Ethnobotanical Study

ASEAN Review of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation (ARBEC) January-March 2003
LOCAL USE OF FOREST PRODUCTS IN KUYONGON,

SABAH, MALAYSIA
Jacob Andersen1 , Christina Nilsson2 , Thomas de Richelieu2 ,

Herdis Fridriksdottir 3 , Januarius Gobilick4 , Ole Mertz5 and Quentin Gausset6
ABSTRACT
This article examines the use of forest products in Kuyongon, Sabah, Malaysia. An
interdisciplinary approach of this study has enable scientific identification of the forest products
and a meaningful assessment of the importance of these products in terms of subsistence and
income generation. The article discusses the importance of the nearby Crocker Range National
Park to the surrounding communities as the source of their forest products in relation to other
forest areas near Kuyongon. Our study showed that forest products are used extensively in the
villagers’ daily lives for a wide range of purposes; especially as wild vegetables, firewood and
for construction and handicrafts. For most households, the income from forest products is small
but for low-income groups, this could be appreciably substantial. The majority of forest products
are collected at different stages of the secondary forest regeneration and this can explain the
need for long periods of fallow in between shifting cultivation so as to allow growth of
harvestable forest products required by the villagers. The Crocker Range National Park is
however not a widely used gathering site for most of the villagers, with the exception of an
occasional use for hunting and collection of special products.
INTRODUCTION
The peoples of Borneo have a long tradition of using and relying on forest resources, not only in
terms of arable land for cultivation, but also for gathering forest products. Although most people
today are more or less integrated into the modern market economy, shifting cultivation, hunting
and gathering continue to be an important part of their daily life (Brookfield et al. 1995). These
activities can be critically viewed in terms of subsistence and income generation as well as their
cultural practices (Cleary & Eaton 1992; Brookfield et al. 1995; Mertz et al. 1999). It has been
estimated that 80% of the population in the developing countries use forest products for
subsistence, consumption and/or income (Johari et al. 1998). Of late, there has been an
increasing interest in getting a better understanding of the importance of forest products and the
development of forest management systems that involve local communities (Durst et al. 1995;
Colfer & Soedjito 1996; Christensen 1997; Johari et al. 1998; Mertz et al. 1999).
Despite several ethnobotanical studies in Borneo extensive use of forest products on a daily
basis, no real assessment of their economic importance to the households has been attempted
(Pearce et al. 1987; Colfer & Soedjito 1996; Christensen 1997).
Studies investigating the use of forest products by local communities are valuable for
preservation of local knowledge on resource sustainable practices. Of particular interest is the
http://www.arbec.com.my/pdf/art2janmar03.pdf Page 1 of 1
dependence on forest products of communities living in villages bordering national parks where
collection of forest products is restricted. Knowledge on the collection of forest products and
how the Park serves as gathering sites for local communities can provide park managers with
crucial information when developing policies for prk management.
The present paper provides a case study on plants used by the people in a village adjacent to the
Crocker Range National Park (CRNP) in Sabah. The objective of the study is to analyse to what
extent the villagers of Kuyongon use forest products, where they collect them, and how
important the forest products are for the villagers’ livelihood. An attempt will be made to
document the types of forest products collected, their exploitation and importance in the daily
needs of the communities.
STUDY SITE
The village of Kuyongon was established in 1964 with the migration of people mainly from
Longkogungan, a village in the Penampang district. Their reason for moving to Kuyongon then
was to seek better livelihood by settling in an area closer to a market and with access to more
land and better infrastructure. Kuyongon is almost entirely inhabited by Kadazandusun people.
According to the Tambunan District Office, the number of inhabitants was 262 in 1997. There
are about 35 households in the village and the average size of the households is 7-9 persons.
Kuyongon stretches about 4km along a narrow valley, and is surrounded by rather large areas of
secondary and primary forests and scattered cultivated fields. Some households have official
native titles to their lands but most have applied for them. The villagers rely mainly on
subsistence farming as their livelihood and most grow rice combined with some cash crop
production like vegetables and ginger. The villagers practise shifting cultivation on slopes
around the village where forested areas have been cut, burned and cultivated for a few years.
Fallow periods vary and the forest around the village is characterised by many different stages of
succession. Near the village, most forests are secondary, but further away the forests are less
disturbed and some have reached a climax stage akin to that of a primary forest. The
northernmost part of the village is located within the CRNP, except for one household which is
situated on the border of the national park. Most of the households are situated within 90-minute
walking distance from the CRNP.
METHODS
A field work was carried out for a period of 10 days in October 1999. An interdisciplinary
approach was applied to address different aspects on the use of forest products rather than a
purely natural (collecting plants and listing the names and uses of the different plants) or social
scientific analysis (concerned with the local use, knowledge and conceptualisation of the plants)
would have done. Participatory methods were used which include mapping of the village;
household survey; forest walks, plant collection and determination. A semi-structured interviews
were carried out which entailed matrix scoring and ranking; and two visits to the market in
Tambunan.
The major objective of the mapping of the village and the household survey was to select a
number of households that can give a representative picture of the forest product use in
Kuyongon. Eight households with different characteristics, accounting for approximately one
quarter of the households in the village, were selected for forest walks and subsequent in-depth
interviews (Table 1).
Table 1. Characteristics of the key-informants.
Household Level of income No. of persons Location

