Mulu National Park (Miri, Sarawak)

About Gunung Mulu

'Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations.’ United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Considering Mulu’s spectacular scenery and its biological significance, it was not surprising that Mulu was successfully listed as a World Heritage site in November 2000. To qualify for world heritage status a park must meet one of the four following criteria: Be an outstanding example of the world’s geological history. Be an outstanding representative example of on-going evolutionary processes. Be of exceptional natural beauty. Contain significant natural habitat for in-situ conservation of biological diversity and the protection of threatened species Mulu meets all four of these:- Earth’s history and geological features … Mulu’s concentration of caves, its geomorphic and structural characteristics are an outstanding resource, which allows a greater understanding of Earth’s history. Ecological Processes … Mulu provides outstanding scientific opportunities to study theories on the origins of cave faunas. Superlative natural phenomena or natural beauty and aesthetic importance … Mulu has outstanding scenic values, including the natural phenomenon of millions of bats and swiftlets leaving and entering the caves is a superlative wildlife spectacle. Biodiversity and threatened species … Mulu provides significant natural habitat for a wide range of plant and animal diversity both above and below ground. World Heritage status has created renewed interest in the park and a genuine desire of the government and people of Malaysia to ensure it is adequately protected. Accordingly, the Sarawak Government has committed to developing world leading conservation practices and high quality nature-based tourism activities at Mulu and has committed considerable resources to ensure its goals are achieved. http://www.mulucaves.org http://www.wildernesslectures.com

GEODIVERSITY .......................................................................................................................................................... Mulu’s Geo-diversity Vertical cliffs and incredibly steep slopes reach summit ridges before dropping abruptly down to deep gorges and hidden valleys. Jagged limestone pinnacles, bleached white, spear out of the lush green canopy. Cave passages twist and wind their way through the mountains, opening into chambers so large they defy description and dwarf you into insignificance. In landscapes like these, to understand what we see today, we must look to the past. Many, many millions of years ago, new mountains pushed high above the earth’s surface were rapidly eroded by the heavy tropical rains. Eroding rock produced grains of quartzite sand, which were carried by rivers from the mountains into the sea. Here it settled over time to form layers of sandstone. Again, the earth moved and its surface buckled and lifted, and so, the island of Borneo was created. In an ancient sea teeming with sea life, coral reefs developed to form lagoons between the reefs and this new island. Some 40 million years ago, these lagoons began to fill with layer upon layer of minute sea shells which compressed over the next 20 million years to become a layer of 1,500 metre thick limestone. When the movement of the Australian and Asian landmasses caused the earth’s surface to buckle and fold about 5 million years ago, the land lifted once more. Tilting and cracking, the layers of limestone and sandstone were pushed up to create the mountains of Mulu. The relentless process of weathering by the elements of rain and time now began to shape the landscape we see today. Although limestone forms in sea-water, it has two very special features - it is porous, and it dissolves in fresh-water. As the rain falls on these limestone mountains, it passes through the soil and into the limestone itself through very small pores and cracks. Seeping and trickling through the limestone, the water gradually dissolves the rock, making these pores and cracks larger and larger to create a remarkable series of cave chambers and passages. And here at Mulu you’ll find, the biggest caves in the world

BIODIVERSITY ............................................................................................................................................................. In Mulu, the heart of wondrous Borneo, you will be amazed by the rainforest around you. In the humid heat, plant life flourishes everywhere. Many thousands of species of ferns, mosses and flowering plants along with thousands of species of fungi thrive in this complex habitat. 52,000 Hectares of spectacular equatorial rainforest presents visitors to Gunung Mulu World Heritage Area with an outstanding diversity of flora and fauna. This is home to many fauna species from the world’s smallest mammal the Savi Pigmy Shrew to some of the largest insects on Earth. In the dense foliage secretive macaques, bearded pig, moon rats hide, blending in so well that we rarely see them. Forest types Look up at the tall towering trees blocking out the sky with their dense canopy. Richly coloured butterflies glide among trees entwined with lianas, ferns and orchids. The ground is a thick mat of leaves and fresh new seedlings struggling to find their own space. The heartbeat of life is all around you, plants and animals, living, eating and dying. Strangler figs, spread by fruit-eating birds, begin life germinating high in the canopy. Growing quickly in the sunlight this parasitic plant creeps down and around the host tree. Becoming larger and stronger and clinging to every surface available, strangling the tree in its death grip. Finally, the tree will die and rot away, leaving the fig standing as a shell of the tree’s former shape. Watch out for the rattan, a thorny vine reaching for the sun, it entwines its way for up to 100 metres through the trees. An important plant for local people used in weaving but for the unwary, it’s a painful meeting. The air is rich with the perfume of 170 species of wild orchids. If you are lucky you will see the famous Slipper Orchids, or you may spot the curious shaped pitcher plants. Mulu is home to 10 species of these insectivorous plants which supplement their diet by eating visiting insects. Some plants use animals in other ways. One species of ginger, flowers at ground level and exudes a pungent smell. Beetles rolling balls of dung, in which they will later lay their egg, are fooled into thinking there is fresh dung and eagerly seek it out. The beetle gets no dung, but the flower does get pollinated. But why is Mulu so diverse? Well its topography ranges from just 50 metres above sea level near park headquarters to the peaks of Gunung Mulu at 2,377 metres, and let’s not forget the unique underground environments in the caves. Combine this with a geology of alluvial clays, sandstone and limestone formations to produce dozens of niches and specialist environments for both plants and animals.

MEET THE PEOPLE OF MULU .......................................................................................................................................... Lun Bawang, Murut and Iban to the north, Kelabit in the south east, Berawan and Penan to the south and some nomadic Penan within the boundaries of the park; all have lived in this rainforest since time began. Here in the mountains the local people are known as Orang Ulu, ‘up river’ people. They are a diverse group of many cultures – Kayan, Kenyah, Berawan, Penan, with a remarkable understanding of the rainforest, they have used for generations for their food, medicines, tool making and building shelters. Today this deep connection to the land still exists in the heart of the people of Mulu. Three longhouses are found close to Park Head quarters – the Penan communities at Batu Bungan and Long Iman and Berawan at Long Terawan. Rivers are not only the lifeblood of the rainforest and the caves but also for the people of Mulu. Longhouse life centres around the Melinau and Tutoh Rivers for transport, washing, food, play and for simply watching the world go by. Travelling along the Melinau to Wind and Clearwater Caves gives visitors great insight into the everyday activities of these communities. Go downstream on the Melinau and feel the force of the larger Tutoh River as your boat swings up stream towards Long Iman, a Penan Longhouse. They welcome visitors to the handicraft market and their displays of medicinal plants where they will share their ancient knowledge of how plants can be used even today. source source