The Royal Belum State Park Gazetted

The Royal Belum State Park was officially gazetted under the Perak State Park Corporation Enactment 2001 by the Perak State Government on 17 April 2007. Established in 2003, it was conferred a Royal status the
same year by the DYMM Paduka Seri Sultan Perak Sultan Azlan Shah. The gazetted park covers an area of 117,500ha and is part of the contiguous forest block, known as the Belum-Temengor forest complex          (BT complex) covering about 300,00ha.  It is now the second largest park in Peninsular Malaysia after Taman Negara National Park which covers an area of 434,351ha.

Identified as an Environmentally Sensitive Area under Malaysia’s National Physical Plan 2005, the BT complex is home to several globally threatened wildlife species including the Sumatran rhinoceros, Malayan tiger, Asiatic elephant, Malayan tapir and the white-handed gibbon. It also harbours the highest concentration of hornbills in a single forest complex; with over 2,000 plain-pouched hornbills, classified as Vulnerable under the IUCN Redlist, recorded in just one evening. Rafflesia cantleyi, endemic to Perak, Pahang and Terengganu is one of the flora highlights of the park.

The Perak State Government, Perak State Parks Corporation, Malaysian NGOs and the corporate sector have been working steadily towards realising the conservation goal of Royal Belum State Park.

The Royal Belum is currently enjoying much attention from the scientific community. The Forestry Department Peninsular Malaysia is organising a third scientific expedition to the Royal Belum. Perak State Parks Corporation, WWF-Malaysia and other government agencies are embarking on a 5-year Sumatran rhino conservation project.