Managing and protecting of endangered Rafflesia species in Kelantan, Peninsular Malaysia

Abstract

Rafflesia is the most magnificent and largest flower in the world. In Southeast Asia, the species becoming endangered due to anthropogenic activities such as logging, conversion of forest into large-scale agricultural areas, urbanization and unsustainable ecotourism. This paper has specifically highlighted the efforts that have been taken by the Kelantan State Forestry Department (KFD) in ensuring the sustainability and survival of this gigantic flower in its natural habitat. A survey by Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK) shows that many populations of Rafflesia were situated in the forest reserves under the administration of KFD, such as in Lojing, Mt. Chamah, Mt. Basor and Mt. Stong. A lot of initiatives have been implemented by KFD such as organising scientific expeditions and the establishment of the High Conservation Value Forest (HCVF). In July 2011, the State Government of Kelantan declared an area of 404 ha (1,000 acres) bordering Sg. Berok Forest Reserve in Lojing Highlands as the Rafflesia Preservation Area. This recognition by the state government resulted from collaboration efforts of UMK, KFD and South Kelantan Development Authority (KESEDAR). To date, KFD has established a total of two HCVFs in Kelantan and a new area of 50 ha in Compartment 1, Lojing Forest Reserve has also been dedicated for the protection of Rafflesia. This paper was also briefly discussed several issues and challenges in conserving Rafflesia in Kelantan such as the expansion of large-scale agricultural plantation, participation of local community, tourism and income generation, international and internal funds for conservation works, and provide an integrated tourism and management plans. Hopefully, this effort will lead to the establishment of a centre of excellence in nature conservation, ecotourism and scientific research of Rafflesia in Kelantan.

Morphological Variation of Rafflesia zollingeriana Koord. and its Recent Distribution in East Java, Indonesia

“…Ex-situ conservation of R. zollingeriana is strongly suggested due to the severe external threat in the habitat. The presence of Rafflesia in ex-situ conservation areas is expected to be a solution to the difficulty of accessing Rafflesia insitu for research (Tolod et al, 2021;Lestari & Rianto, 2017) and the lack of a large enough population to be observed regularly (Fauzan et al, 2021). Ex-situ conservation of Rafflesia is also expected to help with the provision of knowledge and data about the species, which is still scarce and shrouded in mystery.…”

“…All species of Rafflesia are endangered due to their biological (Hidayati & Walck, 2016) and ecological characteristics (Lestari et al, 2014b;Susatya et al, 2017). Anthropogenic activities such as knobs exploitation (Fatmawati et al, 2018), illegal logging, the conversion of forest into large-scale agricultural uses, urbanization, and mass ecotourism put an additional threat to their extinctions (Fauzan et al, 2021;Wicaksono et al, (2016). Despite they are all endangered species, their biological and ecological attributes are unfortunately rarely studied.…”

Examining the Anatomical Characteristics of Rafflesia kerrii in Lojing Highlands, Peninsular Malaysia

“…Basor, and the Lojing Highlands [6,2]. According to various data reports, Lojing Highlands is a well-known location with the most R. kerrii population in Peninsular Malaysia [7,8,9,10,11].…”