Reserve)

IUCN Management Category I (Strict Nature Reserve)

Biogeographical Province 4.25.13 (Borneo)

Geographical Location The property is located in north-west Kalimantan, close to the international border with Sarawak. It lies across three administrative districts of Sambas, Pontianak, and Sanggau within the province of Kalimantan Barat (West Kalimantan). Access to the western boundary is by road from Pontianak via Sanngau Ledo, some 15km from the reserve, to Damar. Air access is also possible from Serukam to mission airfields in the centre of the reserve (Bentiang, Tengon and Sungkung). The town of Serimbu, on the eastern boundary, can be reached from Pontianak by road in the dry season, or along the Landak River in the wet season. 0°43'-1°05'N, 109°49'-110°21'E

Date and History of Establishment Originally established as the 140,000ha Gunung Niut/Penrisen Nature Reserve in July 1982 under Ministerial Decree No. 524/Kpts/Um/7/1982. Some 30,000ha around Gunung Penrisen were subsequently excised from the reserve under Decree No. 757/Kpts/Um/10/1982, and the boundaries revised to include the Gunung Becapa massif.

Area 110,000ha

Land Tenure State

Altitude Ranges from approximately 100m to 1,683m at the summit of Gunung Nuit.

Physical Features The reserve comprises a series of low mountains and hills, surrounded by lowlands in the west, south and east, and mountains in the north. Topography is steep and incised by numerous streams which ultimately form the headwaters of the Sambas, Landak and Sekayam rivers. Geologically, the mountains and hills are composed of medium to coarse-grained Tertiary arkose sandstones and clays that together comprise several 'cuesta' geomorphological units. These are characterised by a relatively gentle sloping summit with one or more steeply sloping flanks, as exemplified on Gunung Serang, Gunung Bayang and Gunung Sekayu. In addition, a number of post-Paleocene hornblende andesitic intrusions occur as eroded remnant volcanoes such as Gunung Nuit, Gunung Semedun and Gunung Setawi. During the Quaternary, these volcanoes were active and laid down sheets of basalt in the lower plains to the west and in a valley between two escarpments south-east of Gunung Nuit. Some six major soil groups can be distinguished, ranging from fine textured and well-drained latosols over basalt, which are suitable for agriculture, to shallow peaty soils on the higher ridges and summits (Simons, 1987).

Climate The region experiences a per humid tropical climate with a mean monthly rainfall of over 100mm. Mean annual rainfall varies between 2800mm and 4000mm and is determined by differences in altitude and aspect. A relatively drier period occurs between May and September. Mean annual temperature is estimated to be approximately 23°C (Simons, 1987).

Vegetation All primary vegetation in the reserve is tropical rain forest, of which five different sub-types occur. Of these, lowland rain forest, dominated by Dipterocarpaceae, forms the principal vegetation unit below 750m, with the richest association occurring on the gentle terrain of the western side of the reserve on well-drained latosol soils. The forest is characterised by an undulating canopy of between 30m and 40m in height, with occasional emergents reaching 60m, and is dominated by tree species such as Shorea laevifolia, S. palembanica, Dryobalanops fusca, Diallium indum, Dyera lowii, Scorodocarpus borneensis and the important commercial species Eusideroxylon zwageri. The understorey is relatively open and dominated by rattan Calamus spp. and scattered herbs. On the steeper slopes of the sandstone cuestas, a more open lowland dipterocarp forest occurs. Dominant species are Shorea spp. such as S. gibbosa, as well as Santiria rubiginosa, Durio carinatus, Hopea sp. and Ficus spp. Above 750m, lowland rain forest begins a transition to lower montane rain forest. This is characterised by a main canopy between 20m and 30m with lower emergents up to 40m in height. The floral association includes families such as Fagaceae as well as notable species such as damar Agathis borneensis, which is commercially important as a source of aromatic resin. Other characteristic tree species include Castanopsis sp., Quercus sp., Litsea sp., Calophyllum spp. and Shorea palembanica. Numerous orchids and epiphytes also occur, as well as Rafflesia sp. Above 1,450m on the main massif, a rapid transition occurs to upper montane rain forest, which is characterised by a lower (15m), more even canopy with few, or no emergents, and extensive bryophyte growth on trees and on the ground. On smaller, isolated mountains, such as Gunung Semedum, this transition occurs at an altitude of around 950m. The forest is characterised by slender, gnarled trees with microphyll leaves, and the abundance of tree families such as Myrtaceae and Rubiaceae. These replace Dipterocarpaceae, Bombacaceae and Anacardiaceae on the higher slopes and include such species as Eugenia sp., Lithocarpus spp., Castanopsis borneensis, C. psilophylla and Dacrydium sp. Other notable plants of the upper montane forest are numerous orchids and pitcher plants Nepenthes spp. A tropical heath forest (kerangas) occurs on the highly leached podzol soils of the lowland and lower montane zone. Dominant tree species include Dacrydium sp., Tristania obovata, Calophyllum sp. and Lithocarpus spp. This forest type is characterised by a low species diversity, a dense, even canopy between 25m and 30m in height and no emergents. Notable climbing species include pitcher plants Nepenthes spp., which are characteristic of the nutrient-poor substrate. Understorey species include palms and pandans. Other forest types include small patches of swamp forest and riparian forest along the numerous rivers and streams that flow from the massif. Characteristic species along the faster flowing rivers include Tristania obovata, Pometia pinnata, Podocarpus parvifolia, Schoutenia sp., Ixora sp., and Ficus sp. (Simons, 1987).

