PLACES OF INTEREST IN TAWAU > Danum Valley Field Centre
Danum Valley Field Centre
INTRODUCTION
Danum Valley Field Centre provides facilities for research, education and
wilderness recreation in one of Sabah's last strongholds of undisturbed lowland
rainforest, the 438 sq km Danum Valley Conservation Area.
Sited beside the Segama River, which forms the boundary of the Conservation
Area, the Centre is located 81 km west of La had Datu and several km from any
other habitation, a truly remote setting. Research efforts have revealed a
tremendous variety of plants and a full range of Sabah's lowland fauna,
including such rare and endangered species as the Sumatran rhino, banteng
(tembadau), Asian elephant, clouded leopard, orang utan and proboscis monkey.
Bird life is equally varied with over 300 species recorded to date in the area.
The Field Centre is run by the Sabah Foundation (Yayasan Sabah Group) under the
aegis of a Management Committee which includes the Sabah Forestry Department,
the Sabah Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Universiti Malaysia
Sabah and several other agencies with interests in forest research and
conservation.
More about Sabah Foundation (Yayasan Sabah Group)
Danum Valley Conservation Area
ACCOMMODATION AND MEALS
Languages Spoken:
English
Bahasa Malaysia
The Centre is run principally for use by scientists and participants in
organized courses and seminars. However, other visitors interested in nature
recreation are welcome, especially those participating in environmental
education programmes.
Visitors must book their visit to the Field Centre either at the Research &
Development Division, Yayasan Sabah Group, Tun Mustapha Tower, Kota Kinabalu or
through the Regional Office in Lahad Datu. On arrival at the Field Centre,
visitors must register at the Reception, Information & Shop Building.
Accommodation is available in two VIP rooms, seven-bedroom and four-bedroom rest
houses and two 48-bed hostel blocks. The VIP rooms and rest house rooms have two
or three beds each and attached bathrooms. Bedding and towels are provided. A
nearby campground is also available with water and electricity, for self
catering visitors.
Guests at the VIP rooms, rest houses and hostel are eligible to order meals from
the Centre's kitchen. Meals are served at approximately the following times:-
Breakfast : 7.00am - 8.00am
Lunch : 12.00 noon - 1.00pm
Dinner : 7.15pm - 8.00pm
Packed lunches can be provided if ordered one day in advance. Coffee and tea are
available free of charge in the dining hall area for residents paying full board
only. Drinking water is available in the dining area free of charge.
HOW TO GET THERE
The nearest town to Danum Valley Field Centre is Lahad Datu on the south east
coast of Sabah, which is served daily by Malaysia Airlines. The 81 km drive from
Lahad Datu to Danum Valley Field Centre takes about two hours, the first 15 km
of which are along the main Lahad Datu to Tawau highway and the remainder on a
well-maintained Yayasan Sabah Group logging road. Main Line West.
If you drive your own vehicle, you must first obtain a gate pass from the Lahad
Datu office. The pass must be produced at the checkpoint at KM 5.5 on the Main
Line West Logging road. Follow this road to a major junction at KM 56.5 where
there is a sign-posted left turn to the Field Centre 10 km onwards. Be warned
that 70-ton logging trucks use the road, so drive slowly and carefully.
On arrival at Danum Valley Field Centre, all visitors must register in the
Reception, Information & Shop Building.
Please note that firearms and hunting are absolutely forbidden anywhere in Danum
Valley Conservation Area or Yayasan Sabah Concession Area.
FACILITIES
Danum Valley Field Centre has a wide range of facilities besides visitor
accommodation, such as scientists' quarters, laboratories, library, computer
room (with 'broadband' services), conference room, environmental education
building with classroom, theatre and display areas, multi purpose hall,
badminton and basketball courts, public telephone, research plots and over 50
kilometers of marked trails, including a self-guided nature trail. Electricity
is available from 7.30 am-11.00pm.
Reduced Impact Logging (RIL)
The Reduced Impact Logging (RIL) Project is a joint project between Innoprise
Corporation Sdn Bhd and New England Power (NEP) of USA. The first phase of the
project that commenced in 1992 covered 450 ha of Ulu Segama Commercial Forest
Reserve near Danum Valley.
