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Official opening of the Global Atmosphere Watch [GAW] Station
Lahad Datu: The Danum Valley Field Centre in Lahad Datu has become the base
for an internationally recognised interdisciplinary collaborative research
programme.
As a result, it is now one of the foremost rainforest research centres in
South East Asia, Director of Yayasan Sabah, Tan Sri Khalil Jamalul said.
He said this in his speech at the official opening of the Global Atmosphere
Watch [GAW] Station at the Danum Valley Field Centre on Monday.
His speech was read by a Member of the Board of Trustees of Yayasan Sabah
cum the Director of Sabah Forestry Department, Datuk Daniel S. Khiong.
The Minister of Science, Technology and Environment, Malaysia, Datuk Seri
Law Hieng Ding graced the official opening.
"Since 1984, research at the Danum Valley Field Centre has been carried out
in collaboration with the Royal Society through its South East Asia
Rainforest Research Programme.
"Over the past 16 years, more than 80 students have gained higher degrees
after working at the Field Centre and the programme has generated more than
300 publications of which many are in internationally refereed journals," he
said.
"A significant part of this research has focused on long-term changes in
rainforest ecology and climate.
"To provide background data for these studies, the Field Centre has, since
1985, conducted a detailed climate and hydrological monitoring programme
including daily rain-fall, temperature, relative humidity, sunshine,
evaporation, river level, flow rate and sediment content," he explained.
"These dates would clearly complement and supplement climate monitoring at
the GAW station since the setting up of the GAW station is for monitoring
long term atmospheric changes in relation to climate change," he added.
Khalil also expressed his hopes that with the establishment of the Global
Atmosphere Watch Station here in Danum Valley, it will not only enhance the
research work in this area, but research activities on the whole.
"In this context, Yayasan Sabah is honoured to be associated and working as
a team with the Malaysian Meteorological Services of the Ministry of
Science, Technology and Environment, in safeguarding our nation's interest
in international environmental negotiation," he said.
The Danum Valley GAW Station which joined other 22 such stations in the
world is located on a hilltop approximately 10km by road from the Danum
Valley Field Centre. The altitude above Mean Sea Level is approximately 427
or 1,400 ft and the latitude and longitude are East 117 degrees 50ft
37inches and North 4 degrees 58ft and 53 inches respectively.
The total area required for the construction of the laboratory and tower is
approximately 0.6 ha. This forms a short ridge running ill a north-south
direction.
The height of the tower will be approximately 100m. Platforms will be
constructed at 10m intervals up to a height of 80m.
These will allow access for research staff and for the mounting and
maintenance of sensors. Adjacent to the tower, are laboratory and office
with a 4-5 m high platform on which further sensors will be mounted.
According to him too, vegetation cover in the surrounding area is typical of
the low- land dipterocarp forest found elsewhere in eastern Sabah.
The site is part of the Ulu Segama Forest Reserve and was selectively logged
in 1998 and has subsequently been rehabilitated by enrichment planting using
indigenous tree species, mostly dipterocarps.
This rehabilitation work he said is being conducted by the Innoprise-FACE
Foundation Rainforest Rehabilitation Project or INFAPRO. This project
headquarters and nursery are situated close to the GAW Station site.
He also said that there will not be any installation of an onsite generator
as this would be undesirable due to exhaust emissions which could interfere
with the sensitive air quality sensors to be mounted at the laboratory and
on the tower.
It is therefore proposed to install a generator at the nearby INFAPRO
nursery, which is approximately 1.25 km away and lays an underground power
supply cable from the nursery to the GAW Station.
The initial power consumption of the station is estimated to be 15kw.
However, in order to allow for future expansion, the cabling installation
will be rated at approximately 30kw. The generator set will have a maximum
capacity of 80kw since a relatively high-powered generator is necessary to
compensate for voltage drop along the 1.25km cable.
The purchase of the generator is financed by the Malaysian Meteorological
Services of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment Malaysia,
while fuel and maintenance will be by Yayasan Sabah.
This is in view of the proposal to use excess power from the generator to
supply facilities at the INFAPRO Nursery while at the same time, back-up
power will be supplied as necessary by the existing INFAPRO generator set.
The Danum Valley Field Research Centre was established in 1984 by Yayasan
Sabah, Forestry Department, and UKM in collaboration with several other
partner institutions in order to enable the public to benefit actively from
these protected areas.
It is located in the 43,800ha Danum Valley Conservation Area-an undisturbed
primary forest conservation area.
The centre provides accommodation and research facilities for up to 20
long-term scientists.
Major projects carried out by both local and overseas researchers include
studies on tropical rainforest disturbance and geomorphic processes,
dipterocarp regeneration in different sized light gaps and vertebrate
responses to selective logging.
The day-to-day management of the Conservation Area and Field Centre is
carried out by Yayasan Sabah on behalf of the Danum Valley Management Committee.
This Committee, which oversees research and other activities within the
Conservation Area, comprises a number of State and Federal organisations,
most notably, Yayasan Sabah, the Sabah Forestry Department, the Ministry of
Tourism, Culture and Environment and Universiti Malaysia Sabah. Also
represented on the Committee is the Royal Society of the UK.
Amongst those who attended the opening ceremony were the Director General of
Malaysian Meteorological Services, Chow Kok Kee, Heads of Government
Departments, members of the Danum Valley Management Committee and scientists
doing research works at the conservation area.
Source: New Sabah Times, 12 November 2003
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