Limestone Karsts Biodiversity

List of karsts area in Malaysia: -Gunung Mulu National Park, Malaysia -Kilim Karst Geoforest Park, Langkawi, Malaysia -Kinta Valley, Perak, Malaysia -Perlis State Park, Perlis, Malaysia -Batu Caves, Selangor, Malaysia

Status of limestone karsts in Malaysia Recognized as 'arks of bio-diversity'; it's home to many unique species of birds, bats, insects, snails, fish, mammals and plants. Researchers have devised a scientific methodology for prioritizing conservation of limestone karsts Using data from 43 karsts across Peninsular M'sia and Sabah, the study discovered that larger karsts (> 1km2) deserve greater protection as they contain higher number of endemic land snails, and potentially other endemic, e.g Gunung Jebak Puyuh, Pahang(study found 7 species of snails restricted to that area) Pressure to mine karsts for limestone is likely to increase. A previous study showed that SEA has the greatest annual average increases in limestone quarrying 5.7% a year, the highest in the world

Increasingly under threat, especially from mining for cement and marble Biodiversity of karsts especially among animals that move to surrounding areas to feed is also at risk from destruction of adjacent ecosystems, often by loggers or for agriculture. Protection of karsts has been mainly for one specific cause only and they're usually being spared from quarrying by virtue of being situated within state and national parks, or if they possess some form of aesthetic or cultural value.

Given the pace of new species discoveries from recent karsts surveys, it is likely that several species on unexpored karsts undergoing quarrying are disappearing right under our noses. Researchers say that 31 karsts-living species in SEA are currently recognized as globally threathened by the World Conservation Union(IUCN) Animals and plants found on karsts are seriously underrepresented in lists of endangered species, in part as a result of undersampling and data deficiency. As a result, IUCN figures are geographically skewed. Despite their wealth of unusual fauna, karsts remain poorly studied generally About 13% of SEA's karst area has some level of protected status