koompassia excelsa - photo by Darrin Wu

Taman Negara is a huge unexplored place by and large...and there are no roads at all...except a very small one. All travel is done on foot or canoe.. in one of the most pristine areas in the world. 

Primary forest along a road, which is a VERY rare sight here, the canopy height would be an estimates 40 meters.  All pics are from forest in and around Taman Negara. - photo by Darrin Wu

Forest in and around Taman Negara.- photo by Darrin Wu

There are many websites showing Taman Negara on the internet, but they have hardly any valuable info and are mostly tourism sites.

[Wilkepedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taman_Negara ]

Forest in and around Taman Negara.- photo by Darrin Wu

Forest in and around Taman Negara.- photo by Darrin Wu

It is truly one of the priceless gems of the world but needs continual long term interest from other citizens of the world. To date, only a tiger study by the University of Florida I believe, has been conducted there...It is the only large scale study to date...The scientist, Dr Kae Kawanishi is now working with the National Parks Dept to further study the tiger population there. Taman Negara is one of the last refuges for Sumatran Rhinos, elephants, tigers and practically any Malaysian animal!!

For your info and anyone concerned, there is another large block of primary rainforest up north of Peninsular Malaysia that is being logged by logging companies and there is a large scale campaign to get the place protected. The place is called Belum-Temengor and roughly 300,000 hectares, one of the last blocks left on Peninsular Malaysia. You can check out more info at http://mns.org.my Malaysian nature Society MNS Belum-Temengor Campaign 2006

I visited the area back in 1996, back then I saw Rafflesia flowers (the largest flower in the world), giant bamboos and a koompassia excelsa with 30-40 honeycombs hanging from the branches...the big tree was practically covered in honeycombs. My picture of it unfortunately is very fuzzy due to camera problems. I believe that particular area (Post Chiong) no longer exists, and has been logged out..

MNS is a local NGO and has successfully gotten a few areas protected, most notably the Endau Rompin state park...about 87,000 hectares.Perhaps you can post the issue of Belum-Temengor somewhere or forward this info somewhere...to whomever would have an interest or concern.

I understand rainforests all over the world are beseiged, but for tree lovers like us, its the Far East rainforests that are the richest and most magnificent to be found anywhere...in particular the dipterocarp forests of Malaysia and Borneo....the record holder for tree diversity is Lambir Hills in Sarawak, Malaysia with > 1500 species found in a 50 ha area.

I personally extend an invitation to you or whoever who wishes to come over here for a visit...:) There are way enough trees to study for a whole lifetime!

Regards,
Darrin

Old-growth pic no 1 shows primary forest along a road, which is a VERY rare sight here, the canopy height would be 40 meters I estimate, and there is a prime mover along the road. All pics are from forest in and around Taman Negara.