(adult/children)
1 Low 2/2 Extreme North
2 Low 2/10 North
3 Low 6/2 North
4 No estimate 1/0 Northern Middle
5 High 2/7 Southern Middle
6 Middle 2/9 Southern Middle
7 Middle 1/2 Southern Middle
8 High 1/3 South
The level of income has been grouped into three categories. Low equals a monthly income
(money available in the household) of less than RM200; Middle equals a monthly income
between RM200 to 500; High equals an income of more than RM500. Numbers of persons in the
household refers to persons staying permanently in the household.
A forest walk and semi-structured interview were done with each respondent. The forest walks
provided information on forest products used by the villagers as well as their gathering sites.
During the forest walks, all locally used plants pointed out by the informant were collected. For
each specimen, its local name, locality, use and application were recorded. The plant specimens
were identified with the help of specialists at Universiti Malaysia Sabah and at the Forest
Research Centre, Sandakan. The specimens are now kept at the Forest Research Centre,
Sandakan (SAN).
The forest walk with each informant was followed up by an interview to assess the importance of
forest products. During the interviews ranking and matrix scoring were used to identify the most
important vegetables for sale at the market and also for own consumption. The information from
the ranking is taken as an indicator of the most important vegetables. Finally, information from
our informants was supplemented with visits to the local market where additional information
were obtamed with respect to other vegetables found in the market.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The use of forest products in Kuyongon

The household survey showed that 21 households out of 22 gathered forest products from the
surrounding forest habitats. Our studies revealed a great variety of forest products that are
actually used by the villagers. Collection of forest products was normally confined to areas close
to their villages. Although the term forest product covers a seemingly endless range of products,
our study revealed the following widely used product categories:
• Medicinal plants
• Food plants.
• Plants for handicrafts and construction
• Firewood
• Game
A total of 110 specimens of plants representing at least 40 families were collected, identified and
grouped in different categories (Figure 1). The nomenclature of the plants follows Mabberley
(1997).
A diverse types of plants were used by the villagers in Kuyongon, reflecting the villagers’
extensive knowledge on the use of forest products. This indigenous knowledge is most often
passed from parents to children.
Figure 1 : The number of plant specimens collected in each product category.
Medicinal plants
A medicinal plant is here regarded as a plant that is used to ease, cure, or prevent illness. A total
of 38 species with medicinal uses representing at least 25 plant families were collected during
the forest walks (Table 2). Most villagers appeared to have some knowledge about medicinal
plants; although some were more knowledgeable than others. The traditional healer with
extensive knowledge of medicinal plants no longer lives in the village. There was only little
overlap in the plant species purportedly used for medicinal purposes as identified by our different
informants. This might indicate that the actual number of plants used for medicinal purposes by
the villagers here was greater than 38.
Table 3 shows the medical conditions that can be treated by medicinal plants as claimed by our
informants. Most of the plants were used for minor conditions and injuries such as insect/leech
bites, headache and diarrhoea/stomach problems. Some plants were claimed to be effective in
relieving pain from minor physical injuries such as twisted joints and sprains. One informant
showed us a plant that allegedly cures cancer. It is important to stress that the efficacies of any of
these medicinal plants were never investigated, rarely cross-checked and the local conceptuali-
sation of the diseases may differ from that of modern medicine.
Table 2. List of collected medicinal plant species, their local names and their uses.
Plant family Scientific name Local name Description of use

