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Borneo: Its Mountains & Lowlands with their Pitcher Plants Trekking from 1992 to 2002

System — Wed, 31 Oct 2001 00:00:00 +0000

Impressed by the beauty and elegance of the pitcher plants of the family Nepenthaceae, the author and his wife made annual trips for 12 years to Sabah and Sarawak, Malaysian states on the island of Borneo, to study and photograph the numerous endemic pitcher plants in their natural, frequently remote, habitats. They were fascinated by the biological singularity of the nutrition, survival and propagation cycle of these plants, and exodigestion of proteins. The author also became increasingly attracted by the beauty of these plants’ homelands, the peaks, the highlands and lowlands of Borneo, which he visited with expert guides on many expeditions. In this book the pitcher (and plants) of all Nepenthes species of Sabah and Sarawak, and some endemic Kalimantan species, are illustrated. Their particularities, including many natural hybrids, are described. The threats to these wonderful tropical plants as well as possible ways of ensuring their survival in their original habitat are also discussed. The book will interest both scientists and naturalists as it endeavours to give a simple approach to this family of plants from the tropical forests of Borneo.

Early History: The Encyclopedia of Malaysia (vol 4)

System — Wed, 31 Oct 2001 00:00:00 +0000

Malaysia’s prehistory begins with the earliest known human habitation about 40,000 years ago, and we extends through the protohistoric period to the founding of the Melaka Sultanate in 1400 CE, the date commonly referred to as the beginning of the country’s historic era. Because of Malaysia’s political geography – the Malay Peninsula, which forms the southeastern tip of the Asian mainland, and Sabah and Sarawak, which are part of the island of Borneo, are 530 kilometres apart – its prehistory and protohistory developed along separate paths. The first half of the volume introduces the reader to Malaysia’s prehistory, tracing the debate on the dating and origins of Malaysia’s earliest inhabitants; it examines the technological and artistic evidence for these and for the various phases and varieties of settlement patterns, economies and belief systems. The second half of the book reconstructs Malaysia’s protohistoric period from about the end of the first century CE to the beginning of the 15th century, revealing how archaeological finds and textual sources, primarily the narratives of foreign travellers, have helped archaeologists to locate the remnants of early kingdoms and port sites, and to speculate on the location of others. Although Malaysia’s hot, wet climate has affected the number of surviving architectural remnants and artefacts, archaeological excavations have nevertheless yielded an abundance of fascinating remains which will provide readers with a new understanding of Malaysia’s early history, much of it not published outside academic journals. The book is illustrated with over 400 photographs, and a wealth of historic documents, specially commissioned artwork, diagrams and maps.

Enchanting Islands & Coastal Havens

System — Wed, 31 Oct 2001 00:00:00 +0000

This book will take you on a journey through the islands and coastal retreats of the west and east coasts of Peninsula Malsyaia and across to Malaysia’s eastern states of Sarawak and Sabah on the island of Borneo which is home to some of the world’s most beautiful beaches with crystal clear water. Then, onwards to the island and coastal havens of southern Thailand, and finally south to Singapore where there are both natural and man made islands. Batam Island of Indonesia has been included here as it is an island of much interest for local Singaporeans. However, it is Malaysia and Thailand which show off most of their beauty and natural charm. These two South East Asian nations are very close to each other and yet, far apart in their cultures and traditions.