The objective of the RIL Project is to reduce the damage caused by logging to
the soil surface and residual trees by 50% in comparison to conventional logging
methods. This objective is achieved through a series of appropriate
preoperational planning and harvesting activities as stated in the RIL
Guidelines.
INFAPRO
The INFAPRO Project is a collaborative project between Innoprise Corporation Sdn
Bhd and the Forests Absorbing Carbon Dioxide Emissions (FACE) Foundation of the
Netherlands. It was established in 1992 to promote the rehabilitation of forests
to absorb CO; from the atmosphere.
The project involves large-scale enrichment planting of dipterocarps in logged
over rain forest, as well as tending of naturally regenerating dipterocarp
seedlings, other commercial timber species and forest fruit trees. The aim of
the project is to rehabilitate 25,000 hectares of logged-over forest in Sabah
over 25 years, by enrichment planting using indigenous tree species and
liberation of natural regeneration.
FOREST MANAGEMENT
Danum Valley Conservation Area is a Class I Protection Forest Reserve and as
such cannot be logged. The surrounding forests are exceptionally well stocked
with trees of the Dipterocarpaceae family, which are valued for the high quality
of their timber. Since the forests face unprecedented pressure from human
activity, such as conversion to other land use and timber harvesting, achieving
a balance between economic exploitation and ecological preservation is a major
concern. To prevent the forest disappearing altogether, sustainable management
of the commercial forests surrounding Danum Valley has been introduced, such as
through the Reduced Impact Logging (RIL) Project and the INFAPRO Project.
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
Conservation and good forest management require support from the general public.
Yayasan Sabah Group together with the Sabah Education Department launched the
Sabah Nature Club in October 1988 as a membership organization for school
children. Hundreds of local students have since participated in various exciting
programmes carried out at the Field Centre. In 1996, a Nature Discovery Centre
was completed, providing interactive environmental education activities for alt
visitors, including school children. Amongst the wide range of other activities
available are orienteering, blindfold walk, nature songs, debates, role play,
quiz, riddles, environmental games and training in bird-watching techniques.
The environmental education programmes at the Centre are not only for Malaysians
but also for overseas participants. Since 1998, students from Japan have held
their Borneo Jungle School in Danum Valley Field Centre and have made it a
yearly activity. Since environmental education is to enhance public awareness
about conservation and the environment, Sabah Shell Petroleum Co. Ltd. initiated
a support system by donating the SHELL Nature Interpretation and Environmental
Education Building. The company also initiated a programme for special children
at the Centre in 2000, co-organized by the Sabah Special Olympics and Yayasan
Sabah Group.
OUTDOOR & INDOOR ACTIVITIES
There are lots of outdoor and indoor activities that visitors can do at the
Field Centre. Among the popular outdoor activities are guided forest trekking,
bird watching, night drives, guided night walks, sunrise/sunset watch, tree
platform climbing and trips to INFAPRO and Borneo Rainforest Lodge. For those
who like indoor activities, we have the Nature Discovery Centre, slide/video
shows, talks by scientists, interpretive displays and environmental education
activities.
ACTIVITIES AT THE FIELD CENTRE
RESEARCH
A long-term research programme was initiated in 1984 as a collaborative venture
between the Danum Valley Management Committee and The Royal Society, London.
The main aims of the programme are;
1. To gain scientific understanding of the ecological processes that maintain
tropical rainforest.
2. To provide training opportunities for Malaysians in ecology, forestry and
related sciences.
3. To assess the impact of logging and provide information which may contribute
to improve forest management.
The Centre is open to both international and local researchers, who must first
apply in writing to the Secretariat of the Danum Valley Management Committee.
Some 300 studies have been completed or are in progress, many of them
collaborative between Malaysian and overseas scientists. Major studies have
focused on natural forest dynamics, regeneration within artificial gaps,
nutrient cycling and the effect of logging on water quality and vertebrate
populations. Research facilities include established research plots in the
forest, a canopy observation tower and platforms and access to logged forest of
known history which allows comparative research between primary and secondary
forests.
