rate (nests/km)	Area	Method	Source	Comments	A.P.E.S. database ID
Pongo pygmaeus morio	2002-2003	11,017 (8,317-18,376)			Sabah	Aerial survey and line transects	Ancrenaz et al. 2005
Pongo pygmaeus morio	2014-2017	9,558 (6,815-15,129)			Sabah, 63% of the previously surveyed areas (in 2002-2003).	Aerial survey	Simon et al. 2019

Threats

Forest conversion and fragmentation are the key threats to orangutans in Sabah (Wich et al. 2008). Between 1973 and 2010, 39% of rainforests were lost in Borneo, including more than 98,000 sq. km of suitable orangutan habitat (Simon et al. 2019). Specifically, conversion of natural habitat to oil palm and tree plantations is a major threat (Simon et al. 2019).

Table 3. Threats to apes in Sabah

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Quantified severity	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development		Unknown
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	High		Deforestation for agriculture (Wich et al. 2008; Simon et al. 2019).	Ongoing (2019)
3. Energy production & mining		Absent
4. Transportation & service corridors	4.1 Roads & railroads	High		Construction of the Pan Borneo highway is increasing forest fragmentation and opening up forested areas for resource extraction (Tian Tong 2021).	Ongoing (2021)
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Present, but threat severity is unknown		Hunting pressure, either for meat or human-orangutan conflict situations (Simon et al. 2019).	Ongoing (2019)
	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	High		Timber extraction (Wich et al. 2008; Simon et al. 2019).	Ongoing (2019)
6. Human intrusion & disturbance		Unknown
7. Natural system modifications		Unknown
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases		Unknown
9. Pollution		Unknown
10. Geological Events		Absent
11. Climate change & severe weather	11.1 Habitat shifting & alteration	Present, but threat severity is unknown		Impacts of climate change are likely to reduce suitable orangutan habitat (Simon et al. 2019).	Ongoing (2019)
12. Other options	12.1 Other threat	High		Forest fragmentation is the main threat to orangutans in Sabah (SWD 2020).	Ongoing (2020)

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

Almost half of Sabah's landmass has been gazetted as Permanent Forest Reserve (PFR), which encompasses 3.54 million ha, of which 1.61 million ha are protected forests, and the remaining 1.93 million are production forests (Simon et al. 2019). In addition to the PFR, state parks, wildlife sanctuaries and conservation areas add another 0.27 million ha of protected forests (Simon et al. 2019). In 1998, with support from the Sabah Wildlife Department, HUTAN established the Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Programme (or KOCP) in the village of Sukau. The 2020-2029 Orangutan Action Plan for Sabah highlights the following objectives and actions to be implemented in the region: halting habitat loss and restore habitat, ensure better protection of orangutans (e.g., more effective law enforcement), ensure survival of orangutans in agricultural landscapes, improve ex-situ practises (e.g., rehabilitation of individuals), and monitor and predict population trends (SWD 2020).

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  Reforestation © HUTAN/KOCP
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  Reforestation team © HUTAN/KOCP
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  © HUTAN/KOCP

Table 4. Conservation activities in Sabah

Category	Specific activity	Description	Year of activity
1. Residential & commercial development	Not reported
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	Not reported
3. Energy production & mining	Not reported
4. Transportation & service corridors	4.2. Install rope or pole (canopy) bridges	HUTAN install orangutan bridges.	Ongoing (2021)
5. Biological resource use	5.16. Implement community control of patrolling, banning hunting and removing snares	In 2002, the Sabah Wildlife Department trained and appointed people from the Kinabatangan community to become “Honorary Wildlife Wardens” or HWWs. HWWs are civilians who are given the same legal powers as rangers from the Sabah Wildlife Department to conserve and manage the natural resources of the State and to apprehend offenders when necessary (HUTAN).	Ongoing (2021)
6. Human intrusion & disturbance	Not reported
7. Natural system modifications	Not reported
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases	Not reported
9. Pollution	Not reported
10. Education & Awareness	10.1. Educate local communities about primates and sustainable use	The Sabah Environmental Education Network (SEEN) is a network of people and NGOs working together to implement environmental education programmes and activities in Sabah (Sabah SEEN). The HUTAN Environmental and Awareness Program (HEAP) offers high-quality free environmental education programmes (sanctioned by the Sabah Education Department) to primary and secondary schools throughout Sabah (HUTAN).	Ongoing (2021)
11. Habitat Protection	11.2. Legally protect primate habitat	More than 80% of the current orangutan population in Sabah occurs in fully protected forests (HUTAN).	Ongoing
	11.7. Restore habitat corridors	Habitat restoration to link isolated populations (HUTAN).	Ongoing (2021)
12. Species Management	12.24. Rehabilitate injured/orphaned primates	Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre is located in Sabah. Established in 1964, the centre provides medical care for orphaned and confiscated orangutans.	Ongoing
13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives	Not reported
14. Other		Engagement of the private sector and their management of orangutans outside protected forests (HUTAN).	Ongoing (2021)
14. Other		HUTAN has created a training platform to enhance capacity for both government and non-government staff in such areas as biodiversity monitoring, management and protection, research methodologies, mapping and remote sensing, education and awareness techniques, and community engagement (HUTAN).	Ongoing (2021)

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

© HUTAN/KOCP

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Sabah

Challenge	Source
Not reported

Research activities

© HUTAN/KOCP

Research activities have been mainly focused on surveys and biomonitoring, studies on orangutan ecology in disturbed forest as well as agricultural landscapes, genetic studies, and in the past, rehabilitation/post release monitoring. Based on the results of the surveys undertaken by HUTAN and the Sabah Wildlife Department, the government increased the size of areas under protection in the state from about 12% of the land-mass in the early 2000s to 26% today. The ultimate goal of the government is to fully protect 30% of Sabah's land-mass. Currently, more than 80% of the current orang-utan population found in Sabah occurs in fully protected forests (HUTAN).

For a full list of research articles visit https://www.hutan.org.my/research-articles/

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Sabah

Behavior	Source
Not reported

External links

Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center
Hutan-Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Programme
HUTAN

Relevant datasets

A.P.E.S Portal

References

Ancrenaz M, Gimenez O, Ambu L, Ancrenaz K, Andau P, Goossens B, et al. (2005) Aerial Surveys Give New Estimates for Orangutans in Sabah, Malaysia. PLoS Biol 3(1): e3. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0030003
Buttler, R.A (29 June, 2020). Borneo. Mongabay. https://rainforests.mongabay.com/borneo/
Mannan, S., Lee, Y.F., Kugan, F., Ong, R.C. & Chung, A.Y.C. (2013). Wealth creation from biodiversity conservation: the Sabah way. Paper presented at the International Conference on Challenges of Extended Mega Urban Regions: the Challenging Face of South East Asia and the World. 19-21 November, 2013, Putrajaya, Malaysia.
Sabah Wildlife Department (2020). Orangutan Action Plan for Sabah 2020-2029. Kota Kibanalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
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
Tian Tong, S.L. (13 August, 2021). Highway cutting through Heart of Borneo poised to be ‘very, very bad’. Mongabay. Online: https://news.mongabay.com/2021/08/highway-cutting-through-heart-of-borneo-poised-to-be-very-very-bad/
Wich, S., Meijaard, E., Marshall, A., Husson, S., Ancrenaz, M., Lacy, R., . . . Singleton, I. (2008). Distribution and conservation status of the orang-utan (Pongo spp.) on Borneo and Sumatra: How many remain? Oryx, 42(3), 329-339. doi:10.1017/S003060530800197X

Page completed by: Marc Ancrenaz & A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date:08/12/2021