Wildlife photographer documents potential losses at Bukit Lagong

After plans for quarries in the Bukit Lagong Forest Reserve came to light and raised controversy, the Selangor state government gave its assurance that there will be rehabilitation efforts in the future.

Environmentalists have expressed doubts over the state government’s plans and warned that once the quarries start, endangered wildlife will bear the brunt of the operations.

They also worry that once the biodiversity and ecosystem of the forest are disrupted, the forest will begin to degrade.

Rosli Omar, a professor teaching electrical engineering at the University of Malaya, decided to quit his job 10 years ago to devote his life to wildlife photography.

In 2020, part of the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve lost its gazette status. The Shah Alam Community Forest and Bukit Cerakah are also facing threats from development projects.

Seeing that the forests in Selangor are getting fragmented, Rosli decided to document the rare wildlife found there.

“I want to record and to show that the forests are rich. If we fail (to protect the forests) in the end, then at least we have a record of what we have lost.”

The 64-year-old made his first photography trip to Bukit Lagong in July 2020. Then, he did not expect that the forest would be threatened by quarrying projects two years later.

Today, he has made more than 11 photo shooting trips in Bukit Lagong, which is located between Selayang and Rawang in Selangor.

Rare butterfly found

He said that during his trips, he documented 73 types of butterflies in total, with 25 of them only existing in this forest.

“This shows that the Bukit Lagong Forest Reserve is still intact, healthy and rich.”

Rosli explained that if the ecosystem of a forest is more complex, more butterfly species would exist. These butterflies will play their roles as pollinators, which is vital to keep the forest alive.

Among the butterflies he documented included the Dried-leaf Palmfly (Main picture, above): Elymnias casiphone saueri, taken Sept 19, 2022), which is the rarest as Rosli has not encountered it in other Selangor forests.

Some other butterflies are:

Habitat for endangered animals

Rosli and Peter Leong, both members of the citizen group Friends of Bukit Kiara (FOBK), visited and interviewed three Orang Asli villages near Bukit Lagong and learned that the forest is home to many endangered wildlife species.

The list includes the great argus, a species of pheasant, and the rhinoceros hornbill, which are listed as “vulnerable” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The Sunda pangolin and helmeted hornbill, which are listed as “critically endangered”, also exist in the forest, Rosli said.

He said other endangered animals found there include the clouded leopard, black panther and Sumatran serow.

‘Island forest’ facing more threats

Rosli described the Bukit Lagong Forest Reserve as an “island forest” surrounded by concrete, causing the wildlife living inside to find it difficult to migrate.

Their only pathway to the Central Forest Spine is through the Serendah and Kanching forests on the northeast side of the Bukit Lagong forest.

The Central Forest Spine is a network connecting major forests running the length of Peninsular Malaysia.

Rosli pointed out that, unfortunately, the northeast side of Bukit Lagong has been cut off by highways, blocking the wildlife’s only pathway to a wider forest world.

He is worried that the quarrying projects, which have been planned to begin next year, will destroy wildlife habitats, reducing their food sources and mating partners.

As a result, the number of animals and current abundance of species will decrease drastically, he added.

Rosli stressed that wildlife plays an irreplaceable role in maintaining forests and without them, plants will also cease to exist.

“People know that without forests, wildlife will disappear, but not many are aware that without wildlife, the forests too will disappear because they need wildlife to provide the ecosystem services, such as pollination and seed dispersal for the next generation.

“It’s a symbiotic relationship between forests and wildlife.”

Environmental watchdog Rimba Disclosure Project recently revealed that the Bukit Lagong Forest Reserve will have 27 quarries.

Investigations by Malaysiakini found that close to a third of the developers have political or royal links.

State executive councillor Hee Loy Siang told the Selangor Legislative Assembly meeting on Nov 23 that the state has 26 quarries in total - six existing and 20 are new, set to begin operations next year.

Hee, whose portfolio includes tourism, environment, green technology and Orang Asli affairs, said the quarrying licences were issued based on due process and took into consideration sustainability and reducing environmental impact.

However, a former director-general of the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (Frim) said the quarrying activities will harm the institute’s plan to apply for Unesco World Heritage Site status for the Bukit Lagong Forest Reserve and its surrounding areas.

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