10 Conservation in fragmented landscapes
Learning Objectives
In this chapter student will be able:
- To identify and understand the impact of habitat fragmentation
- To learn initiatives that has been made in Sabah to conserve habitat in fragmentation area
Habitat fragmentation occurs when large blocks of habitat are cut into smaller pieces by development such as roads or housing. The remaining blocks of habitat may be too small to sustain populations of a number of species and the fragmentation often results in barriers to species movement.
Habitat fragmentation can give negative impacts to our ecosystem, please see an interactive video below to understand better:
Various efforts has been made to conserve our biodiversity and build habitat corridors to connect wildlife separated by human activity or development. One of such efforts is the study of the ideal design for functional wildlife corridors within oil palm plantations at the Kalabakan River network. The full report can be read at MONGABAY. The Stability of Altered Ecosystems (SAFE) initiative shown a promising efforts to connect local populations of wildlife, including orangutans that have become isolated by their fragmented habitat.
Another ongoing project, initiated in 2019 located along the Kinabatangan River, called “Rasig Corridor” linked Lot 2 of the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary (LKWS) with the “Keruak Virgin Jungle Forest Reserve”. Beside to create corridors for wildlife to connect from different patches of isolated forests, the corridor area were also planted with seedlings of native trees species. This project aims is not only to connect the wildlife but also flora as restoration efforts in the fragmented and deforestation area.
Lets see video below to learn more on The Sabah Landscapes Program:
Adopted from: “The Sabah Landscapes Programme: An Overview” by WWFMy is licensed under CC BY 4.0
Case Study
Here is an example work on conservation in fragmented landscape in Selangor:
Divides once large and widespread wildlife populations into several smaller subpopulations.
An area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities or structures (such as roads, development, or logging)