KOTA KINABALU: One of the best ways to explore Sabah’s renowned Danum Valley Conservation area at Ulu Segama Forest Reserve, Lahad Datu, is by flipping through the pages of a newly-launched book - “Danum Valley, the rainforest”.
Its author, Dutchman Hans Hazebroek, said the monograph provides readers an overall insight into the rainforest which they could never get by visiting the place alone.
“By going through the book (which is written using layman’s terms), readers will get invaluable information about Danum Valley.
“(Readers who later visit the site can therefore experience Danum) in the right context with the knowledge they have,” said the geologist after the book-launching ceremony, held in conjunction with the opening of the Danum Valley Wildlife and Resources survey 2016 here.
The book is co-authored by Sabah Parks chairman Datuk Seri Tengku Dr Zainal Adlin Tengku Mohamood and Yayasan Sabah conservation and environmental division group manager Dr Waidi Sinun.
Hans said they took about four years to complete the monograph, with much of that time spent on the field, studying different endemic species and going through hundreds of studies done over 25 years at the Danum Valley research centre.
“The monograph merges different studies on trees, soil, erosion and hydrology into a coherent overview of the whole ecosystem.
“Some discoveries of new species are also documented in the book,” he said, adding that one of them was the “spectacled flowerpecker”, found in 2009, at the Borneo Rainforest Lodge canopy walkway.
Priced at RM180, the 568-page hard cover book also features 250 pages of images, including an aerial view of Danum Valley.