Acanthaceae Acanthus sp. 3 Tahipai Sap used for ears
Actinidiaceae Saurauria sp. Longugan Leaves used against scalding
Araceac Alocacia sp. 1 Sisial Ground rhizome is cut and put on
itch from caterpillar to relieve the
itch
Arecaceae Areca catechu Logus Roots of young plant is boiled: As
anti-poison and against toothache
Arecaceae Caryota sp. Botu Palm heart is boiled to make tea:
For women to produce more milk
Asclepiadaceae Hoya sp. Bina A cure for cancer
Asteraceae Blumea balsamifera Tawawo Against insect bites
Asteraccae Chromoleana sp. Nonokot Medicine for chicken when cut
Asteraceae Elephanthopus sp. Saraman Crushed leaves and shoots stops
bleeding when put on cut
Chloranthaceae Chloranthus sp. Totol Crush leaves and put on wound:
stops bleeding when cut
Dracenaceae Cordyline sp. 2 Rolok -
Drypteridaceae Diplazium cordifolius Giman-giman Boil the roots and drink as tea:
Against cold fever, especially for
young mothers
Euphorbiaceae Bischofia javanica Tongon Young stem eaten: against stomach
ache
Euphorbiaceae Homalanthus Boto-boto Against sprain: Bum leaves, mix
populneus with coconut oil and put on skin
Fabaceae Dalbergia sp. Sikat Pasta of leaves against pain from
twisted joint; Tea against asthma,
makes you dizzy
Fabaceae Desmodium sp. Rupot-rupot Against flu: roots is boiled to make
tea; crushed leaves is rubbed on the
throat
Lauraceae Cinnamomum sp. Kusur Against stomach ache
Lauraceae Litsea sp. Lindos Bark is used to relieve pain from

leech sting
Malvaceae Urena lobbata Pong/Tongilopang Boil the roots: Drink as tea against
stomach ache; wash mouth against
toothache
Melastomataceae Melastoma sp. Gosing-gosing Eat young leaves against diarrhoea
Menispermaceae Fibraurea Tapa bohuang For chest pain
chloroleuca
Menispermaceae Tinospora sp. Wakau Sap from the liana is used against
stomach ache and eye infection
Moraceae Ficus deltoidea - For birth control
Moraceae Ficus septica Lintotobou Boil the roots and drink as tea:
For women after giving birth
Oleandraceae Nephroplepis sp. Monumpuru Crushed young leaves against
headache
Piperaceae Piper betle Daing/Daun Sirih Against insect bites
Piperaceae Piper sp. 1 Bonsodon Against ant bite: Crush leaves and
put on skin
Polygalaceae Polygala paniculata Mentimagas Against high blood pressure;
against toothache
Rosaceae - Terukakang Tea from boiled sheaths used for
mouth wash against toothache
Rubiaceae Hedvotis sp. Mompu-ompu Against swelling
Simaroubaceae Eurycoma longifolia Tonkat Ali The plant is boiled: For the po-
tency of men; for women after
delivery; anti-malaria
Urticaceae Leucosyke capitellata Mandahasi/ Tahpoi Plant sap is used as eye-drops and
for pain in ears
Verbenaceae Callicarpa sp. 2 Subol-subol Crushed young leaves are put on
twisted joint to relieve pain
Zingiberaceae Costus speciosus - Against asthma and headache
Collected but not - Mandoringin Medicine for stomach ache (diar-
identified rhoea)
Collected but not - Numog nuli Against bleeding when cut
identified
Collected but not - Rohori Against headache
identified
Collected but not - Walahan Latex used against bleeding in
identified open wounds
Our findings overlap with those of Christensen (1997) who studied the medicinal plants used by
the Iban and Kelabit communities in Sarawak. However, it is difficult to precisely indicate the
medicinal plant species commonly used by the indigenous communities of Borneo at this stage
of our study since most of our specimens were only identified to genus level.
Table 3. Problems that can be treated by medicinal plants.
Problem Number of Species

Stomach problems/Diarrhoea 7
Insect/leech bit/sting 5
Stops bleeding when cut 4
Toothache 4
Headache 3
Asthma 2
Ear problems 2
Eye infections 2
For women after giving birth 2
Joint pains 2
Lack of potency 1
Cancer 1
Chest pain 1
Cold fever 1
Flu 1
For birth control 1
For women to produce more milk 1
Malaria 1
Scalding 1
Sprain 1
Swollen parts of the body 1
Medicinal plants are collected in most habitats and by both male and female members of the
community. For most villagers the primary forest is the most important gathering site because
certain species can only be found here. Medicinal plants are almost exclusively collected for use
in the household except for one informant who occasionally sells them at the market. The
collection is not done regularly but only when the need arises. This is also because only very few
of the plants can be stored for later use.
Despite having access to hospitals and modern medicinal treatment, the villagers in Kuyongon
seem to possess vast knowledge on medicinal plant species and their uses. They tend to use
traditional medicine for minor diseases and injuries but seek modern medicine at the local clinics
or hospitals for more serious illnesses. Although many believe in the efficacies of modern
medicines, some still prefer to try the traditional medicine first when they become sick. The two
types of medical treatment can therefore be seen as complimenting each other, which was also
concluded by Christensen (1997).
It is our impression that traditional medicine is not regarded by the villagers as particularly
important for their health and welfare, but is seen as a relatively cheap and sometimes easy way
to get medicine for minor diseases and injuries. For some of the households with low in-come,
they may have to rely completely on medicinal plants because of the expenses of buying
medicine or going to the hospital.
Food plants
This category includes mainly wild vegetables, mushrooms and fruits. Since it was not fruiting
season at the time of fieldwork, we have chosen to focus our study on vegetables which include
those planted by the farmers and the wild vegetables that appear to thrive almost everywhere.
A total of 75 species of plants used as food, representing at least 25 plant families, were collected
during the forest walks (Table 4). A total of 49 of the collected species were used as vegetables.
An additional 17 vegetables were gathered that were not encountered during the forest walks.
There appears to be some overlap between the species used as food plants by the Kadazandusun
in Kuyongon and the Kelabit and Iban communities in Sarawak (Christensen 1997).
The vegetables are gathered from a wide range of habitats including areas along streams and
secondary forests which seem to serve as more important sites than the primary forest areas.
Some 35% of the wild vegetables recorded are collected in the primary forests. Of the six most
important vegetable species for selling at the market, five are mainly found in the secondary
forest area (Table 5). Plants collected for own consumption are also found mainly in the
secondary forests rather than primary. The reasons for this include the longer distance to the
primary forest areas and the vegetables from the secondary forests are said to be of better quality
and grow faster.
Table 4. List of all food plants recorded and their uses
Plant Family/Scientific name Local name Specimen Vegetable Fruit Sold

