Mangrove forests are found in the sheltered areas of the coast or in river estuaries. They have local domestic value for poles, fuelwood and charcoal and they are also a source of wood chips. The main commercial species are of the genera Rhizophora and Bruguiera, with seaward fringe species of Avicennia sp. and Sonneratia sp. Two types of swamp palm are also included in the mangrove forest, nipah (Nypa fructicans) and nibong (Oncosperma horridum). Nipah is a general utility species providing local products such as housing thatch, cigarette paper, sugar, alcohol, vinegar and salt. This species frequently occurs in pure stands. Nibong occurs in the drier zone of the mangrove forest.
Fox, J.E.D. 1978. The natural vegetation of Sabah, Malaysia 1: The physical environment and classification. Tropical Ecology, 19 (2).
Year |
Area |
Source |
Trend |
Methodology/Comments |
1979 |
18 418 |
Anderson and Marsden. 1984. Forest Resources and Strategic Planning Study |
X |
Aerial photos and ground survey. |
1980 |
7 000 |
FAO, UNEP. 1981. Tropical Forest Resourcess Assesment Project, Forest Resources of Tropical Asia. FAO, UNEP, 475 pp. |
Estimation based on the extrapolation of the following: State of Brunei. 1966. Report of the 1964 Census of Agriculture. State of Brunei. 1975. Annual Report – 1975. Brunei. FAO. 1976. Brunei: The Challenge of Agriculture Development - Report of the Agriculture Mission to Brunei. By R.N. Poduval and C. Chanrasekharan. Regional Office for Asia and the Far East. Bangkok. | |
1992 |
17 100 |
Spalding, M.D., Blasco, F. and Field, C.D., eds. 1997. World Mangrove Atlas. The International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems, Okinawa, Japan. 178 pp. |
X |
Map analysis. Scale 1:25 000. |
2000 |
20 000 |
World Resources Institute. 2000. World resources 2000-2001: people and ecosystem—the fraying web of life. Washington, DC., UNDP. 400 pp. |
Secondary reference, no primary source provided. The "Year" is the publication year. Rough estimate. |
