KOTA KINABALU: About 70 per cent or 204 endemic tree species in Sabah are facing threats from climate change and severe weather conditions.
These unique trees have been classified as critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable.
They are part of the 291 tree species assessed for the "Red List of Sabah Endemic Trees".
These assessments were conducted based on the standards of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species website, covering the period from 2018 to 2022.
The collaborative efforts were carried out by the Sabah Forestry Department, Botanical Garden Conservation International (BGCI) and IUCN Species Survival Commission Global Tree Specialist Group (SSC GTSG) as part of the global tree assessment initiative.
The publication of the red list was launched by Sabah Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan during the opening ceremony of the International Conference on Heart of Borneo: An Ecosystem that Provides, at the Sabah International Convention Centre on Aug 23.
Also present was Sabah Chief Conservator of Forests Datuk Frederick Kugan.
On the positive side, about 66 per cent of the endemic tree species are considered to have stable populations.
The publication aims to give greater awareness about the conservation status of the endemic tree species, especially prioritising the 39 critically endangered species.
The initiative is part of the broader global tree assessment, aiming to assess the conservation status of trees worldwide, of which about 80 per cent have already been assessed.
At the state level, the information from the assessment will contribute to long-term forest management strategies, plant species conservation programmes.
It will also help in identifying habitats with high conservation value that require urgent conservation decisions aligned to Sabah's sustainable development goals.
The tree species were assessed by researchers from the Sabah Forestry Department, Dr Colin Maycock and student interns from Universiti Malaysia Sabah.
Joan T. Pereira, Alviana Damit, Sandy Tsen Tze Lui, Reuben Nilus and John B. Sugau compiled the publication that was funded by the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC) under the Sabah's Heart of Borneo project.