ACTIVITIES AT THE FIELD CENTRE
TRAINING
The Centre is capable of hosting courses and seminars for up to 100
participants. Groups have included local government and non-government agencies
and various overseas organizations. Although particularly suited to the needs of
foresters and biologists, group of all kinds will appreciate the peaceful,
natural surroundings.
Danum Valley Field Centre is also an ideal location for tertiary education,
catering for industrial placements and tropical field trips by local and foreign
undergraduate and post-graduate students.
ACTIVITIES AT THE FIELD CENTRE
RECREATION
The forests in and around Danum Valley Conservation Area are an ideal location
for nature and adventure tourism, with jungle trekking, wildlife photography and
bird watching particularly popular, and many interesting places and rich and
diverse fauna and flora for visitors to discover.
ACTIVITIES AT THE FIELD CENTRE
Purut Waterfall
One of the spectacular waterfalls found in Danum Valley Conservation Area is
Purut Waterfall situated on the way to Mt. Danum. This waterfall is about 20m in
height with seven, tiered pools. It takes about 4 hours of jungle trekking from
the Field Centre to reach the waterfall and visitors can either choose to camp
overnight or make a day trip.
ACTIVITIES AT THE FIELD CENTRE
Tembaling Waterfall
Tembaling Waterfall is the nearest waterfall to the Field Centre and takes about
1 to 2 hours walk to reach along a forest trail, where one can witness Danum's
abundant flora and fauna.
ACTIVITIES AT THE FIELD CENTRE
Burial Caves
Burial caves have a special place in the myths and legends of the Orang Sungai
or 'river people' of Borneo. They believe in combining the powerful spirits of
hills and water. In Danum Valley, three burial sites have been discovered, two
near the Field Centre and one below the cliff overlooking Borneo Rainforest
Lodge.
Jars such as those found near the Centre were often used as secondary burial
places for bones after a body has decomposed. A radiocarbon analysis of a
child's femur found in a jar near Borneo Rainforest Lodge estimated a date of
around A.D. 1670 and a coffin made of Belian (Bornean iron wood) estimated a
date around A.D.1210.
Mt. Danum, at 1,093m, is the highest peak in Danum valley Conservation Area.
Trekkers preferring a leisurely hike can make a 3 days 2 nights round trip.
However, hard core trekkers take only about 4 hours to reach Mt. Danum. A major
international sports event that took place in Danum Valley, the Eco-Challenge
2000, proved this feat was possible.
Other interesting places are Rafflesia Hill where Rafflesias are found, Rhino
Pool where the elusive Sumatran rhinoceros was once sighted and Mt. Nicola,
another peak within the Conservation Area. Visitors must hire a guide from the
Centre whenever they go for jungle trekking to avoid getting lost in the forest.
NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Forest Flora
The forest around Danum Valley Field Centre is dominated by dipterocarp trees,
with the canopy reaching a height of over 70 meters in places. Some 90% of the
Conservation Area is classified as lowland dipterocarp forest with the remaining
10% being low canopy, sub-montane forest mainly found on Mt. Danum in the heart
of the Conservation Area. Interestingly, there are very few large palms in Danum
Valley.
NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Forest Fauna
This forest is alive with animals if you take time to look closely. The rare
Wallace's flying frog, soft shelled turtles, skinks, vipers, more than 40
species of fishes and a profusion of butterflies, such as the spectacular Rajah
Brooke, can be seen. More than 120 mammals including 10 species of primates are
found here. This area is an important habitat for orang utan and, due in part to
minimal hunting pressure, is particularly rich in other large mammals including
the Asian elephant, Banteng, Malayan sun bear, clouded leopard, bearded pig and
5 species of deer. It also provides one of the last refuges in Sabah for the
critically endangered Sumatran rhino. Over 300 species of bird have been
recorded including Bulwer's pheasant, 7 species of pitta, the Borneo Bristlehead
and all 8 species of hornbill found in Borneo.
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