The Pin-Supu Forest Reserve (PSFR) is a key conservation area in Sabah’s Lower Kinabatangan Floodplain, playing a crucial role in maintaining the region’s forest corridor. Covering 4,620.44 hectares, it is one of Sabah’s largest floodplain forest reserves and is located in the Kinabatangan District, in the eastern part of the state. The reserve is strategically positioned between the Estuarine Ramsar Wetlands (160 km east) and the Deramakot and Malua Forest Reserves (130 km west).
PSFR consists of three blocks (A, B, and C), separated by the Sandakan-Lahad Datu Highway. It is bordered by Batu Puteh, a community of four villages, and is designated as a Virgin Jungle Reserve, supporting research, conservation, and seed production.
Recognized for its High Conservation Value (HCV), PSFR features a diverse range of lowland forest ecosystems, seven oxbow lakes, and over 20 limestone caves. It is home to Borneo’s rich lowland wildlife, including many vulnerable and endangered species.
Historically, PSFR was classified as a Class II commercial forest before being re-gazetted as a Class VI protected area in 1984. However, it experienced significant degradation due to forest fires (1983 and 1998) and illegal logging in the 1990s.
Notably, PSFR hosts Sabah’s longest-running Community Forestry and Eco-Tourism Program, a 22-year partnership between the Sabah Forestry Department and the Batu Puteh community cooperative, KOPEL Bhd.
Conservation
1. Natural Forest:
A forest cover analysis was conducted in 2023 to assess the changes since 2008. Over the past 15 years, forest expansion has shown an apparent upward trend in dryland (30 ha) and swampland (267 ha). For wildlife, this is a desirable result as the main habitat (dryland and swamp combined) is maintained above 70% with slight increase (74.8% in 2023 compared to 70.4% in 2008). Results of this assessment is presented in the Report: Monitoring of Forest Changes in Pin Supu Sustainable Forest Management Project Area (2023).
2. Plant Diversity:
The Average Alpha Diversity for the latest survey year (2023) remains consistent with the 2015 baseline, maintaining a score of 4. Observations indicate no downward trend in diversity (Table 4, Report on the Monitoring and Evaluation of Plant Diversity in Pin Supu Forest Reserve, October 2024). The current Average Alpha Diversity Index score of 4 is classified as “Good,” aligning with the desired status of “Good” to “Very Good.”
The threshold for plant diversity is established based on nine years of observations of trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) of 10 cm or more in permanent sampling plots across three different forest types: mixed dipterocarp forest, seasonal freshwater swamp forest, and freshwater swamp forest, with one plot located near a riparian area. To determine the scoring, the average DBH is calculated for each plot over the nine years. The findings are then categorized into five status levels Five threshold categories (Very good =5, Good=4, Fair=3, Poor=2 and Very poor=1) represent the potential range of the indices. The categorization is derived from relative comparisons of historical datasets for each forest type in PSFR. This culmination of the overall threshold of plant diversity indexes would indicate plant diversity conservation outcome status. This method provides a standardized way to assess forest health and long-term changes in tree growth and diversity.
3. Wildlife Annual monitoring by KOPEL typically captures only a fraction of wildlife known to be present in PSFR (36 species of mammal and 96 species of birds, FMP, Appendix V page 190-194) using the camera trapping method. On average, from 2018 to 2022 (Environmental Monitoring Reports 2018-2022), about 20 species of mammals and 5 birds were identified annually from the monitoring results. It is acknowledged that consistency of methodology (sampling effort, number of camera traps, locations of camera traps) of the monitoring needs to be improved and these alone are not representative of the overall diversity in PSFR. The 5-year monitoring (2018-2022) results, however, suggest that the diversity of wildlife caught on camera is consistent. Key RTE species, orang utan (Pongo pygmaeus) and proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) are present every year from 2018 to 2022. Drawing from the consistent albeit limited data, the protection level of wildlife in PSFR can be generally considered within the desirable range. The KOPEL Environmental Monitoring Team strives to improve the current methodology with more sampling effort and more equipment (camera trap) and establishment of permanent sampling transects.
Good governance
1. Co-management of protected area (Community-Government) ensured that the area is well protected whilst benefitting the local community.
2. Stakeholder engagement maintains compliance to prevent any encroachment or threats such as fire into the forest reserve
boundary.
Community benefits
1. Improving the living standards of the surrounding community through local job opportunities. Post COVID, the cooperative recovered well, resulting to increased income in 2022 (64% increase) compared to 2021 income.
2. The establishment of KOPEL, a community cooperative near the Pin Supu Forest Reserve, Kinabatangan ensures that local communities and their leaderships are nurtured with strong capacity for business, finance, social and ecotourism management skills.
3. The local community have stepped up to protect the cultural practice of bird nest collecting by setting up patrol and bird nest inventory. The once-declining stock is now recovering due to this effort and KOPEL is complying with the guideline of sustainable bird nest harvesting in Sabah.
