Mount Kinabalu (16019)
Malaysia, Asia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1e, B2
Year of last assessment: 2023
National site name: Mount Kinabalu
Central coordinates: Latitude: 6.1575, Longitude: 116.6341
System: terrestrial, freshwater
Area of KBA (km2): 795.12496
Protected area coverage (%): 84.92
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Kinabalu Park, which lies north-east of Kota Kinabalu, was the first park to be established in the Sabah State (Liew, 1996; MOCAT, 1996; Phillipps and Liew, 2000). The terrain of the park is rugged with steep-sided ridges clothed in dense tropical hill forest. The ridges form deep 'V'-shaped valley with streams and rivers at their bottoms, which have carved deep gorges out of the earth (Jenkins, 1971b). Two peaks lie within the Park; Gunung Kinabalu and Gunung Tamboyukon. Gunung Kinabalu, at 4,101 m asl, is the highest peak in Southeast Asia. Geologically, Kinabalu is the youngest non-volcanic mountain in the world. The 1,800 m deep Low's Gully to the north splits Gunung Kinabalu into two halves - the Eastern Plateau and western Summit Plateau. Several rivers drain the park namely; Sungai Kedamaian, Sungai Labuk, Sungai Sugut, Sungai Wariu, Sungai Kementis and Sungai Lumutuk Besar (Lee et al., 1995).The Kinabalu granite massif was emplaced into folded and faulted Tertiary sedimentary rocks and ultramafic (ultrabasic) rocks (about 40,000 million years ago). The oldest rocks in the Kinabalu area are the metamorphic rocks of schist and gneiss, which are found in pockets in the upper reaches of the Sungai Bambangan and Penataran. The ultramafic rocks occur along the southern and western parts of the Kinabalu massif. Both of the rocks are surrounded by a thick sequence of sedimentary rocks. The Pinosuk gravels occupy the southern foothills of the mountain, mainly on the Pinosuk Plateau, which is made up of boulders and blocks of predominantly granitoids and some sandstones, partly consolidated in a clayey matrix (Collenette, 1985; Lee, 1996; Mohd Shafeea Leman, 1995). (II) Climatic ConditionsHigh and torrential rainfall is experienced annually and increases with altitude; average of 2,500 m asl at Poring Hot Springs (550 m asl), 2,700 mm at Park headquarters (1,563 m asl) and at Panar Laban (3,270 m asl). Affected by the south-west monsoon (May-July) and north-east monsoon (November-January), which are the wettest months. Driest time is usually in March-April. Inter-monsoon period between August-September is usually fairly dry but climatic variations can occur in any year. Severe droughts during El Nino events affected the mountains in 1973, 1983, 1992 and 1998, killing large number of trees (Phillipps and Liew, 2000). Throughout its history as a Park, Kinabalu had encountered several forms of serious and minor threats (Seema Viswanathan, 2001; Roy Goh, 2001; Ghazally Ismail and Lamri Ali, 1996). Certain parts of the part was degazetted, the first in 1971 for copper mining (about 2,500 ha) and 1984 (Pinosuk Plateau). Encroachment into the park area for shifting agriculture and illegal logging around its perimeter is also cause for concern. The encroachments may give rise to further poaching of rare plant or animals. Forest fires occurred at Bukit Hampuan in 1990.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site contains the last known location that Ansonia guibei was observed in the wild. Nine species of birds meet B2 and 132 birds and two mammals meet legacy KBA criteria and are in need of reassessment.
Manageability of the site: This site was identified in 2003 by BirdLife partners. Protected areas cover the majority of the site.
Delineation rationale: This site was identified in 2003 by Birdlife partners: : Mount Kinabalu - SitrecID: 16019.
Habitats
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Forest | 100 |