ECO-TOURISM IN MALAYSIA

Malaysia attracts visitors drawn to its diverse culture that is infused with Malay, Chinese and Indian traditions. Malaysia's diversity extends to its natural landscapes, notably its rainforest, which is 60 percent virgin forest that has not changed for millions of years. The country's numerous natural attractions lend to its success as one of the world's leading eco-tourism destinations.

Flora and Fauna

As one of the most biological diverse countries of the world, Malaysia is home to over 15,000 species of flowering plants and almost 300 species of mammals. Additionally, there are over 150,000 species of invertebrates including marine life and insects and approximately 4,000 different species of fish. Malaysia's mangrove forests of Langkawi are an example of the fragile ecosystem that acts as a sanctuary for the country's flora and fauna.

Protected Areas

Malaysia has created over 50 environmentally protected areas that include reserves and national parks and cover approximately 4.5 percent of the country's land area. Most of the nature reserves are not generally open to the public, but the national parks welcome guests to enjoy Malaysia's undisturbed natural areas. Because of its rich diversity in tropical plant species, Kinabalu Park was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The park is home to Mount Kinabalu, which is the highest mountain between the Himalayas and New Guinea.

Activities

With all of Malaysia's national parks, you will have ample opportunity for outdoor activities. In addition to hiking and trekking through the jungle, visitors may go whitewater rafting, rock climbing, scuba diving and bird watching. Malaysia subscribes to eco-tourism as defined by the World Conservation Union, which includes environmentally conscious travel to relatively undisturbed natural areas to connect with nature. Additionally, eco-tourism activities promote conservation, have low visitor impact and provide for beneficially active socioeconomic involvement of local populations.

Attractions

In addition to independently traveling to Malaysia's national parks, you can find specific natural attractions to pique your interest. Head to Sungai Lebam Wetland Preservation Area to watch the sky light up with hundreds of fireflies. Watch the world's largest birds, ostriches, race each other at the Desaru Ostrich Farm (desaruostrichfarm.com) located in Johor. While you are in Johor, also consider visiting Crocodile World (crocodileworld.teloksengat.com) in Teluk Sengat, home to over 1,000 crocodiles. To connect with Malaysia's ancient history, visit Kelam Cave, the "Cave of Darkness," one of Malaysia's largest caves that is believed to have been the home of cavemen in the Stone Age.

Source: USA Today

ECO-TOURISM MALAYSIA: LOOK OUT FOR GAHARU - The Perfume Tree

Gaharu (Aquilareia malaccensis) is also known as agarwood, incense wood and aloeswood. In Malaysia, the best quality of Gaharu can be found in Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia, and Kelantan and Terengganu in the Peninsular.

This intensely fragrant resinous wood is very popular as ‘the wood of the Gods’, It is because of its uses range from incense for religious ceremonies, perfume for the Arabic world, medicinal wine in Korea and ornamental functions in China. As a healthy tree the Aquilaria is worth next to nothing, but wounded its defence mechanisms produce agarwood and the tree becomes a valuable commodity. Today the range of agarwood products and their uses is seemingly endless. Natural art Solid pieces of agarwood are highly appreciated as ‘natural art’ in Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Craftsmen carve raw pieces of agarwood into beautiful wooden sculptures . Agarwood is also turned into beads and bracelets. Most of the wood, however, is processed and either turned into oil which is used in perfumes and other cosmetic products, or the agarwood chips are ground into powder which is used as the raw material for incense making (and sometimes also for special cigarettes). 

The oil is also used in the production of traditional medicine as anti-asthma antitoxic, antioxidant, hypertension (anti-stress), hepatitis, sirosis, diuretic, painkiller, and many other diseases.

It is because of the aromatic smell of some composition of oils as reported by some scientists there are dihydroagarofuran and isodihydroagarofuran ; sesquiterpene, agarol and a couinarinolignan, aquillochin; sesquiterpene alcohols, jinkohol II and jinkoheremol; agarospirol, jinkohol-eremol and kusenol.

This is why agarwood or gaharu so expensive. The high price of this woody species actually is corelated to the resin or so called “Gubal”. This resin looks like a dark brown to black solid lump or a chunk with a fragrant smell (if burned), which is found in the heartwood or roots of gaharu-producing trees undergoing a chemical and physical change due to fungus infection. The trees frequently become infected with a parasite fungus or mold, and begin to produce an aromatic resin in response to this attack. So, not all plants can produce the resin because it depends on the attack. The fungus and decomposition process continue to generate a very rich and dark resin forming within the heartwood. While the unaffected wood of the tree is relatively light in color & almost useless, the resin dramatically increases the mass and density of the affected wood, changing its color from a pale beige to dark brown or black. In natural forest only as rare as 7% of the trees are infected by the fungus in natural way. Thus, agarwood develops very, very slowly over time, typically several hundred years. However, nowadays people inpurposely develop agarwood plantation using fungi-forming gaharu injection on the hole of the trunk for fast harvest.

Some of the Health benefits of Gaharu:

• Asthma, Chronic Cough, Sinus
• Chronic Fatigue
• Sexual Dysfunction
• Anxiety
• Treats Thyroid Cancer and Lung Tumor
• Sleep Disorders (Reduces Insomnia)

For a more compelling story regarding history of Gaharu read The Hidden Story of Scented Wood