Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak project – progress and future activities

Abstract

Tropical forests in Borneo (Brunei Darussalam, Kalimantan, Sabah and Sarawak) are considered as one of the twelve mega biodiversity centres in the world. However, until now, there is no up-to-date or complete documentation on the flora of the island. The Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak Project, jointly undertaken by the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), the Forestry Department of Sabah and Forestry Department of Sarawak since 1991, is aimed at providing detailed and up-to-date botanical and ecological information on the tree resources of Sabah and Sarawak. Since its implementation, the project has established a close collaboration with and received generous help from botanists from local and international institutions/herbaria around the world. Up to 2007, a total of 1 745 species in 72 families and 267 genera have been revised and published in six volumes of the Tree Flora. These include the discovery and publication of 188 new species in 37 genera and 25 families. In addition, the project also published two Botanical Gazetteers, i.e. Sabah (1995) and Sarawak (2006) Gazetteers. Besides this, the project had carried out a number of activities such as botanical expeditions and various kinds of related workshops to achieve the objectives of the project.