FWD: Rallying for the Rafflesia

February 17, 2004

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Tuesday February 17, 2004

Rallying for the Rafflesia

By TAN CHENG LI

The Rafflesia, the world’s largest flower, remains one of the rarest rainforest

spectacles. The buds may take as long as 10 months to develop before bursting

into a striking bloom which lasts no more than a couple of days. Malaysia has

the distinction of having the most number of Rafflesia species - eight out of 20

- but we may well lose pride of place if conservation efforts remain patchy.

IT WAS supposed to be a spectacular sight but instead of a glorious burst of red

bloom, all I saw was a pulpy black flower on the forest floor. It was probably

in full glory just three or four days earlier. Nearby was a reddish cabbage-like

bud, set to burst into a stunning bloom in a few days. I should have arrived a

few days earlier, or later.

It was yet another unsuccessful attempt by this writer to see the Rafflesia,

the world’s biggest flower which grows only in the rainforests of three

countries – Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Indeed, Rafflesia flowers

are a rare sight, not only because the plant is uncommon, but because the buds

take many months to develop before opening into a striking flower which lasts

only a few days.

So a lot of luck is required if you plan to see one. And as development paves

over the rainforest, what is left of Rafflesia sites are mainly those deep in

the jungle. Amazingly enough, the spot where I stood was not too far from

civilisation. It lies next to Kampung Ulu Geroh, a Semai orang asli settlement

some 12km from the old mining town of Gopeng in Perak.

From the settlement, one of the sites where the Rafflesia cantleyi grows is

just 30 minutes’ walk away. There are other sites further in the jungle,

requiring an uphill trek of some 90 minutes.

Ulu Geroh is one of the most accessible sites to view the rare blooms which can

span almost a metre across, which is why the Semai villagers are keen to

establish a nature tourism venture. With help from the Malaysian Nature Society

(MNS), they will develop a scheme which will generate a steady stream of

visitors. The project promises to bring much-needed jobs for the Semai

villagers, many of whom live in poverty.

But more than that, the project will help protect a rare plant which is

threatened by harvesting and habitat loss. As one needs to pass their village to

reach the Rafflesia sites, the Semai can control access and monitor visitors.

“Properly trained, they can become the keepers and stewards of the Rafflesia

population in Ulu Geroh,” says Stella Melkion, acting head of the MNS science

and conservation unit.

Already, payment the villagers receive from small groups of visitors has lured

them away from harvesting Rafflesia buds, sought by the Malays as folk medicine.

“We used to sell the buds for 30 or 50 sen,” says villager Long Pandak Mengah,

80. “We have stopped selling now and we let them bloom because people want to

see the flowers.”

Threatened existence

Many conservationists view such community-based conservation programmes as

essential to saving endangered species, particularly in poor areas. You cannot

simply fence off the area to keep it safe. You’ve got to offer them better ways

to make a living and a sense that they will benefit from preserving the

biodiversity around them. Increasingly, conservationists are looking for such

partnerships, seeing in this kind of community-based stewardship the best way to

save earth’s threatened species.

This rings true for the Rafflesia which is a totally protected species only in

Sabah and Sarawak. It remains unprotected in Peninsular Malaysia because the

Wildlife Protection Act 1972 only covers animals, birds and insects but not

plants. So it is not an offence to pluck Rafflesia blooms and buds unless they

are from state or national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.

Scientists warn that Rafflesia species are susceptible to extinction because of

their peculiar biology: they grow only in one family of vine, have limited

distribution, large sex imbalance, low level of successful pollination and

fruiting, and high bud mortality rate. Add to that the harvesting of buds as

well as loss of habitat and we have a species heading towards extinction.

Logging and land-clearing for farms, plantations and settlements have decimated

many Rafflesia populations and pushed the species to the “threatened” status

(IUCN-World Conservation Union listing). In Sabah, Raffle-sia populations at 16

sites became extinct between 1989 and 1996, mostly due to shifting cultivation

for hill padi.

Malaysia has the most number of Rafflesia species in the world – eight out of

20 – but we may well lose that distinction if conservation efforts remain

patchy. There are few places with large enough populations to ensure long-term

survival of the species, warns Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) botanist Dr

Kamarudin Mat Salleh who has studied the plant for over 20 years. “Unlike some

other threatened species of wildlife, the Rafflesia cannot be saved by

translocation, domestication or other artificial means. The only way to conserve

it is to preserve its habitat.”

Fortunately, several Rafflesia species are represented in protected areas, for

instance, the R. tuan-mudae in the Gunung Gading park in Sarawak, the R.

cantleyii in Taman Negara, the R. azlanii in Royal Belum park in Perak, R.

pricei and R. keithii in the Kinabalu Park and R. tengku-adlinii in the Maliau

Basin in Sabah. Talks on setting up a Kelantan state park at Gunung Stong –

which has many populations of R. kerrii – is under way.

