Collaboration set at preserving flora, fauna of massive dam site

HUNDREDS of animals, some of which are listed as fully protected species, have been taken out from Murum hydroelectricity dam reservoir, which is currently under impoundment

Also saved from the Murum River are selected fish species especially those with high commercial value such as empurau, semah and tengadak, which are to be cultured as potential breeders.

Dam developer Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB) signed a collaboration with Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) a year ago to undertake massive wildlife monitoring and rescue operation (Wimor) in Murum, located in the upper Rajang Basin in central Sarawak.

According to SEB’s chief of corporate services Asiah Eden, a RM20mil allocation has been set aside to finance the two-year programme till the middle of next year.

Wimor is aimed at complying with the requirements stipulated by Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB), and with mitigating measures recommended by the consultant in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report on Murum dam development.

“Wimor is to manage biodiversity issues such as loss of habitat, fish migration barriers, loss of spawning grounds and habitat connectivity, losses or declines in important food chain species, loss of wetlands, poaching, hunting or over-exploitation of significant species,” she said during a special briefing on the programme’s progress for The Star recently.

Also present were SEB EIA Department’s senior manager Johari Atok, corporate services general manager Yusri Safri and corporate communications manager Ahadiah Zamhari.

Wimor activities focus on monitoring and rescuing the fauna and flora at various stages of the reservoir preparation, and relocating them into pre-assessed suitable sites.

Asiah said Wimor had three components — animals, flora and fish. The fish component was excluded in a similar but smaller scale fauna and flora rescue operation when the 2,400MW Bakun dam reservoir was impounded several years ago.

The Murum reservoir covers a surface area of 245km² in comparison with Bakun’s 695km².

SEB EIA senior executive Michael Tingang said during the dam’s impoundment, the Wimor teams monitored priority wildlife species stranded in temporary and tree islands.

They employed both active rescue (using tranquiliser gun, or catching) and passive rescue (setting up traps at the islands) methods to catch the animals.

Over a five-month period to February this year, he said 912 wildlife from 123 species had been rescued. These included big mammals (107 individuals from 16 species), squirrels (112 from six species), tree shrews (69 from six species) and rats (112 from 10 species).

Others were birds (356 from 59 species), reptiles (145 from 21 species) and amphibians (11 from five species).

The rescued mammals, according to SFC biologist Connie Geri, also include the rare and fully protected white crested hornbills (three individuals from two species), slow loris (two) and mousedeers.

“There is evidence of sun bear(s) inhabiting in Murum area but we have yet to track any,” she responded to a question.

Geri said none of the rescued wildlife was endemic to Murum, and that they were released in five locations where the habitats were similar to the areas where they were previously in.

On the number of wildlife rescued from Murum having exceeded those saved during the operations in Bakun dam, she said this could be due to larger wildlife population in Murum which had fewer longhouses.

On the Murum resettlement, SEB relocated 1,450 villagers comprising 353 families versus some 10,000 villagers from 1,640 families in Bakun who were relocated to Sungai Asap in Kapit Division.

As the water level at Murum reservoir is rising faster than anticipated due to good rainfall, the Wimor teams — comprising 116 ground staff members from SFC and a similar number of the locals — are racing against time to save more wildlife animals.

The water level reached 515m — the minimum operating level for the turbines to generate electricity — a week ago, which was several months ahead of scheduled.

“Another 25 temporary islands will be submerged as the level reaches the maximum 520m above sea level,” said Geri, adding that the rescue operations proceeded from one island to another and that rescuers were also searching for ground birds.

One of the major concerns is poaching activities involving locals.

Tingang said under the fish monitoring and rescue exercise, some 4,450 specimens and 47 species had been collected.

Some 15 highly-prized varieties namely empurau, semah and tengadak, were caught from the Murum river where the dam is located, and brought to Tarat Agriculture Station in Kuching.

Also sent to Tarat station were 20 empurau and 113 semah juveniles.

These species (except empurau) will be cultured as breeders and once ready, they will be injected with hormones to stimulate egg production.

“The produced fry will later be distributed to interested villagers for fish culture,” added Tingang.

After the impoundment, some downstream rivers from the Murum dam had become unnavigable by boats — one could see the rocky riverbeds.

On the flora component, Tingang said the scope of operations covered assessment and documentation of plants diversity in the Murum-Pileran-Danum area, as well as collection of native plant species and raising them in nursery for later replanting.

The programme is to support Sarawak’s biodiversity conservation efforts.

The Wimor teams have so far collected 3,066 individuals from 18 species of trees, and 1,534 individuals representing 200 species of non-trees. The rare and/or endemic species include Epigeneium speculum, Dendrochilum rufum and Geesinkorchis sp.

Wild beauty: The Epigeneium speculum.

SFC botanist Julia Sung said a lot of orchid species were gathered, adding that some of them were endemic to Sarawak.

On the challenges faced by Wimor teams, she said a major concern was safety as Murum area was malaria-prone one.

Sung said one of the team members was struck by the fever and had to be admitted to the hospital intensive care unit.