Ethnobotany: Of the Iban & the Kelabit

System — Wed, 31 Oct 2001 00:00:00 +0000

The island of Borneo is located on the Equator and its natural vegetation is tropical rain forests ranging from large areas of peat swamp forest and mixed dipterocarp forests in the lowlands to montane forests in the highlands. These forests comprise some of the world’s most species-rich ecosystems (Whitmore 1984, Clinebell et al. 1995). The annual precipitation ranges between 2,000 mm and 4,500 mm distributed fairly evenly over the year. In Sarawak, a minor dry season normally occurs in June-August (DID 1993). Politically, the island is divided into several territories. The northern part is part of the federation of Malaysia and comprises the states of Sarawak and Sabah. The small independent sultanate, Brunei, is also located in the north. The southern part, Kalimantan, almost two-thirds of the island, is part of Indonesia. The population of Borneo is approximately 12 million. The majority of the Malay, Indian, Indonesian, and Chinese population lives in the coastal cities and towns. The interior is thinly populated, mainly by indigenous peoples. They comprise a great number of different ethnic groups, more than 26 in Sarawak alone. The earliest evidence of human beings in Borneo dates back 39,000 years (Chin et al. 1991). These early peoples of Borneo were hunters and gatherers and only more recently did they settle down as shifting cultivators. However, some form of primitive agriculture or selective management of wild plants is believed to have existed for the last 5-6,000 years, or even longer. The early shifting cultivation systems were probably based on sago (Eugeissonia utilis), taro (Colocasia esculenta), yams (Dioscorea spp.), and bananas (Musa spp.) (Hutterer 1984, Mackie 1986). But after the introduction of rice, around 500-1,000 AD., this became the most important crop, displacing other staple crops (Pelzer 1945, Li 1970, Strickland 1986) and today only a few indigenous communities still rely on and prefer to eat sago (Hoffman 1983, Lau 1987). But hunting and gathering continued and are still an integral part of the livelihood for most people living in the interior. Through many generations they have accumulated extensive knowledge on how to use their surroundings to provide them with everything they need, and therefore, the traditional indigenous subsistence communities in the forested interior possess a comprehensive ethnobotanical knowledge. Certainly, much data on ethnobotanical knowledge from Borneo has been reported, but no one has evaluated all knowledge accumulated within one single community. Much ethnobotanical knowledge has been compiled and presented in general studies (Ochse 193 1, Burkill 1966, PROSEA I – 10). The majority of studies conducted in a single community are concentrated on medicinal uses (Lim 1992, Riswan et al. 1992, Salim 1992, Ahmad 1993). Some have included edible species (Dept. of Agri. Sarawak 1992, Kulip 1996). Other publications on medicinal uses deal with many communities and several ethnic groups (Chai et al. 1989, Dept. of Agriculture, Brunei 1992 & 1994). Other studies have dealt with ethnobotanical aspects, but mostly as an adjunct to agronomic studies (Chin 1985, Cramb 1985, Pearce et al. 1985, Christensen & Mertz 1993), anthropological studies (Padoch 1978, Dove 1985, Janowski 199 1, Saccheri &Walker 199 1), studies on particular aspects of Borneo culture, such as handicrafts (Haddon & Start 1982) or religion (Primack 1984), and taxonomic studies (Primack 1983, J. Dransfield 1992). Pearce et al. (1985) recorded uses of plants in three Than communities and documented uses of 144 species within many different use groups. Yet, this study included only few cultivated species and was restricted to the fieldwork of three weekends. Other studies relate only to species found in a one-hectare plot (Voeks 1994). Common to all these studies is that none of them gives any idea of the total ethnobotanical knowledge accumulated within a single community. It is generally assumed that Sarawak’s many indigenous cultures possess a great diversity of ethnobotanical knowledge, but we really do not know how much. Today, modern ways of life penetrate further and further into previously isolated communities. This development most often erodes people’s traditional knowledge of their environment. Further, the environment itself most often changes into less species-rich assemblages. The day is close where such in-depth ethnobotanical studies of traditional communities will no longer be possible. And the present study has probably been conducted in the last hour, so to speak. It is my hope that more studies like this will be conducted within a few years as the next ten years will probably be the “last call” for conducting comprehensive reference studies on the ethnobotanical knowledge of traditional communities in Sarawak. It is obviously a never-ending job to record all known uses of plants within an indigenous subsistence community in the interior of Sarawak; nevertheless, the aim of this study is to come close to such a figure, not only for one, but two such communities. Further, the study aims at comparing the knowledge found in the two communities.

Pitcher Plants of Borneo 2nd. Edition

System — Wed, 31 Oct 2001 00:00:00 +0000

All the 36 species of pitcher plants currently known from the island of Borneo are covered in this lavishly illustrated second edition. The main focus of the book lies in the accounts of these species, written in an accessible style and including quotes from the works of the old explorers and collectors as well as personal anecdotes from the diaries of Susan Phillipps, whose delightful watercolours are widely used to illustrate the species. In the first edition (1996), 32 species were covered. The names of some of these have since been changed, new species have been discovered and described and a wider variety of natural hybrids have been illustrated. The taxonomy has been completely updated, largely following that of Cheek & Jebb (2001). The book has also been greatly enhanced by the excellent photographs of Ch’ien C. Lee, who has joined the team of Phillipps and Lamb for this second edition. The chapter on Discovery and History, with its fascinating insight into the role of pitcher plants in Victorian society with historical photographs and paintings, has been maintained, as have the chapters on Folklore, The Pitcher Plant and Ecology, which have been greatly updated and expanded with new information from research over the last 12 years, that makes it clear that these fascinating plants are even more complex that was thought when the first edition was written. The worldwide interest in pitcher plants that has exploded since the first edition means that many more people are growing these plants as a hobby, especially now that tissue-cultured material is available at very reasbnable prices; this has made the new chapter on Cultivation by Ch’ien C. Lee a useful addition. The non-scientific but informative style of the first edition has been maintained, and this, combined with the greatly increased number of excellent photographs, will make this book indispensable to the naturalist or hobbyist as well as the scientific researcher.

