I - ECOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHY

There are six types of forest defined according to the nature of the soil :

- The mangrove forests on the western coasts, with Nipah palms (Nipa fruticans, provides a sweet sap and roofing material) and Nibong (Oncosperma tigillarium, rot-proof and therefore used to make stakes for the fisheries).

- The beach forests on the eastern coasts with fruit trees and trees used for construction and firewood.

- The fresh water swamp forests, today mostly converted into fields of wet rice; Melaleuca leucadendron predominates (firewood, bark for caulking boats) together with many different species used for construction.

- Low-altitude tropical rainforest (up to 850m) covers 60% of the peninsula. It contains a rich flora : 8000 flowering plants, and at least 2500 tree species. It is the forest under greatest threat of being destroyed by the colonization of agricultural pioneer frontiers and by the implantation of tin mines. This is where most of the Orang Asli live.

It is from this forest that are extracted those products which have been part of an international trade network for hundreds if not thousands of years : various ginger plants, camphor (Dryobalanops aromatica), aloes wood (Aquillaria malaccensis), many species used for elaborate construction work and marquetry, different damar (hard resins and oleo-resins) and rattan (Calamus, over 100 species).

- Mid-altitude tropical rainforest (between 800m and 1500m) covers 10% of the peninsula ; it is a forest dominated by Dipterocarpaceae ; it provides damar (Agathis alba), a precious resin exported for centuries throughout South-East Asia for laquering, and used until recently in the manufacture of paints and varnishes.

- Mountain tropical forest (above 1500m) : oaks, Lauraceae (cinnamon and camphor), rattan.

- Secondary forest is called belukar in Malay

The whole peninsula is under uniformly equatorial temperatures and there is abundant rainfall with great seasonal variation in level of precipitations, particularly on the coast. The rains sometimes limit the possibilities of agriculture and provoke landslides. A forest policy is therefore necessary.

In the 1960s, the forest covered 36 590 square miles, 12 710 of which were forest.reserves under the control of the Forest Department. One third of these forest reserves are above 300m and remain unproductive. Their essential role is to protect and maintain the river headwaters and the slopes of the river basins, to stop the erosion of the riverbeds and prevent them from drying up and silting.

Forest conservation is therefore directly related to the regularity of streams and rivers, the freshwater supply and fishing potential.

Recently (november 91), with increased deforestation, the role of the forest in maintaining adequate water supplies became crucial; there was a strong reaction against the forest clearing projects, and it seems that they have come to a halt in Melaka State and elsewhere since november 92, though much illegal timber harvesting continues.

The Forest Department is developing the remaining two thirds of the forest reserves for the extraction of forest products necessary to the local area (timber for construction, firewood, poles, charcoal) but does not set up plantations of coconut palm and hevea. The plantations are in the hands of the state government or planters. Timber production is difficult because the different tree species are scattered throughout the forest. Despite these difficulties the number of sawmills is increasing, most of them owned by Chinese though the nominal directors also include Malays.