Connectivity Assessment of Ecological Corridor Between Ulu Muda Forest Complex and Bintang Hijau Forest Complex
Posted on 12 August 2022
The assessment of Primary Linkage 5 (PL5) and Primary Linkage 8 (PL8) wildlife corridors as identified in the document ‘Central Forest Spine: Master Plan for Ecological Linkages’, examined the functionality of these corridors in connecting Ulu Muda Forest Complex to Bintang Hijau Forest Complex. This study obtained the wildlife corridors’ functionality from the various aspects of habitat connectivity, anthropogenic pressures due to other land uses, poaching, human-wildlife conflict and signs of wildlife presence as well as high conservation value areas such as saltlicks. Based on field assessment and mapping, the functionality of the wildlife corridors was found to be limited by threats from other land uses, human-wildlife conflict and poaching. The main recommendation from this assessment is to prioritize the implementation of management measures to curb the above mentioned threats within and surrounding the PL5 and PL8 areas. The study also recommended revising the boundaries of the wildlife corridor in order to include the larger surrounding forested area to improve the connectivity.