UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA

PLANNING THE PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION OF TIMBER IN SABAH, MALAYSIA

JOSEPH AHLAN

FH 1993 3

PLARRIMG THB PRODUCT 10M AMD COMSUKPTIOB OP TIMBER

1M SABAR, MALAYSIA

BY

JOSEPH AHLAII

Thesis Submitted in pulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in the

Paculty of Porestry, universiti Pertanian Malays ia

April 1993

ACDIOWLBDGBKBftS

I acknowledge with sincere thanks and appreciation

the various forms of assistance , faci lities and

encouragement extended to me by different agencies and

individuals during the preparation of this thesis . In

particular , I wish to express my gratitude to the

following persons who in one way or another shared their

time and effort in assisting me in preparing this

thesis : -

The Director of Forestry Department , Sabah for

approving my study leave and the Chief Minister ' s

Department of Sabah , for the financial assistance during

the course of my stay in univers iti Pertanian Malaysia ;

Associate Professor Mohd . Zin Jusoh ,

chairman of my supervisory committee , for

valuable advice , suggestions and

throughout the period of this study ;

the present

his concern ,

encouragement

Associate Professor Dr . Yusuf Hadi the former

chairman and Dr . Mohd . Shahwahid Othman , a member of my

supervisory committee , for their valuable guidance ,

advice and sharing of their valuable time and expertise ;

Friends and Colleagues - Sining , Andurus , Singaram ,

Dominic , Kinus , Yahya , Pilis , Saad , and Caroline for

their assistance and friendly advice .

i

Lastly

Jerom for

providinq lie

but not least to my wife , Alice and my son ,

their sacrifices , underlying love , and for

with the inspiration .

Above all , to God , the source

everything I enj oy .

of l ife and

ii

TABLE 01' COIfTEIfTS

ACDOWLEDGBKDT8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

LIST

LIST

01'

01'

TABLBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

GLOSSARY

ABSTRACT

ABSTRAlt

CHAPTER

I

I'IGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

IIfTRODUCT I 011

Problem statement

Obj ectives

Organisation of the Thesis

I I I'ORBST ARD I'ORESTRY IIIDUSTRIES III SABAK ..

General Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Climate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Geology and Soils

water Sources • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • D • • •

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Population

Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Forests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Constitutional Provisions . . . . . . . . . . . .

Forest Area o • • • • • • • • • • 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

iii

Page

i

vi

viii

ix

xi

xiv

1

1

4

4

6

6

7

7

8

9

10

12

12

12

I I I

Classification of Forest by Vegetation Types • • . • • . . • • . • • . . • . . . . . • 16

Forest Management • . • • . • • • • • • • . . . . . • • • • . • 18

Forest Plantations • • • • • • • • • • • . • . . • • . • • • • 2 4

Production of Plantation Timber • . • • • • 2 6

Price of Plantation Timber • . . . • • . • • • • 2 7

Marketing and Usage o f Plantation Timber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 9

Timber Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1

Past Trends in Log Production . . . . . • . . 3 1

Source of Timber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 4

Log utilisation . • • • . • • • • • . . . . • • • . • . • • 3 6

Forest Industry . . . . • . . • • • • • . • • . • . • • . . . . . 3 8

Logging Operation and Transportation of Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 9

Sawmil ling Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 0

Plywood and Veneer Industry . . . . . . . . . . 4 3

Other Forest Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 5

Importance o f the Forestry and Forest Industr ies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 7

LI'l'BRA'l'URB RRVIBW • . . • • • • • • • • . . • • • • . . . . . • 5 1

Review o f Previous Analysis o f Log Production from the Forests of Sabah . • . • 5 1

Proj ection o f Future Log Production 52

Synthesis of the Various Proj ection 63

Review of Previous Estimation of Log Consumption by Wood-Based Industry . . . . . 69

iv

IV

V

VI

D'l'JIODOLOGY . . . . • • . . . . . • • . • . • . . • • . . . . . . • • 77

Proj ection of Log Production • • • • . • • • • . . . 7 7

Data . . • • • • . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . • • . . . . . . . . . . 7 7

Description o f Scenarios . • • • • • • • • . • . . 7 7

Method of Proj ection • • • • • • • • . • . . • • • • . 82

Estimating Future Domestic Log Consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Model Specification . • • . . • • . • • . . . • • . . . 8 3

Domestic Consumption o f Forest Logs . . 8 3

Method o f Estimation 87

Method of Forecasting • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • 89

Data Collection . • • . • • • • • • • • . . . . . • • • . • 89

RBSULTS AND DISCUSSIO •••••••••••••••••••• 9 1

Proj ection of Log Production • • • • • . • • . • • . 9 1

Factors Affecting the Proj ection of LO<J Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Future Domestic Log Consumption • • • • . • • • • 104

