Setiu Wetlands

Setiu Wetlands (

It is less than an hour drive from Kuala Terengganu, the capital of Terengganu. The nearest towns to the wetlands are Penarik and Bandar Permaisuri. Setiu Wetlands is accessed via Pengkalan Gelap.^[2]

Hydrology and ecosystem

Approximately 75 per cent of Setiu district is wetland areas, which mainly consists Chalok River basin, Bari River basin, and Merang River basin that converge and form a continuous lagoon.^[3] These areas start from the coastal lowland plains of the South China Sea in the east to the hilly areas in western Setiu, that includes Mount Tebu. Setiu Wetlands itself is 26 kilometres long and 1.5 kilometres at its widest section.^[4]

Setiu Wetlands is a mixture of riverbank

The lowland areas forming the Setiu Wetlands contain a large swath of Melaleuca or Gelam trees (also known as paperbark tea-tree) that is rare in this country.^[6][7] The river basin also contains other kinds of coastal swamp and freshwater swamp forest such as nipa palms forest, Bruguiera forest, mixed mangrove forest, Lumnitzera forest, Rhizophora forest, Melaleuca forest, and Avicennia forest. Another feature of Setiu Wetlands is the presence of seagrass beds.^[4]

The Wetlands is an area of high biodiversity and very hard to find. From a number of research carried out, 29 species of

The Setiu Wetlands is also the only other location where a large colony of the Papilionanthe hookeriana, which is an orchid species, can be found. It is also known as Kinta weed and, as the name suggests, its other habitat is in the swamps of the Kinta Valley in Perak. This orchid species is protected in the state.^[10] Scientists from the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) have also discovered a new variety of the nepenthes rafflesiana, a type of pitcher plant in the wetlands.^[11]

Culture

Setiu Wetlands is a major aquaculture spot. The local residents are involved in brackish water cage culture, pond culture, pen culture and oyster farming. It is a large producer of grouper and oyster seeds. Other than that, the lagoon is also a natural harbour for fishing boats of the fishermen surrounding the area. Local industries at the local villages such as the production of seafood-based delicacies such as budu (fermented fish sauce), fish crackers, dried anchovies and belacan (shrimp paste). Small fishing boat-making industry is also carried out by the villagers.^[4] The locals also make handicrafts from kercut and nipah, long-stemmed grass that grows wild in swampy areas.^[2]

Setiu Wetlands State Park

The Government of Terengganu stated that the park would be gazetted as the first State Park in Terengganu in 2015 (although Terengganu has a national park within its boundary, and a few marine parks). The decision to create the State Park came due to biological diversity of the area, the protection of the natural environment, and the potentials for ecotourism.^[12] The early phase of the park involved an area the size of 400 hectares.^[13] On 10 May 2018, the Terengganu State Government officially declared Setiu Wetlands as the first state park in Terengganu, which was named as Setiu Wetlands State Park.^[14]

Gallery

• 
  Pneumatophores

  of the mangrove trees found at Setiu Wetlands State Park.
• 
  The brackish water lagoon that forms part of the ecosystem of Setiu Wetlands.
• 
  The entrance of Setiu Wetlands State Park.

See also

• Kenyir Lake, the second state park of Terengganu
• List of national parks in Malaysia

References

External links

• WWF-Malaysia Project: Sustainable Management of Setiu Wetlands
• "Setiu Wetlands: Nature's Jewel" - A video by WWF-Malaysia