collected
Acanthaceae
Acanthus sp. 1 Lomboi
Acanthus sp. 2 Ruhoi
Acanthus sp. 4 Tombai
Pseuderanthemum borneense Tondoloung
Actinidiaceae
Saurauria sp. Longugan
Amaranthaceae
Amaranthus sp. Ruhoi
Apiaceae
Enjugium sp. Rembah seribu
Araceae
Aglaonema sp. 1 Tupa-upa
Aglaonema sp. 2 Gumpoi
Alocacia sp. 3 Sunsulag
Alocasia sp. 3 Gumpoi
Amorphaphallus sp. Lopong
Homalomena sp. 1 Botu
Homalomena sp. 2 Buntui
Homalomena sp. 3 Lonlondou/Gultapai
Homalomena sp. 4 Telingo tambang
Homalomena sp. 5 Tukaruk
Schizomatoglotis sp. Dukaruk
Arecaceae
Areca catechu Logus
Arenga undulatablia Lihuan
Calamus convallium Lambat
Caryota sp. Botu
Daemonorops didymophylla Tomborua
Pinanga sp. Bumburing
Plectocomia mulleri Longohodan
Daemonorops didymophylla Tamborua
Asteraceae
Crassosephalum sp. 1 Kuyondai
Crassosephalum sp. 2 Menggali
Blechnaceae
Stenochlaena palustris Lembiding
Commelinaceae
- Nonobulon
Dennstaedtiaceae
Pteridium sp. Logub
Dracaenaceae
Cordyline sp. 1 Mandaringin
Dracaena sp. Lompoyou
Drypteridaceae
Diplazium sp Pakis
Hypoxidaceae
Curculigo sp. 1 Rumbisan
Curculigo sp. 2 Tondilom
Joinvilleaceae
Joinvillea sp. Tapi
Maranthaceae
Donax sp. Kobu
Melastomataceae
- Komburiong
- Tongkurangok
Melastoma sp. Gosing-gosing
Menispermaceae
- Tapa
Moraceae
Ficus sp. Runtuh-runtuh
Musaceae
Musa sp Togutui
Pandanaceae
Pandanus sp. Boribi (Tapi)
Piperaceae
Piper sp. 2 Kuyoh
Poaceae
Bamhusa sp. and others Poring
Dinochloa sp. Wadan
- Tagiung
Rubiaceae
Hedyotis sp. Mompu-ompu
Solanaceae
Solanum nigrum Tutan /Tutan pura
Solanum turvum Lintaromg
Verbenaceae
Callicarpa sp. 1 Ruttol
Zingiberaceae
Etlingera elatior Topu/ Tompu
Etlingera punicea Tuhau
Collected but unidentified
- Kodop - mushroom
- Korong - mushroom
- Pakis hutan
Collected but unidentified
- Paposon
- Rohori
- Tunda
Not found
- Birid
- Giman
- Kukaruk
- Luba
- Polod
- Pongoi
- Rungkugan
- Tadalaoung
- Talibong
- Timadang
- Tiwak
- Tolibung
- Toubung
- Uhuan
Total 58 66 7 29
Wild vegetables constitute an important part of the diet in Kuyongon. Most of the villagers eat at
least one kind of wild vegetable in their daily meals, and wild vegetables are never bought from
the market. The diversity of wild vegetables used is also high and up to eleven different species
of vegetables are consumed per week. Cultivated vegetables are generally considered to be more
important than wild vegetables. They taste better, grow closer to the house and are more easily
obtainable. Therefore, the collection of wild vegetables has a relatively low priority and only
obtained for special culinary needs and festivities. The wild vegetables however can act as
important substitute in time of poor harvest of grown vegetables. The large diversity of species
used as vegetables makes it reasonable to assume that a villager with good knowledge of plants
will always be able to find enough forest vegetables for daily consumption. Wild vegetables
appear to be more important for low-income groups. Their relative consumption of wild
vegetables is higher because they are less likely to buy products at the market.
Besides a regular collection for daily consumption, wild vegetables are also collected for sale at
the weekly market. The income from wild vegetables varies from only a few percent to as much
as 30-40% of the monthly cash income. One exception is a specific kind of seasonal mushroom,
which for some households makes up about 50% of all food plants sold. It is clear that the
households belonging to the lowest income groups have the relatively highest income from wild
vegetables. This is not because wild vegetables make up a higher percentage of the total amount
of vegetables sold, but because the lower income groups have a relatively much higher total
income from vegetables. Similarly, Warner (1995) states that it is common for poor households
not to have a high actual income from the forest products (in Kuyongon it amounts to RM5-100
per month), but they may provide a high portion of the household’s total income. Still, the sale of
cultivated vegetables is more important than forest vegetables. For our informants the cultivated
vegetables constitute about 60-80% of the vegetables sold. Villagers attributed this to the many
varieties of wild vegetables afready sold at the market, the low price, and the limited number of
forest products that can be collected in the nearby forest.
Of the large number of species collected and used as vegetables, some are used much more than
others. Some species are collected in relatively large quantities because they sell well at the
market or because the villagers consume them more frequently. We know of 29 species that are
sold at the market (Table 4), but the diversity of products sold is probably higher. Six species
could, at the time of the field work, be identified as particularly important for sale at the market
(Table 5).
Both men and women collect vegetables but there seems to be a difference in their gathering
patterns. Usually women go to the forest with the purpose of collecting forest vegetables,
whereas men mostly collect vegetables while engaging on other activities like hunting or
clearing forested land. Women also sometimes collect vegetables in groups, making the
gathering a social activity as was observed by Christensen (1997). Women tends to be more
knowledgeable than men about wild vegetables, especially with respect to their whereabouts in
the forests and quality of the vegetable types.
Table 5. A list of 6 vegetables important for selling at the market.
Plant family Scientific name Local name Seen at the Most important
market gathering site
Araceae Alocacia sp. Sunsulag Secondary forest
Araceae Schizomatoglotis sp. Dukaruk Primary forest
Blechnaceae Stenochlaena palustris Lembiding Secondary forest
Drypteridaceae Diplazium sp. Pakis Secondary forest
Solanaceae Solanum nigrum Tutan Secondary forest
Zingiberaceae Etlingera punicea Tuhau Secondary forest
Plants for construction and handicrafts