Regression Results • • • . • • • . • • • • . . • • . • . 104

Estimation of the Future Domestic Log Consumption • • . . • • . • • • • • • • . . . • . . . • 107

Comparison between the Proj ected Log Production and Domestic Consumption • • . • • 1 1 1

Policy Implications • • • . • • • • • • . . • . • • • . • • . 113

SUIOIARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

LITBRATUR. CITBD ............................... . 122

APPBHDICBS 1 3 1

VITA . . . • . . . . . . . . . . • • . . • . . . • . . . . . . . . . . • • . • . . . . . . . 153

v

LIST OJ' TABLBS

Table Paqe

1 Classification of Forest Reserves • • . • • • • • • 13

2 Classification of Forest by Vegetation Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 7

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1 0

1 1

1 2

13

14

15

Revised Version of the Sequence of silvicultural Operations as of 1976 • • • • • • .

Potential Forest Plantation Species in Sabah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Extent of Forest Plantation • • • • • . . . . •

Export of Plantation Logs from Sabah

Log Production from Sabah , 1950-1990

Log Production from Forest Reserve and Other Forests . • . • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • . . • . • •

utilization of Logs in Sabah ( ' 000 cu . m) .

The Development of Sawmil l Industry in Sabah since 19 70 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • .

The Development of Plywood and Veneer Industry in Sabah • • • • . • • • • • . • • • • . • .

Forest Revenue , Expenditure and state Revenue for 1970 - 1990 (RM' 000 ) • • • • . • • • •

Export Values of Maj or Forest Products from Sabah (Million RM) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Previous Forecasts of Log Production Schedules (million cu . m) • . . • . • . • • • • . • • • •

Assumptions for the Various Scenarios

16 Proj ected Future Forests for Various Cutting Cycles and silviculture

19

25

27

2 8

3 2

3 5

3 7

4 2

4 4

4 8

5 0

54

58

Trea tment . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . 6 0

1 7 Assumptions about the Length of Cutting Cycles for the Commercial Forest Reserve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

vi

18 Natura l Forest : Area by strata and Type . . . . • . . . . . . . . • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

19 Estimated Timber yield Per Hectare . • • . • . • 78

2 0 Basic Assumptions for Proj ection . . . . . . . . . . 79

2 1 Proj ection of Log Production (mill ion cu . m per annum) • • • . • • . . . • . • . . • . 9 2

2 2 Regression Estimates of the Log Consumption by Sawmi lls , Veneer and Plywood Mills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

2 3 Inequality Coefficient ( U) , RMS%E and Proportions of Inequality (Um , Us and Uc) for Each Endogenous Variable • • . • • . . . . 106

24 Data used in Forecasting the Log Consumption by Sawmills , Veneer and Plywood Mills in 1992 - 1996 • • . • • • . • • . • . . 108

25 Estimated Future Log Consumption based on Past Trends by Sawmills , Plywood and Veneer Mills in Sabah ( 1992-19 9 6 ) ( cu . m) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

2 6 Estimated Future Log Consumption by Sawmills , Veneer and Plywood Mills , based on Government Agencies and Private Sectors Prediction in Sabah ( 1991-199 6 ) ( cu . m) . . . • • • . . . • • • • • . • • • . • . . • 109

27 Data for Forecast the Future Log Consumption by Domestic Industry in Sabah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

2 8 Scenario 1 : Result o f Log Production Proj ection from Sabah (mil lion cu . m) 147

29 Scenario 2 : Result of Log Production Proj ection from Sabah (million cu . m) 148

3 0 Scenario 3 : Result of Log Production Proj ection from Sabah (million cu . m) 149

3 1 Result for Annual Harvest Area in all Scenarios ( in mil . hal • • . . . . • • • • • . . • . • • . . 150

vi i

J' iqur.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1 0

LIST 0.. ..IGURBS

Development of Silvicultural System in Rain Forests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Diaqram of Diaqnostic Samplinq

Previous Forecasts of Loq Production

Scenario 1 , 2 and 3 - Proj ection of Log Production from Sabah • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Scenario 1 , 2 and 3 - Annual Harvest Area .

Actual and Forecast per capita Loq Consumption by Wood-based Industry , Sabah .

Loq Production Proj ection and Domestic Log Consumption in Sabah ( 1992 -1996) • • • • •

Result of Loq Production from Natural and Plantation Forest in Scenario 1 • . • • • •

Result of Loq Production from Natural and Plantation Forest in Scenario 2 • • • • • •

Result of Loq Production from natural and Plantation Forest in Scenario 3 • • • • • •

viii

Paq.

