The Berbak National Park in Sumatra island, Jambi province of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, forms part of the largest undisturbed swamp forest in southeastern Asia,Indonesian Ministry of Forestry
"Berbak National Park"
, retrieved 04-12-2009 and the

peat swamp forest Peat swamp forests are tropical moist forests where waterlogged soil prevents dead leaves and wood from fully decomposing. Over time, this creates a thick layer of acidic peat. Large areas of these forests are being logged at high rates. Peat ...

with the greatest number of

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

species. Protected since 1935 under Dutch colonial law and later declared a national park, it has been also recognised as a wetland of international importance.

Geography

Berbak National Park occupies part of the vast alluvial plain of East Sumatra, which comprises approximately one quarter of the island. The region is predominantly flat, being dissected by a number of meandering rivers that drain in a northeasterly direction toward the coast. Along the coast and lower sections of the rivers, extensive beach ridges and intertidal mudflats occur. The area contains 600 km² of

freshwater swamp forest Freshwater swamp forests, or flooded forests, are forests which are inundated with freshwater, either permanently or seasonally. They normally occur along the lower reaches of rivers and around freshwater lakes. Freshwater swamp forests are found ...

and 1,100 km² of undisturbed peatswamp forest. Its eastern boundary is bordered by muddy coast and a small fringe of

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...

forest. The southern border is the Benu River. The maximum coastal tidal range is 2-2.5 m decreasing to 1 m upstream. The rivers are up to 20 m deep and contain acid peatwater.

Vegetation and fauna

Plant species in the park include genus ''

Shorea Fruit of a ''Shorea'' species ''Shorea'' is a genus of about 196 species of mainly rainforest trees in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The genus is named after Sir John Shore, the governor-general of the British East India Company, 1793–1798. T ...

'' rainforest trees and 23 species of palm tree. Of these a number are categorized as

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

, including ''

Johannesteijsmannia altifrons ''Johannesteijsmannia altifrons'' is a species of flowering plant in the palm family. It is native to southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, and Sumatra. Flowers A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive ...

'', and a newly found species ''

Lepidaria kingii ''Lepidaria'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Loranthaceae Loranthaceae, commonly known as the showy mistletoes, is a family of flowering plants. It consists of about 75 genera and 1,000 species of woody plants, many of ...

''. Berbak National Park provides a rich habitat for fauna, which include the endangered Sumatran tiger and

Malayan tapir The Malayan tapir (''Tapirus indicus''), also called Asian tapir, Asiatic tapir and Indian tapir, is the only tapir species native to Southeast Asia from the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra. It has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List since ...

. Small remnant populations of the critically threatened

Sumatran rhinoceros The Sumatran rhinoceros (''Dicerorhinus sumatrensis''), also known as the Sumatran rhino, hairy rhinoceros or Asian two-horned rhinoceros, is a rare member of the family Rhinocerotidae and one of five extant species of rhinoceros. It is the o ...

may still exist in some areas of the park, although they have not been sighted in recent years. The more than 250 bird species include the

Chinese egret The Chinese egret or Swinhoe's egret (''Egretta eulophotes'') is a threatened species of egret from east Asia. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1860. Description The Chinese egret averages 68 cm in height. The plumage ...

, lesser adjutant stork, many species of

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

, and the

white-winged wood duck The white-winged duck or white-winged wood duck (''Asarcornis scutulata'') is a large species of duck, formerly placed in the genus ''Cairina'' with the Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') and allied with the dabbling ducks. However, mtDNA cy ...

. Reptiles include the

Malaysian giant turtle The Malaysian giant turtle or Bornean river turtle (''Orlitia borneensis'') is a species of turtle in the family Bataguridae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Orlitia''. It is found in Indonesia and Malaysia. This species is the largest fresh ...

, batagur turtle,

saltwater crocodile The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats and brackish wetlands from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaic region to northern Australia and Micronesia. It has been list ...

and tiger barb.

Conservation and threats

The area of the national park has been protected since 1935 under Dutch colonial law, and later became a wildlife reserve (''Suaka Margasatwa''). It has been declared a

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

of international importance under the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on W ...

and a national park in 1992Ramsar Sites Database
, retrieved 04-12-2009 The park has degraded since 1990, mainly due to

illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corruption, corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, o ...

and fires. Major fires occurred in 1994, and again in 1997, destroying about 12,000 ha in the central area of the park along the Air Hitam Laut River, and about 4,000 ha along the Simpang Melaka River. It is estimated that at least 25% of the park has been affected by illegal logging and subsequent fires. Hunting and capturing of animals and some illegal huts also exist within the reserve. In 2013 a tree house was built at Simpang Malaka, from which researchers and tourists can observe tigers safely. The tree house was built from donation made by Green Sands.

References

{{authority control National parks of Indonesia Ramsar sites in Indonesia Wetlands of Indonesia Protected areas of Sumatra Protected areas established in 1935 Geography of Jambi Tourist attractions in Jambi Landforms of Jambi Landforms of Sumatra Sunda Shelf mangroves