Malaysia Biodiversity and Protected Areas Factsheet

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The malayan horned frog has remarkable camouflage; its color and form mimicking the leaf litter to be found on the forest floor. (http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/amphibians/malayan_horned_frog.htm)

This Malaysia Biodiversity and Protected Areas Factsheet was initally developed by the World Resources Instittute in order to provide an overview to salient biodiversity data and protected areas of the nation of Malaysia.

Malaysia is situated in southeast Asia. It consists of two disparate regions: Peninsular Malaysia in the west lying between Thailand and Singapore, and the states of Sabah and Sarawak located in the east on the island of Borneo. The two regions are separated by the South China Sea. The total land area of the country is 328,550km². Malaysia is a federal country, divided into 13states plus the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan Island..

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Factsheet

Malaysia Asia (excluding the Middle East) World
Total Land Area (ha) 32,975,000 2,494,475,000 13,328,979,000

PROTECTED AREAS

Extent of Protected Areas by IUCN Category (ha), 2003:
Nature Reserves, Wilderness Areas, and National Parks (categories I and II) 916,000 89,140,000 438,448,000
Natural Monuments, Species ManagementAreas, and Protected Landscapes andSeascapes (categories III,IV,and V) 468,000 57,211,000 326,503,000
Areas Managed for Sustainable Use and Unclassified Areas (category VI and "other") 8,717,000 57,878,000 692,723,000
Total Area Protected (all categories) 10,101,000 204,229,000 1,457,674,000
Marine and Littoral Protected Areas {a} 1,352,000 21,995,000 417,970,000

Protected Areas as a Percentage of Total Land

30.6% 8.3% 10.8%
Number of Protected Areas, 2003 647 5,761 98,400
Number of Areas >100,000 ha, 2003 22 295 2,091
Number of Areas > 1 million ha, 2003 X X 243

Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites), 2002:

Number of Sites 1 98 1,179
Total Area (ha) 38,000 5,641,000 102,283,000

Biosphere Reserves, 2002

Number of Sites X 55 408
Total Area (ha) X X 439,000,000

NUMBER AND STATUS OF SPECIES

Higher Plants
Total known species (number), 1992-2002 15,500 X X
Number of threatened species, 2002 681 X 5,714
Mammals
Total known species (number), 1992-2002 300 X X
Number of threatened species, 2002 50 X 1,137
Breeding Birds
Total known species (number), 1992-2002 254 X X
Number of threatened species, 2002 37 X 1,192
Reptiles
Number of Total Known Species, 1992-2003 379 X X
Number of threatened species, 2002 21 X 293
Amphibians
Number of Total Known Species, 1992-2003 198 X X
Number of threatened species, 2002 X X 157
Fish
Number of Total Known Species, 1992-2003 368 X X
Number of threatened species, 1992-2002 20 X 742

References and Further Reading

Citation

Institute, W. (2014). Malaysia Biodiversity and Protected Areas Factsheet . Retrieved from http://editors.eol.org/eoearth/wiki/Malaysia_Biodiversity_and_Protected_Areas_Factsheet