Fauna A diverse mammalian fauna is present, including primates such as orang-utan Pongo pygmaeus (E), Bornean gibbon Hylobates muelleri, maroon langur Presbytis rubicunda, banded langur P. melalophos, pig-tailed macaque Macaca nemestrina, crab-eating macaque M. fascicularis, slow loris Nycticebus coucang and western tarsier Tarsius bancanus. Other notable species include carnivores such as sun bear Helarctos malayanus (V), clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa (V) and marbled cat Felis marmorata (I), and ungulates such as Bornean yellow muntjac Muntiacus atherodes, red muntjac Muntiacus muntjak, bearded pig Sus barbatus, sambar Cervus unicolor, lesser mouse deer Tragulus javanicus and greater mouse deer T. napu. The ungulate populations, however, are low due to excessive hunting, and are probably well below the carrying capacity of the environment. Other mammals include rodents such as giant squirrel Ratufa affinis, Prevost's squirrel Callosciurus prevostii, black-eared pygmy squirrel Nannosciurus melanotis and plain pygmy squirrel Exilisciurus exilis, as well as numerous bats.

Some 125 species of avifauna have been recorded from the reserve although the list is incomplete. Of the eight Bornean species of hornbill, six occur within the reserve, namely; rhinoceros hornbill Buceros rhinoceros, helmeted hornbill Rhinoplax virgil (K), bushy-crested hornbill Annorrhinus galeritus, black hornbill Anthracoceros malayanus, wreathed hornbill Rhyticeros undulatus and wrinkled hornbill Aceros corrugatus (R). The reserve also contains a number of Bornean montane endemics such as black-throated barbet Megalaima eximia, mountain barbet M. eximia monticola, black-breasted triller Chlamydochaere tafferyi and mountain black-eye Chlorocharis emiliae. Other notable species include Argus pheasant Argusianus argus (Simons, 1987). A faunal inventory can be found in Simons (1987) and Prieme and Heegaard (1987).

Cultural Heritage The local population is predominantly of Dayak ethnic origin, although a number of Malay settlers live along the region's large rivers. Transmigration settlers are mainly of Javanese origin (Simons, 1987).

Local Human Population There are numerous settlements adjacent to the reserve, with a population totalling 10,000. These include transmigration sites to the west and east, with the eastern site, near Sungai Dangin, partly overlapping with the reserve. Some 5,500 people are located within the reserve itself in two enclaves in an area near the eastern boundary. Land use is predominantly long fallow shifting cultivation supplemented by hunting, fishing and collection of forest products (Simons, 1987).

Visitors and Visitor Facilities There are no visitor facilities.

Scientific Research and Facilities Flora, fauna and socio-economic studies have been carried out by Simons (1987) and ornithological studies by Prieme and Heegaard (1987).

Conservation Value As one of the remaining areas of primary rain forest in West Kalimantan province, Gunung Nuit is of great importance for the conservation of biological diversity. In addition, the reserve provides water catchment protection for surrounding agricultural land and forms the basis of the local subsistence economy (Simons, 1987).

Conservation Management Principal objectives, as stated in the management plan, are to maintain water catchment functions and preserve biodiversity, in particular, focusing on species such as the orang-utan. These aims are to be achieved via a zoning strategy that makes provision for human use of the reserve by the development of a surrounding buffer zone and intensive use zones to accommodate agricultural development. It is recommended that agricultural development strategies, based upon permanent cultivation systems and cash cropping, be introduced in these areas to reduce pressure on the forest. Other zones include a restricted use zone, which would accommodate limited human activities such as hunting, fishing and collection of forest products, and sanctuary zones which would form strictly protected core areas in which all forms of land use would be excluded except for guard patrols and research. Other management recommendations include establishment of an administrative infrastructure and facilities such as headquarters, prevention of commercial logging in the eastern part of the reserve, demarcation of boundaries, establishment of an environmental awareness campaign in adjacent areas and regular patrolling and control of human activities such as hunting and fishing. It is further recommended that some 4,000 people presently living in the village enclaves be resettled, on condition that an acceptable alternative site be found. The above recommendations, of which continuing land use is an integral part, may be incompatible with the current status of Cagar Alam, and thus a designation of national park may be more appropriate (Simons, 1987). There is no effective PHPA presence or management within the reserve as yet (MacKinnon, 1988).

Management Constraints Principal management problems are ladang (shifting agriculture) encroachment, logging, mining, hunting and a transmigration scheme which overlaps the eastern part of the reserve. The reserve is split into three blocks by agricultural activities which are expanding at a rate of about 400ha annually. Some 10% of the reserve has already been lost to agriculture (MacKinnon, 1988). According to Simons (1987), lack of budget and manpower for PHPA in West Kalimantan, a lack of communication with local authorities and communities, and confusion over boundaries have exacerbated the management problems considerably. In view of the seriousness of the managment problems, the property was added to the IUCN/CNPPA list of threatened protected areas in 1987.

Staff One guard, based at Sanggau Ledo

Budget No information

Local Addresses

No information

References

MacKinnon, K. (1988). Consultant's report of biodiversity specialist, for USAID PID mission: natural resource management in Kalimantan. Unpublished.

Prieme, A. and Heegaard, M. (1987). A visit to Gunung Niut in west Kalimantan. Kukila 3(3-4): 138-141.

Simons, H. (1987). Gunung Niut Nature Reserve, proposed management plan. WWF-Indonesia, Bogor. 42 pp.

Date May 1991