Imbak Canyon Conservation Area

Asia > Malaysia > Imbak Canyon Conservation Area

Summary

• 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

Area	300 km²
Coordinates	5.160605 N, 116.929972 E
Designation	Conservation Area
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical/tropical moist montane forest

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Imbak Canyon Conservation Area

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	2012				Imbak Canyon Conservation Area	Camera trapping	Bernard et al. 2013	1 individual captured by one camera trap photo
Pongo pygmaeus morio	2014-2017	24 (15-37)	0.18 (0.11-0.27)		Imbak Canyon (unlogged forest)	Aerial survey	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 in Imbak Canyon Conservation Area

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	Present, but threat severity unknown		Oil palm plantations in the surrounding areas (Bernard et al. 2013).	Ongoing (2013)
3. Energy production & mining		Unknown
4. Transportation & service corridors	4.1 Roads & railroads	Present, but threat severity unknown		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, but threat severity unknown		Hunting signs, including cartridges, abandoned camps, and photos of suspected hunters carrying firearms, recorded during a 2012 survey (Bernard et al. 2013).	Ongoing (2013)
	5.2 Gathering terrestrial plants	Present, but threat severity unknown		Tree resin collectors who stay in the area for months at a time likely hunt (Bernard et al. 2013).	Ongoing (2013)
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		Unknown
12. Other options		Absent

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

Table 4. Conservation activities in Imbak Canyon Conservation Area

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	Not reported
5. Biological resource use	Not reported
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	Not reported
11. Habitat Protection	Not reported
12. Species Management	Not reported
13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives	Not reported

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

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

Challenge	Source
Lack of law enforcement	Bernard et al. 2013

Research activities

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Imbak Canyon Conservation Area

Behavior	Source
Not reported

External links

Relevant datasets

A.P.E.S Portal

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.

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date:29/11/2021