Current view: Text account
Site description (2003 baseline):
Site location and context
(I) Physical CharacteristicsTempasuk Plain is located on the north-west coast of Sabah, stretching from Kota Belud town in the south to Rampayang Laut in the north. The plain is primarily a freshwater wetland bisected by a major road comprising of four main areas;On the eastern side of the road, an area of low wet swamp land with open pools, bordered by a narrow strip of swamp forest along the northern boundary of the Kota Belud Bird Sanctuary (hereafter Bird Sanctuary), and backed by low hills;On the western side, an open sandy foreshore backed by dunes leads into grazed grassland with wet areas and seasonal pools. A small area of mangrove occurs near Kuala Tempasuk;The southern third is taken up with cultivation, mainly wet rice and small settlements. Two large rivers run through the area forming the northern and southern boundaries of the existing Bird Sanctuary. The northern river is lined with fairly extensive riverine forest.The fourth area to the north of Sungai Kawang-Kawang is little known. From Kampung Rampayan Laut for about 5 km upriver mangrove forest predominates (ca. 1,518 ha in 1978), grading into nipa swamp backed by a small area of lowland dipterocarp forest.The Bird Sanctuary was established within the area in 1960, comprising of ca. 12,200 ha. Run-off from the low hills and the foothills of Gunung Kinabalu supplies many small streams and the two large rivers. Grassland floods temporarily, wet rice water levels artificially maintained, swamp probably inundated. The wetland conditions of Tempasuk Plain are determined primarily by local rainfall with the exception of the wet rice fields.(II) Climatic ConditionsAnnual average rainfall is 2,260 mm. Monthly rainfall is between 200-400 mm in June and 100-200 mm in December. The dry season occurs from November-March while the wet from May-September. Annual average temperature range 23-30
oC (DWNP, 1987).
The wetland is an important site for wintering more than 50 waterbird species including several large globally threatened waterbirds (DWNP, 1987; Beadle and Whittaker, 1985; Payne and Parish, 1985). High numbers of wintering white egrets
Egretta spp., up to 5,000 have been recorded (Lansdown, 1986, 1987, 1989a, 1989b). The Near Threatened Oriental Darter
Anhinga melanogaster, Black-headed Ibis
Threskiornis melanocephalus and Malaysian Plover
Charadrius peronii have also been sighted (Sheldon
et al., 2001).
Non-bird biodiversity: (I) Globally threatened mammals (IUCN, 2002): ENDANGERED: Proboscis Monkey Nasalis larvatus; NEAR THREATENED: Oriental Small-clawed Otter Amblonyx cinereus(II) Globally threatened reptiles (IUCN, 2002): No information.(III) Globally threatened plants (IUCN, 2002): No information.
Six distinct vegetation types have been identified.A long sandy beach backed by dunes.Grazing land with short-rough grass, pandans, various shrubs and bushes, some open woodland in the Sungai Kerah area and ditches and buffalo wallows with Water Hyacinth and Rushes
Juncus sp.Swamp forest; where freshwater, with strangling figs
Ficus sp., where brackish, dominant species
Avicennia alba and
A. marina with a
Nypa swamp.Swamp, mainly mixed grasses.Cultivated land, wet rice and heavily populated area in the south.Open water.The surrounding areas consist of agricultural land and some evergreen moist forest. Coastal forest remnants with fine
Ficus and
Sterculia behind dunes, grading into
Antidesma woodland. Small area of lowland dipterocarp forest can also be found.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Several proposed development may impose serious changes to the plains which will lead to the decline in the habitat quality for birds. Under the Fifth (1986-1987) and Sixth (1990-1995) Malaysia Plan, an extensive portion of the sanctuary in the Kerah Swamp may be drained. Threat of conversion to prawn farming exists.There is a gradual expansion of wet rice areas encroaching on natural swamp. Shifting cultivation on hillsides, livestock and recreational activities of local people and the clearing of mangrove and nipa for kampungs are also of concern. Hunting of birds by means of shooting and netting occurs, of which the extent is unknown (DWNP, 1987).
The land tenure is divided up amongst several stakeholders. Grazing Reserve occupies 2,670 ha, Foreshore Reserve, 110 ha and titled land 7,510 ha (either under private ownership or occupied by schools and government agencies). Unallocated land is about 1,740 ha while another 170 ha does not have ownership. Most of the land is either state or titled land. The Kota Belud Bird Sanctuary however was gazetted in 1960, which prohibits hunting within the allotted boundary. The boundary includes the area of low hills to the east but excludes areas of swamp forest and swamp to the north of Sungai Kawang-Kawang. Nevertheless, the protection does not extend to the control of habitat changes.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Tempasuk plains (Malaysia). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/tempasuk-plains-iba-malaysia on 23/11/2024.
