Pos Dipang Waterfall, May 2007 Text by Robert P; Photos by Jon Tan
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April - Jun 2007 Vol. 4, Issue2 The Quarterly Newsletter of the Malaysian Karst Society For members only Inside this issue: Message from the President World Cave News 2 Dear Fellow Members, We will continue to raise awareness of MKS and its goals. This is be done using all available Recent Trips 4 First and foremost, on behalf of MKS, a big media and medium necessary. We will continue Thank you to our past president Mr Philip organizing trips to caves and karst areas to help Kota Gelanggi Leong and his committee members over the raise awareness of the society among members Pos Dipang last four years who has worked tirelessly to get and the general public. MKS to its current position. In that time, MKS MKS guides STAR 6 under Philip has been able to build up a good We want to be the National representative at BRATs base for the future. It is now time for MKS to International level for Cave and Karst. play a more prominent role in the conservation Malaysia's karst biodiversity is rich but Malaysia Coming Trips 7 and management of Malaysia's cave and karst is not formally represented at any international resources. forum at the moment. Locally, MKS will be positioned as the central body that regulates The new Executive Committee has met three and control all activities related to cave and Membership 8 times now and we have been able to put karst. Application/Renewal together a program that we feel will help MKS achieve this. The components of the program is We want to diversify MKS' income source to summarized below. ensure longer term sustainability of the society. MKS has to be a scientific and information As you can see, we have a lot of work to do in based organization. This means MKS must the coming months. To this end we have establish itself as THE source of information identified two major projects which we hope to and expertise in our field. We have to gather, see initiated. Projects needs money which MKS Committee store and use this information to achieve our means we need to seek funding for these 2007/2008 goals. Where needed, we may have to establish projects. These are the Kinta Valley Limestone field projects to gather primary information. Project and the Establishment of a Malaysian Hymeir Kamarudin Cave and Karst Database. In a way, the former With this information and expertise, we have to project would be synergistic with the latter President position MKS as THE organization when it project. Please feel free to contact us if you comes to caves and karst in Malaysia. We hope need any information on these projects or on that MKS will then be able to earn the anything regarding MKS. Yong Shim Hian credibility that is needed if we want to be taken seriously and be respected among Malaysia's Lastly, I would like to appeal to members to Vice President cave and karst stakeholders. contribute in helping MKS achieve our vision. This could be in monetary aid or simply MKS has about 120 members at the moment contributing your time. MKS is our society and Loo Voon San and we intend to increase this to at least 300 any help is certainly welcomed. Thank you and Secretary members. Although we hope to attract people hope to see you all soon. Ciao. from all walks of life, we plan to actively recruit members among the scientific and academic fraternity, particularly among those who are Bernard Lee active and passionate about cave and karst. Hymeir Kamarudin Treasurer President Kinta Valley Mohd. Tajuddin Robert Percival Liew Chin Chow Yin Ee Kiong Committee Members Page 2 The Quarterly Newsletter of the Malaysian Karst Society Note from the Editor For the benefit of our members, here is a brief explanation of the Kinta Valley Limestone Project and the Establishment of a Malaysian Cave and Karst Database. The Kinta Valley Limestone project hopes to achieve several landmarks in the management and conservation of cave and karst in Malaysia. Here we will be concentrating on the very prominent and highly conspicuous karst landscape of the Kinta Valley. We want to show that there are better ways to exploit limestone resources while conserving a better part of the hills and maintaining the unique karst landscape scenery. This project will involve a lot of lobbying, advocacy, field and awareness activities. The project to establish a Malaysian Cave and Karst Database (MCKD) will set up a GIS (Geographical Information System) database on Malaysia's caves and karst. This project will independently obtain field and secondary data to establish the most comprehensive database on anything to do with cave and karst in Malaysia. The MKS committee would like to appeal to any members who can offer help in these projects to contact the committee and work together with us for the conservation of cave and karst in Malaysia. World Cave News Tiny Blind