Plants are also collected for their fibres used for making handicrafts and tying or binding
purposes in construction. Fibres, which include rattans and bamboo, are used on a daily basis and
are important. The term ‘handicrafts’ is used to refer to all sorts of hand-made objects ranging
from rat traps to plaited backpacks.
A total of 14 plants used for handicrafts or construction purposes, representing only 2 families,
were collected (Table 6). These include 13 species of rattans belonging to the palm family
(Arecaceae) and a screwpalm (Pandanus sp., Pandanaceae). Uses of bamboo were recorded but
no specimen was collected in the study. A total of 22 local names for plant species used for
construction and handicrafts were noted and 20 of these are rattans. About half of the species of
rattans found in our study are also used for similar purposes either by the Iban or the Kelabit peo-
ple (Christensen 1997). These plants are widespread and have good quality fibres suitable for the
needs of the communities in Borneo.
The villagers collect rattans in both primary and secondary forests. Most rattan is collected in the
secondary forest areas and very long rattans are only found in more undisturbed primary forest.
Table 6. Recorded species used for construction and handicrafts. Rattans not found are still put
in the Palm family (Arecaceae) since all rattans belong in this family.
Plant Family/Scientific name Local name Type Description of use

Arecaceae rattan String
Calamus acuminatus Podos pura rattan Low quality rattan for
handicrafts
Calamus convallium Lambat/Tu’uh rattan String
Calamos javensis Podos rana rattan Barait
Calamos pogonacanthus Sumiliu rattan Bags
Ceratolobus discolor Logong rattan Barait, Wakid
Daemonorops didymophylla Tomborua rattan Many handicrafts
Daemonorops longistipes Kopit rattan Low quality rattan for
handicrafts
Daemonorops periacantha Dahandang rattan String
Daemonorops sabut Sulak rattan For nyiru, trap for birds,
bags
Daemonorops sparsiflora Dahandang/Sansaraban rattan Bags
Korthalsia cheb Podtung rattan Handicrafts
Korthalsia jala Saro rattan Handicrafts
Korthalsia robusta Lasas rattan Handicrafts
Not found Bii rattan Handicrafts
Not found Borit rattan Handicrafts
Not found Loguhodan rattan Handicrafts
Not found Losun rattan Handicrafts
Not found Misulak rattan Handicrafts
Not found Sibu rattan Handicrafts
Not found Sogo rattan Handicrafts
Pandanaceae
Pandanus sp. Boribi (Tapi) woody herb Handicrafts
Poaceae
Bamhusa sp. and others Poring bamboo Handicrafts and construction
Bamboo is mainly found in the surroundings of the houses and disturbed secondary forests.
Bamboo is never planted, and it seems that the wild populations of bamboo can easily supply the
need of the villagers. Plants for construction and handicrafts are not collected regularly, but
mostly when they are needed. However, a ‘good’ rattan is always collected even on chance
encounters when in the forests. Both men and women are involved in the making of handicrafts.
Plant fibres from rattan have many uses in the village. For tying various construction parts
together, for fish traps and traps for rodents, for making containers varying from small, simple
baskets to large complicated hunting backpacks. The thin rattans (2-4mm) have the widest range
of uses; from tying material for fences and houses to plaiting material for baskets and other
handicrafts. Thicker rattans (up to 4cm) are often used for the bearing elements in the handicrafts
or split to make fiat fibres for plaiting material. Bamboo also has a high diversity of uses in
construction of fences, bridges, walls, floors etc.
All the informants have some knowledge about the collection and uses of rattan and most of the
households in Kuyongon make their own handicrafts. Table 7 shows the diversity of products
and the list is probably not complete. All the handicrafts are made from at least one species of
rattan, and most of them consist of two or more species. About 60% of the handicrafts recorded
also contain bamboo, and only 15% of the recorded handicrafts include plant species other than
rattan and bamboo. The thin-stemmed rattan species (Calamus acuminatus, Calamus javensis)
are very important but most of the rattans possess different qualities, which make them suitable
for different purposes. Those with very frequent and protruding nodes are regarded as low
quality rattan.
For construction, bamboo and rattan are regarded equally important; surpassing the importance
of even small wood logs and barks It is obvious, though, that since the majority of the houses in
