2013 The Illipe nut (Shorea spp.) as additional resource in plantation forestry Case Study in Sarawak, Malaysia Quirijn Coolen Van Hall Larenstein, University of Applied Sciences Bachelor Thesis 0 Student nr. 890102002 1 The Illipe nut (Shorea spp.) as additional resource in plantation forestry Case study in Sarawak, Malaysia Quirijn T. Coolen Bachelor Final Thesis 2013 Course: Tropical Forestry Student number: 890102002 January 1, 2014 Project supervisor Sarawak Forestry Department: Mr. Malcom Demies Cover photo: Nut, Shorea macrophylla (Connell, 1968) 2 “One, and only one incentive sends Sarawak Malay women deeply into the jungle. Not regularly, - but otherwise unique, is either one of two kinds of nut which fruit irregularly – but when they do in such profusion that every man, woman and child can usefully turn out to help reap these strictly “cash crops” in the coastal fringe.” (Harrisson & Salleh, 1960) 3 Acknowledgments I would like to acknowledge the support of the Van Hall Larenstein University, the Sarawak Forestry Department and the Sarawak Forestry Corporation for their approval and help on the completion of my Thesis study under their supervision. This report could not have been completed without the help of the following people in particular, to whom I want to express my greatest thanks; Dr. Peter van de Meer, who initiated the contact between the Sarawak Forestry Department and the Van Hall Larenstein University and was my personal supervisor from the latter, encouraging me to broaden my perspective on the subject and improve when necessary. Special thanks to my study and project partner, Jorn Dallinga, who traveled with me to Malaysia and with whom I shared the experience and work in the tropical Sarawak forests. Furthermore I would like to thank Mr. Malcom Demies, who was my project supervisor from the Sarawak Forestry Department and who helped me getting started with the subject as well as the inventory in the Semengoh forest during a period when he was exceptionally busy. Furthermore I would like to thank Dr. Ernest O. K. Chai and Dr. Hua Seng Lee, who have both shared their knowledge and time with me to help me gather information on the subject, but also introduced me to local customs, of which I still treasure good memories. Finally, I would like to thank the staff of the Sarawak Forestry Library with Ms. Doreen Ang in particular and other people who directly and indirectly helped me with completing my thesis. 0 Abstract This report is the product of a Bachelor Thesis study on the production capacity of the Illipe nut in a Shorea spp. plantation forest. The study is executed by Quirijn Coolen under the supervision of Van Hall Larenstein, University of Applied sciences in the Netherlands and hosted by the Sarawak Forestry department. The study comprises a literature research combined with a field inventory performed in the Semengoh Forest Reserve in Sarawak, Malaysia. The study was conducted not only to explore and summarize the current knowledge on Illipe nuts, but also to link this knowledge to an example area in the Sarawak region, in order to prove the additional value of this product. The inventory was held in a plantation situated in the Semengoh Forest Reserve, established by the Sarawak Forestry Department during the period 1926-1940 to determine the potential for production of Meranti timber and Illipe nuts. The Shorea spp. involved in the inventory are; S. macrophylla, S. splendida, S. pinanga, S. stenoptera, S. palembanica, and S. hemsleyana. The literature resources used in this study were collected with help from the Sarawak Forestry Library and the use of electronic documents. It can be seen as a very complete list of available literature on the topic of Illipe nuts in Sarawak. When calculating the potential of Illipe nuts in plantation forests, crop yields very much depend on various parameters such as the intensity of the crop, which is subject to the mast flowering known to Dipterocarps, spacing of the trees in a plantation, sub-species of Shorea and soil type. The yield potential of Illipe nuts in Sarawak has been presented in this report using 3 different yield figures, divided in a low, moderate and optimal model, each using different parameters. The potential yield of (dry) Illipe nuts per hectare is approximately 348kg, 953kg, and 3.200 kg respectively. However, actual yields differ greatly depending on plantation characteristics. This study furthermore summarizes the efforts involved with the (traditional) collection, the processing methods and use of Illipe nuts in Sarawak. The export quantities and the value of the Sarawak Illipe nut over time are also mentioned. Finally, the most important Illipe nut producing Shorea species are presented, accompanied by a variety of species that are also known to produce nuts. Keywords: Illipe nuts; Shorea; Plantation forest; Sarawak; NTFP. 1 Contents List of Tables and Figures ............................................................................................................................. 4 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 5 1.1. Protection by law..........................................................................................................................7 1.2. Plantations of Shorea in Sarawak .................................................................................................8 2. Objective .............................................................................................................................................. 9 2.1. Sequence and structure of the report ..........................................................................................9 3. Methodology ...................................................................................................................................... 10 3.1. Illipe nut producing Shorea spp. in Sarawak (I) ...........................................................................10 3.2. Potential yield of Illipe nuts in a Shorea spp. plantation forest (II) .............................................10 3.3. Illipe nut values (III) ....................................................................................................................14 3.4. Flowering behavior of the Illipe nut producing Shorea spp. (IV).................................................14 3.5. Collecting, processing and use of the Illipe nut in Sarawak (V) ...................................................14 4. Results ................................................................................................................................................ 15 4.1. Illipe nut producing Shorea spp. in Sarawak (I) ...........................................................................15 4.2. Potential yield of Illipe nuts (II) ...................................................................................................17 4.3. Illipe nut values (III) ....................................................................................................................23 4.4. Flowering and fruiting behavior of Shorea spp. (IV) ...................................................................26 4.5. Collecting, processing and use of the Illipe nut in Sarawak (V) ...................................................29 5. Discussion ........................................................................................................................................... 35 6. Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................... 37 6.1. Recommendations ......................................................................................................................37 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................... 38 2 Appendices ................................................................................................................................................. 43 ANNEX I. Abbreviations and Acronyms ..................................................................................................43 ANNEX II. History of Sarawak .................................................................................................................45 ANNEX III. Forestry in Sarawak ...............................................................................................................45 ANNEX IV. Description of Shorea spp. present in the Semengoh forest reserve ....................................46 ANNEX V. Shorea plantations in Sarawak ...............................................................................................49 ANNEX VI. Yield Semengoh plantation in 1979 ......................................................................................52 ANNEX VII. Yield model values ...............................................................................................................52 ANNEX VIII. Kuching region ....................................................................................................................54 ANNEX IX. Map of the Semengoh Forest Plantation...............................................................................55 ANNEX X. Sarawak Division map ............................................................................................................56 ANNEX XI. Origin