Animal Halts Billion Dollar Even short exposures to sunlight can be fatal. Aussie Mine Extensive research and sampling conducted By Michael Perry from Reuters by the proponent has identified a number of new species of troglobitic fauna. An EPA Mar 29, 2007 report into the project found 11 species of SYDNEY (Reuters) - A blind spider-like troglobites in the area and said mining would animal has stopped development of a multi- extinguish at least five of them. The EPA billion-dollar iron ore mine in Australia after judged that a proposed mining exclusion an environmental body rejected the project zone at the site would be inadequate to for fear the tiny cave-dweller would become protect the tiny animal or aboriginal heritage extinct. in the area. "There is also concern over the long term structural stability of the landform Western Australia's Environmental post-mining," said the EPA report. Protection Authority (EPA) rejected the proposal by Robe River to develop the iron Rio Tinto said it would appeal against the ore mine in the Pilbara region after the decision. An appeals report will be sent to company unearthed troglobites, which the state's environment minister who will measure just 4 millimetres (0.16 in) in length. make a final decision. Unlike the EPA, which can only consider environmental issues, the A troglobite is an animal that lives entirely in minister can take into account social and the dark parts of caves. It has adapted to life economic factors. Robe River already mines in total darkness and may have no eyes or iron ore in nearby areas in the Robe River pigmentation, using feelers to explore its Valley. It currently produces 32 million tons way through the dark. Troglobites are per annum of ore, but the existing deposit unable to live outside their pitch-dark world will be exhausted by 2010. because they would die from ultraviolet light. April - Jun 2007 Page 3 12th Century Paintings of Buddha how much we don't know, how much there Found in Remote Nepalese Cave is to discover, explore and understand," Coburn said, adding they plan to return to By Binaj Gurubacharya, Associated Press the cave next spring to conduct more Writer research. The area has for centuries been KATMANDU, Nepal May 4, 2007 (AP) used as a major passageway between Nepal and Tibet. Paintings of Buddha dating back at least to the 12th century have been discovered in a cave in Nepal's remote north-central region by a team of Giant Crystal-Filled Cave Discovered international researchers who were in California tipped by a local sheep herder. A mural from National Geographic News with 55 panels depicting the story of Buddha's life was uncovered in March, By Blake de Pastino with the team using ice axes to break through a snow path to reach the cave in Nepal's Mustang area, about 160 miles northwest of the capital, Katmandu. "What we found is fantastically rich in culture and heritage and goes to the 12th century or earlier," Broughton Coburn, a writer and conservationist from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, told The Associated Press. Coburn said the main mural measured around 25 feet wide, and each panel was about 14 inches by September 26, 2006—Four amateur 17 inches. explorers have discovered a giant, crystal- filled cave in California's Sequoia National The team of Nepalese, Italian and Park that scientists are hailing as a major American archaeologists, art experts, find. Only a small portion of the cavern has and climbers, were tipped by a local been explored so far. But researchers say sheep herder who mentioned that he they have already found several large had seen a cave with old paintings chambers with a variety of formations, several years ago when he took shelter including thin curtains of minerals several from the rain. Besides the main mural, feet tall, slender "soda straws" up to six feet paintings were discovered on other walls (two meters) long, and sheets of glimmering of the cave which they believe were crystals on the cave's floors and walls. made slightly later. A nearby cave had manuscripts which were written in Explorers have also found animal remains, Tibetan language, which were including the skeleton of what resembles an photographed by the team and will be ancient bear. That find inspired researchers translated by experts. Coburn said the to name the cave Ursa Minor—Latin for team planned to perform limited "small bear" and the name of the Little excavation, collection and cataloguing of Dipper constellation. The cavern was found photograph provided by Americian Sky the manuscripts. on August 19 by members of the Kentucky- based nonprofit Cave Research Foundation, Door Productions One of the 55 panels The five Americans in the team included depicting the story of Buddha's life is which has been surveying the park in search renowned mountaineer Peter Athans seen at an estimated late 13th century of new cave complexes.