the village are made from wood, the households need large wood logs for construction.
Table 7. A list of handicrafts used or made by the villagers
Materials
Local name Rattan Bamboo Palm Others Explanation Sold
Balatak Small Basket for meat/vegetables
Bangkala Used for catching fish
Barait Basket-like backpack
Basung Lightweight, funnel-shaped
backpack
Bubu Fish trap
Burung Baskets — many different sizes
Gado Squirrel trap
Gigimpuan Nest for chicken laying eggs
Device for storing vegetables and
Gulung
rice
Kalawang Hunting backpack
Karaban Bag
Kasip Rat trap

Kayaba Bag
Kukurungan Cage for chicken
Lampik Bag
Nyiru (riribu) Device for cleaning rice
Small container for salt, spices
Palangko
etc.
Robu Music instrument
Sabat Small basket-like backpack
Sirung An ‘Asia -style’ sun-hat
Siud Device used for catching fish
Sodik Bird trap
Sungul Rat trap
Tangkob Barrel for rice
Taus Trap
Togiwis Straps for baskets
Tovod (burung) Small basket for fish and snails
Tuai polos Rattan-rope
Tungkakub Trap
Wakid Funnel-shaped backpack
Number 30 17 2 3 15
Only few of our informants sell handicrafts or rattan ropes at the market and it is difficult to
assess the income generation in relationship to other products. Furthermore, income earned from
selling handicrafts is very unpredictable. The village is almost self-sufficient as far as demand
for handicraft is concerned since only few people buy handicrafts at the market. The households
not making their owm handicraft usually exchange rattan in return for having relatives or friends
make their handicrafts.
The villagers still regard the self-made handicrafts from plant fibres as very important for their
daily living, even though there is a large amount of products at the market than can substitute
handicrafts and tools made of plant fibres. Buckets, bowls and many other types of plastic and
metal containers sold at the market were extensively used in the village. However, these products
do not seem to replace but rather supplement the use of traditional handicrafts. One informant
stated that nylon was easier to work with when compared to rattan and that some people
preferred nylon because it lasts longer. Nylon was also used to repair older handicrafts when
traditional fibres gave way.
Game
The surrounding forests and CRNP are to some extent used by the villagers as hunting grounds
and hunting is an important part of the Kadazandusun culture. Primary forests serve as more
important areas for hunting than secondary forests because of the presence of large animals like
deer and monkeys. Wild pigs are, however, often encountered ni the secondary forests. Hunting
frequencies vary a lot among households. A small minority of the men go hunting more than
once a week, whereas others go only once a year or never. The animals are either caught by traps
or shot with guns. Traps are set out both in secondary and primary forests, but for longer hunting
trips the villagers most often venture into the primary forests including CRNP.
Hunting in the areas close to the village is mainly done by setting traps for small animals while
doing other activities of their farmland. Hunting trips occur and seem to be well-organised events
since the men go together in groups for 2-4 days into CRNP or other forest areas. Primitive
hunting huts made of branches and palm leaves are used as shelters on those trips and sometimes
a female spouse to one of the hunters comes along to cook for them. When hunting is done in a
group, the game meat is shared among the hunters.
One informant indicated that a decrease in the wildlife populations has been taking place in
recent decades due to hunting. They now have to go deeper into the forest and hunt more often
than before to get the same quantities of meat. They explained that increasing possession of guns
since the 1960’s probably was the main reason for this. Guns are more efficient and easier to
master than the blowpipes with poisonous arrows traditionally used.
Meat from games is not a staple part of the villagers’ diet because meat from large mammals is
only eaten by most households occasionally throughout the year. Meat from rats and squirrels are
probably consumed more often since they are caught more frequently.
It is clear that meat from the forest is not an important source of income or subsistence for the
villagers, but the amount of time spent in the forest hunting indicates that gaming is an important
cultural practice.
Importance of CRNP compared to other forest areas

