page_title: Perak
section_title: Biodiversity
hierarchical_section_title: Perak / Geography / Biodiversity
caption_attribution_description: Tapah Hills, Perak, MALAYSIA
context_page_description: Perak is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's Yala and Narathiwat provinces both lie to the northeast. Perak's capital city, Ipoh, was known historically for its tin-mining activities until the price of the metal dropped, severely affecting the state's economy. The royal capital remains Kuala Kangsar, where the palace of the Sultan of Perak is located. As of 2018, the state's population was 2,500,000. Perak has diverse tropical rainforests and an equatorial climate. The state's mountain ranges belong to the Titiwangsa Range, which is part of the larger Tenasserim Range connecting Thailand, Myanmar and Malaysia. Perak's Mount Korbu is the highest point of the range.
  The discovery of an ancient skeleton in Perak supplied missing information on the migration of Homo sapiens from mainland Asia through Southeast Asia to the Australian continent. Known as Perak Man, the skeleton is dated at around 10,000 years old.
context_section_description: The jungles of Perak are highly biodiverse. The state's main natural park, Royal Belum State Park, covers an area of 117,500 hectares (290,349 acres) in northern Perak. It contains 18 species of frog and toad, 67 species of snake, more than 132 species of beetle, 28 species of cicada, 97 species of moth, and 41 species of dragonfly and damselfly. The park was further gazetted as National Heritage Site by the federal government in 2012, and was inscribed on the World Heritage Site tentative list of UNESCO in 2017. Royal Belum State Park also hosts an estimated 304 bird species, including migratory species, in addition to birds endemic to the three forest reserve areas of Pangkor Island.  Ten hornbill species are found within the area, including large flocks of the plain-pouched hornbill. Mammal species include the Seladang, Asian elephant, and Malayan tiger. The area is also notable for harbouring high concentrations of at least three Rafflesia species. The Pulau Sembilan (Nine Islands) State Park in western Perak covers an area of 214,800 hectares (530,782 acres). Its coral reefs are home to coral reef fish species.  In addition, 173 freshwater fish species have been identified as native to the state. Another natural attraction, the tin-mining ponds in Kinta District, was gazetted as a state park in 2016. The Kinta Nature Park, Perak's third state park, covers an area of 395.56 hectares (977 acres).
  The government of Perak has stated its commitment to protecting its forests to ensure the survival of endangered wildlife species, and to protect biodiversity. The Perak Forestry Department is the state body responsible for forest management and preservation. In 2013, the state planted some 10.9 million trees under the "26 Million Tree Planting Campaign: One Citizen One Tree", associated with global Earth Day.
  Widespread conversion and reclamation of mangroves and mudflats for economic and residential purposes has caused the rapid decline of shore birds, 86% of the reduction on the Malay Peninsula having occurred on Perak's coasts. Poaching in forest reserve areas has caused a stark decline in mammal populations. The Perak State Park Corporation estimates that there were only 23 Malayan tigers left within the state's two forest reserves of Royal Belum and Temenggor in 2019. The state government of Perak has also been blamed in part for destroying forest reserves for the lucrative wood and palm oil businesses. Records since 2009 reveal that more than 9,000 hectares (22,239 acres) of permanent forest reserves have been degazetted in the state, the latest occurring within the Bikam Permanent Forest Reserve in July 2013. A number of business activities permitted by the state government have caused environmental damage, including to many of Perak's rivers, which require extensive water treatment because of severe pollution. Between 1982 and 1994, the state government was embroiled in a radioactive environmental pollution controversy over the deaths of seven residents who suffered from birth defects and leukaemia resulting from exposure. The factory involved was only closed and cleaned up following lengthy court action by affected residents and increasing international pressure. No responsibility has been accepted by the associated companies, the state government, or the federal government. Although Perak has the highest number of mangrove reserves of the Malay Peninsula states, with 19 reserves in the mangroves of Matang, growing uncontrolled clearance of mangroves for aquaculture projects and residential areas is causing significant coastal erosion in addition to the damage resulting from climate change.
caption: Kuhl's flying gecko (Ptychozoon kuhli) in Tapah Hills
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