Birdwatching: An Ecotourism Potential

By Ahmad Erwan Othman GERIK (Perak, Malaysia) Sept 19 (Bernama) -- Birdwatching has become an environmentally-friendly recreational activity that brings economic benefits to the country, especially the tourism sector. According to a research by the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board (Tourism Malaysia), the arrival of 3,150 birdwatchers from all over the world in 2015 generated some RM20.3 million in spending. In fact, Malaysia is the fifth destination of choice in Asia for birdwatchers after India, China, Thailand and Indonesia. The Belum Temengor Forest Complex is a favourite destination of birdwatchers from all over the world because it is where 304 species of birds can be found, including migratory ones. Realising its ecotourism potential, the Ecotourism and Conservation Society Malaysia (ECOMY) teamed up with the Belum Rainforest Resort, Belum Forest Friends (BFF) and the Perak State Parks Corporation to jointly organise the Royal Belum International Hornbill Expedition 2018 from Sept 3-5 at the forest complex, recently. ONLY IN BELUM ECOMY President and bird expert Andrew Sebastian said aside from raising awareness on the importance of nature conservation, the expedition has also helped in placing the forest complex and Gerik district on the birding map. The forest is home to 10 species of hornbills, including the critically endangered Helmeted Hornbills. Birdwatchers may have the opportunity to view these species provided weather and luck are on their side. "We are lucky because the forest has its own attractions such as these rare species of hornbills that can rarely be found anywhere else. Between July and September, hundreds of such hornbills can be seen, more of which around the manmade lake. "We would be remiss not to promote the uniqueness of this area as an ecotourism destination, particularly for birdwatchers who are willing to travel far and wide to catch such an opportunity," he told Bernama in an interview recently. Andrew said that the Plain-pouched Hornbill or Aceros subruficollis is the only migratory hornbill from Thailand out of the 10 species that come to visit the 130 million year-old rainforest during that period. "The expedition was held this month due to its migratory habits. Last year, we recorded up to 3,261 of the hornbills in the Belum Rainforest during this period," he said. PROTECTING THE ENDANGERED Andrew said that ECOMY was also actively monitoring the presence of the critically endangered Helmeted Hornbill and raising awareness on the importance of the species. The Helmeted Hornbill is an attractive species with a prominent red casque (helmet-like structure on the head) and two central feathers in its tail that is longer those on other species of hornbills. "We can find the bird in several other places in Southeast Asia but all those countries have found the species to be near extinction due to poachers hunting it down for its "red ivory" casque, which is sought after in the black market. Some people believe it brings luck and has medicinal properties," he explained. Other hornbill species that can be found at the rainforest between July and September are the Oriental Pied Hornbill, Black Hornbill, Bushy-crested Hornbill, Wrinkled Hornbill, Rhinoceros Hornbill, Great Hornbill, White-crowned Hornbill and Wreathed Hornbill. Belum Temengor is the largest continuous forest complex in Peninsular Malaysia. At 300,000 hectares, it is four times the size of Singapore and is sanctuary to over 12,000 species of birds, wildlife and plants. It consists of three forest reserves (the Gerik Forest Reserve, the Banding Forest Reserve and the Temengor Forest Reserve) and one state park (the Royal Belum State Park) and was gazetted on May 3, 2007. Translated by Sakina Mohamed -- BERNAMA