The Pin-Supu Forest Reserve (PSFR) is a key conservation area in Sabah’s Lower Kinabatangan Floodplain, playing a crucial role in maintaining the region’s forest corridor. Covering 4,620.44 hectares, it is one of Sabah’s largest floodplain forest reserves and is located in the Kinabatangan District, in the eastern part of the state. The reserve is strategically positioned between the Estuarine Ramsar Wetlands (160 km east) and the Deramakot and Malua Forest Reserves (130 km west). PSFR consists of three blocks (A, B, and C), separated by the Sandakan-Lahad Datu Highway. It is bordered by Batu Puteh, a community of four villages, and is designated as a Virgin Jungle Reserve, supporting research, conservation, and seed production.
Recognized for its High Conservation Value (HCV), PSFR features a diverse range of lowland forest ecosystems, seven oxbow lakes, and over 20 limestone caves. It is home to Borneo’s rich lowland wildlife, including many vulnerable and endangered species. Historically, PSFR was classified as a Class II commercial forest before being re-gazetted as a Class VI protected area in 1984. However, it experienced significant degradation due to forest fires (1983 and 1998) and illegal logging in the 1990s. Notably, PSFR hosts Sabah’s longest-running Community Forestry and Eco-Tourism Program, a 22-year partnership between the Sabah Forestry Department and the Batu Puteh community cooperative, KOPEL Bhd.
The EAGLs have reached a consensus and recommend the Pin-Supu Forest Reserve (PSFR) for Green Listing. The site visit and detailed review of PSFR materials verified that all the adapted indicators were fully met or satisfactorily achieved. The PSFR has a unique management system as it is co-managed by the Sabah Forestry Department and Koperasi Pelancongan Mukim Batu Puteh Kinabatangan (KOPEL Bhd.), a local community tourism cooperative. The cooperative comprises locals from four nearby villages (kampung in Malay) of Kampung Batu Puteh, Kampung Perpaduan, Kampung Mengaris, and Kampung Sentosa Jaya. This is rarely done in other forest reserves and protected area management in Malaysia. It is also one of the most successful community-based conservation models in Malaysia that inspired many other communities and encouraged innovative forest management through the empowerment of local communities. This is evident through the awards that KOPEL won; the Model Ecologically Sustainable Community Conservation and Tourism (MESCOT) initiative by KOPEL received international recognition when they won the Equator Prize in 2004. In addition, their efforts have also earned them the Best Tourism Villages award by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation in 2021. KOPEL and Sabah Forestry Department partnership is strengthened by a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) that outlines the roles, responsibilities, and rights of each party.
The governance structure is clearly defined, with local communities directly involved in managing the site through KOPEL, supported by the Kinabatangan Forestry District Office. Additionally, PSFR maintains a website that offers transparency by providing information and details on the management of the site to the public. Although small in size, PSFR plays a crucial role in maintaining connectivity within the Lower Kinabatangan landscape, which is vital for preserving the region’s biodiversity in Sabah’s forested landscape. It is located within the core zone of the proposed Kinabatangan Man and Biosphere Reserve, which the Sabah state government is working towards. The site is rich in biodiversity, with various forest types such as Mixed Dipterocarp, Freshwater Swamp, Seasonal Freshwater Swamp, and Peatswamp.
The site is unique as it features 7 oxbow lakes and 11 limestone caves. PSFR is home to 151 taxa and 36 mammal species, including endangered species like orangutans and Bornean elephants. Conservation efforts have been bolstered by addressing fire risks and working closely with local communities to prevent encroachment and hunting. PSFR currently operates under a 10-year management plan with clear strategies aimed at mitigating threats to the reserve, particularly through its collaboration with KOPEL. These strategies focus on managing PSFR sustainably as well as enhancing the social and economic conditions of local communities through ecotourism and conservation activities . To protect the site, visitor access is carefully controlled with briefings, signages, and mandatory guide accompaniment in the forest. Management has also implemented a composting and recycling program to address waste disposal, enforcing strict waste management protocols at its guest accommodation, with no burning or littering allowed. Additionally, threshold levels for the site’s natural values have been established to monitor and assess conservation success effectively, ensuring the continued preservation of this important ecological area.
The EAGL provides the following recommendations above PSFR’s performance given emerging trends and external influences:
1. To provide a more robust enforcement monitoring system in place, with up-to-date documentation and evidence of implementation.
2. To strengthen the wildlife monitoring system with improved methodology ensuring quantifiable monitoring and evaluation of effective management. Additionally, the threshold determination should be aligned with the strengthened monitoring system and improved methodology.
3. To revisit the cultural value of bird nest collection (specifically on the standard operating practices and bird nest harvested) once the memorandum of understanding is signed with the Sabah Wildlife Department. This encompasses the value related to the threshold determination and its performance measure.