Most villagers possess rather limited knowledge about the national park and have heard about it
only within the last two or three years. For this reason and because the national park border was
not clearly demarcated until September 1999, most people were not aware of the actual bounda-
ries of the park. Our studies indicate that the largest quantities of forest products are extracted
from the secondary forest areas around the village and CRNP only serves as an important
hunting site and for collection of certain plants only.
There is a difference in how much and for what purposes the different households use the
national park. The primary criterion for choosing the park as their gathering sites is the short
distance to their houses. Therefore households bordering the park gather products inside the park
and those situated further away from the park primarily use CRNP for hunting and to a lesser
extent collection of other forest products such as long stemmed rattans, and some medicinal
plants which cannot be found in the secondary forests.
When hunting the villagers go in groups for periods of up to 4 days, and since most villagers
regard hunting as important, the national park offers the people in Kuyongon an opportunity to
carry out their cultural practices. Hence the study confirms, as Cleary & Eaton (1992) suggest,
that hunting remains important in cultural terms.
The areas outside CRNP used for collection of forest products consist of a range of different
types of habitats covering semi-cultivated areas, secondary forest in different stages of
succession and seemingly primary forest. Most forest products are collected from the areas
outside CRNP and these forest areas are of great importance for the livelihood of the villagers,
supplying them with a wide range of products. While short distance may be the main reason, the
heterogeneity in terms of different habitats in these areas may also be very important. Colfer &
Soedjito (1996) states that significant numbers of forest products derive from the various stages
of forest growth, and therefore harvesting of different products can be done at these different
stages of growth as well.
The heterogeneity is to a wide extent explained by the shifting cultivation practice that is used by
the villagers on steeper slopes around the village. This practice ensures that land in many
different stages of succession is present within relatively short distances compared to primary
forest where this kind of succession is restricted to light gaps after a tree has fallen (Whitmore
1984). The qualities of shifting cultivation in relation to collection sites for forest products rely,
to some extent, on the length of the fallow period. Long fallow periods ensure large fallow areas
and a wide range of successional stages. In the case of Kuyongon it seems that the agricultural
practices of the villagers do ensure sufficient fallow period since cultivated plots appear rather
scattered on the slopes, interspersed with areas of secondary forest. The fallow land belongs to
the farmer who cultivated it, but according to the local land-use system, all villagers can collect
most kinds of forest products in these areas when it is for own consumption. This ensures that all
villagers have sufficient access to collection of forest products, even if they do not own much
land themselves.
Consequently, the forest areas outside CRNP function as a buffer zone relieving the pressure on
the natural resources of the National Park, and the presence of secondary forest in various
successional stages is a positive effect of the shifting cultivation practises used by the villagers.
If the agricultural system is intensified in terms of shortening the fallow period or turning
towards permanent crops, it is reasonable to assume that the pressure on the resources of CRNP
will increase.
CONCLUSION
The villagers of Kuyongon have a comprehensive knowledge of forest products and their use.
Forest products are generally important for their livelihood, but not as important as rice and other
cultivated products. Forest products are used extensively for own consumption, and to a lesser
extent sold at the market. Many products, like food plants, firewood and handicrafts, are used on
a daily basis. Hunting and collection of medicinal plants are undertaken more irregularly.
Furthermore, the village is close to self-sufficiency in the supply of forest products, since forest
products are rarely bought at the market. The collection of forest products can moreover function
as a buffer in case of poor harvest..
Products like nylon and gas cookers do not seem to replace the use of forest products like rattan
and firewood but merely to complement them. Access to hospitals and modern medicine to a
large extent has substituted the widespread use of traditional medicine. For minor injuries and
illnesses or when modern treatment is not affordable, medicinal plants remain widely used.
The importance of forest products for the households’ income is generally limited. Sales of
cultivated products and other sources of income account for the higher part of the villagers’
income. However, the importance of collection of forest products varies from household to
household.
The households belonging to the lower income group are more dependent on forest products in
the sense that these products account for a relatively higher share of their income.
In many households both men and women participate in the collection of forest products. The
men however are mainly the ones collecting rattan and going hunting, while the women usually
collect vegetables which are either used for own consumption or sold at the market.
The majority of the forest products are collected from own farms around their dwellings or
cultivated fields in secondary forests in different stages of succession. Seen from this
perspective, the shifting cultivation practices can indirectly ensure that surrounding forests can
reach different stages of succession and thereby provide the good conditions for a wide range of
forest products to be found in the area.
The primary forest, including CRNP, is mainly used for hunting and collection of products like
long rattans and medicinal plants, which cannot be found in secondary forests. Hunting in
primary forest seems to be an important cultural practice.
REFERENCES
Brookfield, H., L. Potter and Y. Byron.