Sabah’s Maliau Basin; Secrets of the lost World

BBooks — Wed, 31 Oct 2001 00:00:00 +0000

Malaysia’s State of Sabah, on the island of Borneo, is renowned for the riches of its natural heritage. One of its greatest treasures, in the southern central part of the State, only 40 km from the Indonesian border, is the “Lost World”- a huge bowl, spanning 390 km of almost pristine forests, and guarded by formidable cliffs that rise to over 1,700 m at their highest point. Serene and remote, this is the Maliau Basin – Sabah’s “Lost World”, which was described in 1988 as one of the few remaining relatively untouched wilderness areas on this earth. Maliau Basin was originally part of the 10,000 km timber concession held by the Yayasan Sabah (Sabah Foundation), an organisation dedicated to uplifting the standard of life and education of the people of Sabah, through revenue gained from timber extraction. Though slated for logging in 1970, the Basin continued to resist nearly all attempts to breach its formidable defences until 1981. This was when the Sabah Foundation, recognizing that the Basin contained a unique, almost self-contained ecosystem, and realizing that the need for conservation went hand in hand with development, designated the 390 kM Basin as a Conservation Area for scientific research and education, sister to the. Conservation Area already established at the Danum Valley, some 60 km to the east.

Tree Flora of Sabah & Sarawak (Vol 1)

System — Wed, 31 Oct 2001 00:00:00 +0000

The Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak is an account of the families of trees that occur in these two botanically rich Malaysian states situated in the island of Borneo. The Flora provides identification keys and illustrations for all families treated and descriptions of all species that grow to a ‘significant size’, usually taken to mean as at least 10 cm diameter or 5 m high, although in many cases a complete treatment of all species in a group is given. The project is an endeavour jointly undertaken by the Forest Reasearch Institute Malaysia, the Sabah Forestry Department, and Sarawak Forestry Department. At least eight volumes are planned to cover the rich Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak. This is Volume 1.

Tree Flora of Sabah & Sarawak (Vol 2)

System — Wed, 31 Oct 2001 00:00:00 +0000

The Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak is an account of the families of trees that occur in these two botanically rich Malaysian states situated in the island of Borneo. The Flora provides identification keys and illustrations for all families treated and descriptions of all species that grow to a ‘significant size’, usually taken to mean as at least 10 cm diameter or 5 m high, although in many cases a complete treatment of all species in a group is given. The project is an endeavor jointly undertaken by the Forest Research Institute Malaysia, the Sabah Forestry Department, and Sarawak Forestry Department. At least eight volumes are planned to cover the rich Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak. This is Volume 2.

Wanderer in Malaysia Borneo

System — Wed, 31 Oct 2001 00:00:00 +0000

Sabah (Land Below the Wirid), and Sarawak (Land of the Hornbill), are the two states which make up East Malaysia. Situated on the northwest coast of the island of Borneo, they are separated by 400 miles of sea from the West Malaysian peninsula. To those who reach their shores, Sabah and Sarawak reveal some of the most dramatic scenery and attractive peoples in Southeast Asia. Readers of Wanderer in Malaysian Borneo will be led on a series of journeys to destinations in the twin states of East Malaysia, ranging from the labrynthine caves of Mulu in Sarawak to the 4,000-metre-high peak of Mount Kinabalu in Sabah. Their guide is the aptly named ‘Pengembara’ (Malay for ‘Wanderer), pseudonym of C. H. Gallop, who embarked on these journeys to ‘the other Malaysia from his home in the neighbouring Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam. These accounts of Pengembara’s travels first appeared in Brunei Darussalam’s leading daik the Borneo Bulletin, between 1991 and 1993.

White Rajahs of Sarawak; The

System — Wed, 31 Oct 2001 00:00:00 +0000

In 1838 James Brooke left England in search of adventure in the far-off lands of Southeast Asia. Armed with a dream of expelling the Dutch and establishing enlightened British rule in the region, he undertook missions for the Sultan of Brunei, pursuing pirate raiders and battling rebels. As a reward he was offered Sarawak, a Malay territory in the northwest of the island of Borneo, inhabited by diverse tribes and cultures, notably the head-hunting Dayaks. The dynasty of the White Rajahs of Sarawak began in 1841, was shattered by the Japanese invasion in 1941 and ended in 1946 with Sarawak’s annexation as a British Crown Colony, James, the charismatic founder, Charles, the astute administrator, and Vyner, the irresponsible hedonist, are the principal players in this incredible family saga. This richly illustrated book relives the heady mix of exoticism, violence, courage and romance of this extraodinary adventure.