Tawai Forest Reserve

The Forest Reserve (FR) is located in the Telupid District, just south of Telupid town and approximately 138 km west from Sandakan town. Its northern boundary is close to the Sandakan-Telupid Highway, thus the reserve is very accessible from Telupid. It is also accessible from nearby Kg Entelebon and Kg Minusoh in the west. 

The network of roads in the adjacent oil palm plantations (mainly Mayvin Estate, Agoco Estate and Perdana Estate) also lead to the eastern boundary of the FR. 

Latitude/Longitude:   5° 39.313’N- 5° 29.318’N, 117° 13.109’E-117° 3.543’E

Two forest checking stations were established at Bukit Tangkunan and an ex-sawmill site, Laju Cahaya Sdn Bhd. A forest fire observation tower (about 7 m high) and a Tuaty Memorial Gallery  were built by Sabah Forestry Department at Tangkunan Hill. There are also three communication towers built by Telekom Malaysia and Celcom in this hill. 

Several structures were built by the Forestry Department within the recreational facilities at the Tawai Rainforest Camp, such as chalets  (2 units), huts (7 units), toilets, hall and ticketing counter.  At Tawai Falls, one hut was erected.

A water intake station was built by Sabah Water department to source out water for Telupid municipal water treatment plant at Malio river.

Creations – Tawai FR was first gazetted in 1972. It was later re-gazetted as Class I in 1984.

Management responsibility – Telupid District Forestry Office

Boundary matters – The boundary demarcated in 2002

Management plan – Telupid Complex Conservation Area Management Plan

Current Use – Protection and Recreation

Settlements and other buildings approximately 2 km from the boundary:

• Kg. Bauto
• Kg. Gambaran
• Kg. Maliau
• Kg. Gading
• Kg. Telupid
• Kg. Entilibon
• Kg. Kaling

The FR is surrounded by private land which are mostly utilised for agricultural purposes and settlements. Except for the southern boundary which is commonly shared with Sungai Talibu FR (Class I).

Topography

Figure 1: Topography and drainange map of Tawai FR

Much of Tawai FR is mountainous, with predominantly steep slopes more than 25°. The flatter areas are close to the northern and eastern boundaries (Ruku Ruku Valley). Mt. Tawai (1,273 m), the highest peak in the Tawai Range, is situated in the southwest of the FR.

Hydrology 

River tributaries: 

• Meliau river
• Mailo river
• Ruku-ruku river

Generally, the FR is well-drained. The Meliau River and its tributaries drains most of the southwest and flows into the Karamuak River. The Mailo River drains the northern parts and flows north into the Labuk River where Telupid municipal water treatment plants obtain their water source. The Ruku Ruku River drains the north-eastern parts and flows south into the Lokan River. The Kun Kun River drains the south-eastern parts and drains into the Tangkulap Besar River. Both the Karamuak and the Tangkulap Besar Rivers flows into the Kinabatangan River in the south.

Soils

Mostly Bidu-bidu soil associations, others include Binalik, Lokan, Tapang, Karamuak, Brantian, Dalit, Tawai, Mentapok, Tuaran and Kepayan.

Meteorological data

See Telupid rainfall data.

There are three major forest formations in the reserve, namely Ultramafic, Mixed Dipterocarp and Kerangas Forest. The Ultramafic forest has the largest extent covering lowland, upland to montane vegetation zonation. About 75% of the forest cover in the reserve is still considered as climax or old growth forest, whereas the remaining are various secondary vegetation that was affected by anthropogenic disturbances such as timber extraction, forest fire and built-up area.

Flora

The forest type of this FR is largely upland ultramafic forest. A total of 1053 plant taxa were recorded from the reserve. The ten most specious families are: Rubiaceae (79), Euphorbiaceae (72), Orchidaceae (65), Annonaceae (37), Dipterocarpaceae (33), Myrtaceae (32), Lauraceae (31), Guttiferae (30), Leguminoceae (30) and Anacardiaceae (27). Of which 98 are endemics to Borneo, 35 endemics to Sabah and 5 endemics to Tawai.

Threatened species under IUCN Red List:

• • 49 species

Taxa under Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997: –

Schedule 2, part II – (i) 73 species

Species listed under Appendix II CITES: 

• • 79 species

Prohibited Species Under Sabah Forest Enactment 1968: 

• • 32 species

Avian

No available report

Insect

A total of 91 taxa were recorded from the light-trap method. At least eight Bornean endemic species were recorded.

• • (i) Butterfly – 24 species
  • (ii) Moth – 31 species
  • (iii) Beetle – 22 species
  • (iv) Dragonfly and Damselfly – 11 species

Mammals

A total of 26 mammals’ species were recorded from this FR. There are at least five species listed as threatened under IUCN Red List.

Taxa under Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997: –

Schedule 1 – 3 species

Schedule 2 – 7 species

Schedule 3 – 2 species

• Multidisciplinary studies were conducted during Heart of Borneo Expedition (HoB), by Sabah Forestry Department in 2008.
• Tawai Botanical Expedition funded by ‘Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak Project, Sabah Forestry Department in 1994.

Fire—The FR was badly affected by fires in 1983 and 1998. The most affected areas were the forests adjacent to settlements and oil palms estates. These areas are now covered with various Macaranga species. In 1998, an area adjacent to FR boundary was cleared using fire for agricultural purposes.  The fire destroyed a large area of forests after it spread into the FR.

Encroachment—Evidence of earlier encroachment and illegal felling of trees are still visible using satellite images that can be traced back to the year 2000. Currently, this incidence is rather negligible.

This FR is a very important area for the conservation of ultramafic flora, apart from Bidu Bidu FR. The forest is generally smaller in stature than other forests growing on non-marginal soils. It contains significantly rare and endemic plants to the region of Borneo. 

Tawai FR is in the initial stage to be developed as a major nature tourism destination between Mt Kinabalu and Sandakan. Several special attributes that support nature recreation are the presence of clear river water, natural old growth forests, nature trail to hills and Mt Tawai and also the second highest waterfall in Sabah, the Tawai Waterfall. Tawai Rainforest Camp is one of the main nature tourism destinations in Telupid. It provides an area for recreation, with limited accommodation located on the north-western side of the reserve. They also offer a jungle trekking experience to the Tawai waterfall. The Meliau River drains the Tawai Plateau in the north and descends by the spectacular Tawai Waterfall over the sheer northern edge. The  hike to the peak of Mt Tawai takes about 5 hours from the base of Sg. Meliau (5°30’39”N; 117°03’28”E). The changes in vegetation as one hikes to the cooler environment near the summit is very phenomenal. The view from the summit is breathtaking.