But many populations pop up in unprotected areas. In Sabah, half of the 83

known Rafflesia sites were found to be in private lands and logging concessions.

This has dire consequences as seen in the case of the R. tengku-adlinii – the

first population discovered on Mount Trus Madi in 1987 was destroyed by logging

even before the species was described and found to be new to science.

A worrying trend is the use of Rafflesia buds in traditional medicine. The

Malays believe that a concoction of boiled Rafflesia buds aids in recovery after

childbirth. Buds are openly sold in markets in Kota Baru, Baling, Grik,

Jerantut, Ipoh and Kuala Lipis.

Preliminary phytochemical screening, however, does not support the purported

medicinal properties of the Rafflesia. “In fact, the buds and flowers are rich

in tannins and phenols, and these compounds may be toxic if taken in excess,”

says UKM botanist Prof Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Mohamad.

Rafflesia enthusiast Matthew Wong laments that in over 10 years of trying to

dissuade peddlers from selling Rafflesia buds, he has succeeded only once. The

retired businessman has spent the last 15 years travelling the region, mapping

the occurrence of Rafflesia. “We are losing many sites, especially those which

are known and accessible. The government must enact legislations to protect the

plant. Right now, anyone can go into the forest and take the buds.”

Kamarudin warns that careless harvesting such as cutting the Tetrastigma vine

which hosts the parasitic Rafflesia will thwart its growth. “Collectors think

the buds will stay fresh if still attached to the vine but they are actually

destroying the whole population. Once disturbed, the Rafflesia plant may die off

or take years to recover.”

Similarly, hordes of trampling tourists might damage the vine and destroy the

Rafflesia population, much like what happened several years ago when the

discovery of R. kerii blooms at the Lojing Highlands brought groups of tourists

from nearby Cameron Highlands. The population of R. cantleyi in Pulau Tioman has

also not flowered since a bloom was photographed 15 years ago. Learning from

past mistakes, raised walkways and platforms have been built at Benta and the

Gunung Gading park in Sarawak to restrict visitor movements.

All Rafflesia experts concur that the three peninsula Rafflesia species are

particularly vulnerable because conservation efforts have not matched those of

Sabah and Sarawak, which have set up Rafflesia reserves and information centres.

“There is encouraging conservation work but there are still uncertainties over

the future viability of Rafflesia populations in the peninsula,” says Latiff.

In the peninsula, whose responsibility it is to protect the Rafflesia remains

unclear but since many populations show up in commercial forest reserves

earmarked for logging, the Forestry Department clearly has a role. The

department has already initiated Rafflesia conservation at Benta. It could do

likewise at Ulu Geroh since the Rafflesia sites are within the 68,565ha logged

over Bukit Kinta Forest Reserve.

Latiff urges for total protection of the plant so that collecting them is a

crime. Since it would be impractical to designate all Rafflesia sites as

reserves, he believes the species’ future survival lies with local communities.

“The local people should be the custodian. When the flowers bloom, they can

inform hotels and guests will pay to see the flowers. This will make them see

the importance of keeping the flowers.”

There are several successful projects whereby local communities guard Rafflesia

populations and derive an income from them. In Sabah, because many Rafflesia

sites sit on land belonging to the indigenous people, the Rafflesia Conservation

Incentive Scheme was initiated in 1994 at Poring and Ranau at the fringes of

Kinabalu Park. Depending on the number of blooms, landowners have collected

visitor fees ranging from RM200 to RM8,000 annually.

A similar scheme was launched three years ago at the Bukit Tacing recreational

forest in Benta, Kuala Lipis, in Pahang. The people of Kampung Jerangsang watch

over the three Rafflesia sites, of which only one is open to visitors. The

others are research sites. A similar scheme is what the MNS has in mind for Ulu

Geroh.

Currently, the group is seeking permission from the department to build a trail

to the sites. Later on, the Semai orang asli will undergo training in nature

guiding and managing small businesses. A small group had made a trip to Tasik

Bera in Pahang to learn about the eco-tourism venture started by the indigenous

people there.

To co-ordinate their business activities, the MNS has advised the Semai to form

an organisation or co-operative. “We have suggested that they create a package

for visitors to see not just the Rafflesia but their indigenous lifestyle,

handicrafts, waterfall and the beautiful nature there. This will expand their

source of livelihood and the whole village can benefit,” says Melkion.

Eventually, it is hoped that the site will be protected as a Rafflesia

Sanctuary and Conservation Area and double up as a research site. If this

becomes a reality, it will certainly raise the peninsula’s track record in

conserving the Rafflesia a notch to ensure that the gorgeous red bloom remains

an icon of the rainforest.

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