(1995). In Place of the Forest. Environmental and Socio-Economic Transformation in Borneo
and the Eastern Malay Peninsula. United Nations University Press, Tokyo.
Christensen, H.
(1997). Uses of Plants in Two Indigenous Communities in Sarawak, Malaysia. Ph.D
dissertation. University of Aarhus, Denmark.
Cleary, M. and P. Eaton.

(1992). Borneo. Change and Development. Oxford University Press, Singapore.
Colfer, CJ.P. and H. Soedjito.

(1996). Food, Forests, and Fields in a Bornean Rain Forest. Toward Appropriate Agroforestry
Development. Pages 162-187 in Padoch, C. and Peluso, N. L, (eds.). Borneo In Transition;
People, Forests, Conservation, and Development. Oxford University Press, Kuala Lumpur.
Durst, P.B. et al. (eds.).

(1995). Beyond Timber: Social, Economic and Cultural Dimensions of Non-Wood Forest
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1994. FAQ/RAP, Bangkok. RAP Publications, Bangkok.
Johari, M.Y.H.,M. Mohamed and M. Sintoh.

(1998). Sustainable Utilisation of Non Timber Forest Products. Issues and Prospects. Institute
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Mabberley, DJ.
(1997). The Plant Book. 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Mertz, O., A.E. Christensen, P. Højskov and T. Birch-Thomsen.

(1999). Subsistence or Cash: Strategies for Change in Shifting Cultivation. Danish Journal of
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1
Botanical Institute, University of Copenhagen, Gothersgade 140; DK-1353 Copenhagen K; Denmark.
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International Development Studies and Geography (Institute III); Roskilde University, DK-4000
Roskilde, Denmark.
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The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Copenhagen DK-2000 Frederiksberg C; Denmark.
4
Tropical Biology and Conservation Unit, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Locked Bag 2073, 88999 Kota
Kinabalu; Sabah, Malaysia.
5
Institute of Geography; University of Copenhagen, Oster Voldgade 10; DK-1350 Copenhagen K;
Denmark.
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Institute of Anthropology; University of Copenhagen, Frederiksholms Kanal, 4; DK-1220 Copenhagen
K; Denmark.

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ASEAN Review of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation (ARBEC) January-March 2003

LOCAL USE OF FOREST PRODUCTS IN KUYONGON,

Jacob Andersen1 , Christina Nilsson2 , Thomas de Richelieu2 ,

Table 1. Characteristics of the key-informants.

Household Level of income No. of persons Location

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The use of forest products in Kuyongon

Figure 1 : The number of plant specimens collected in each product category.

Plant family Scientific name Local name Description of use

Lauraceae Litsea sp. Lindos Bark is used to relieve pain from

Table 3. Problems that can be treated by medicinal plants.

Problem Number of Species

Table 4. List of all food plants recorded and their uses

Plant Family/Scientific name Local name Specimen Vegetable Fruit Sold

Table 5. A list of 6 vegetables important for selling at the market.

Plants for construction and handicrafts

from rat traps to plaited backpacks.

Plant Family/Scientific name Local name Type Description of use

Table 7. A list of handicrafts used or made by the villagers

Kasip Rat trap

Importance of CRNP compared to other forest areas

Brookfield, H., L. Potter and Y. Byron.

Cleary, M. and P. Eaton.

Colfer, CJ.P. and H. Soedjito.

Durst, P.B. et al. (eds.).

Johari, M.Y.H.,M. Mohamed and M. Sintoh.

Mertz, O., A.E. Christensen, P. Højskov and T. Birch-Thomsen.

Pearce, K.G., V.L. Aman and S. Jok.

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