2 0

2 3

5 5

9 3

9 3

110

112

152

152

152

cu . m

dbh

D . W

EPU

EEC

FAO

FDS

FELDA

GNP

GDP

ha

IMP

IDS

LSM

MAl

MUS

NFC

NLC

OLS

OPP2

RIF

RM

SAFODA

SDB

GLOSSARY

Cubic Metre

Diameter Breast Height

Durbin-watson Statistic

Economic Planning unit

Eroupean Economic community

Food and Agriculture Organization of the

united Nations

Forest Department Sabah

Federal Land Development Authority

Gross National Product

Gross Domestic Product

Hectare

Industrial Master Plan

Institute Development Studies

Linear Sampling Miliacre

Mean Annual Increment

Malayan Uniform System

National Forestry Council

National Land Council

Ordinary Least Squares

The Second Outl ine Perspective Plan 199 1 - 2000

Regeneration Improvement Felling

Ringgit Malays ia

Sabah Forestry Development Authority

Sabah Development Bank

ix

SDS

SFI

TAS

TPZ

TSP

USDA

WAI

2 SLS

Statistics Department of Sabah

Sabah Forest Industries

Timber Association of Sabah

Timber Processing Zones

Time Series Package Programme

United states Department of Agriculture

Wood Availablil ity Index

Two Stage Least Squares

x

Abstract of thesis submitted to the Senate of Universiti Pertanian Malaysia in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science .

PLAKHI»G THB PRODUCTIOM ABO COMSUKPTIOM OP TIMBER I. SABAR, IlALAYSIA

by

JOSBPH AHLO

APRIL 1993

Chairman : Associate Prof . Mohd . Zin Jusoh

Faculty Forestry

The forest industry is one of the maj or contributors

to the economy of Sabah . Thus , factors influencing timber

production and consumption affect the state ' s future

economy and industrial development . This study is

undertaken to analyse the past , present and future timber

production of Sabah and to estimate future log consumption

by the domestic wood-based industries .

Recent Sabah forest inventory data and timber yield

estimated by FAO were used for the log production

proj ection . Three scenarios corresponding to dif ferent

assumptions of timber yield and forest management were

developed . For log consumption estimation , static and

dynamic models were used and tested in five functional

forms . Data over 20 years were employed for this

estimation . Data on past trends , government and private

sector's proj ections of domestic and import prices and per

xi

capita income were used in the forecasting of log

consumption .

The annual proj ected log production for scenarios 1 , 2

and 3 were between 2 . 7 to 3 . 7 , 3 . 7 to 4 . 7 and 4 . 7 to 6 . 1

million cu . m per annum respectively for the f irst ten

years . scenario 3 is expected to accommodate domestic log

requirements . About 49 to 9 3 % of log production in all the

scenarios are from natural forests . Government pol icies

on forest plantation , forest management intensities ,

cutting cycle , down-stream processing , land development

and log export quota are the main factors affecting log

production .

The double-log form provides the best regressive

result with respect to significant coefficients for both

the per capita

s ignificant F

income and domestic log price variables , 2

statistic and high R . To test the

suitabil ity of the above estimated consumption functions

for forecasting purposes , the Theil ' s inequality

coeff icients and Percentage of Root Mean Square Error

were estimated and they were found to be very low . The

forecasted domestic log consumptions show that log

consumption wi ll increase around 1 . 0 to 6 . 8% per year from

5 . 94 milliom cu . m in 1992 to 7 . 2 6 million cu . m in 199 6 .

A comparison between forecasted annual log consumption

with proj ected annual production in scenario 3 shows a log

production deficit from 1 . 2 to 2 . 1 mi ll ion cu . m per annum

xii

in the next five years . This implies the need for a policy

review on the export quota , forest management intensities ,

cutting cycle , forest plantations establishment , logging

technique , as well as Timber Processing Zones and down­

stream processing industries should be undertaken to take

into account of the forecasted log production deficit .

Log supply alternatives may have to be identified .

xiii

Abstrak tes is yang dikemukakan kepada Senat universiti Pertanian Malays ia sebaga i memenuhi keperluan untuk

mendapatkan Ijazah Master Sains

PERANCANGAN PENGELUARAN DAN PENGGUNAAN BALAK DI SABAH, MALAYSIA

Oleh

JOSEPH AHLAN

Apr i l 1 9 9 3

Pengerusi Prof . Madya Mohd . Z in Jusoh

Fakult i Perhutanan

I ndustri perhutanan merupakan penyumbang utama kepada

ekonomi Sabah .

pengeluaran dan

Faktor-faktor yang

penggunaan balak akan

mempengaruhi

mempengaruhi

ekonomi dan pembangunan industri pada masa depan .

Kaj i an ini bertujuan mengana l is is pengeluaran balak pada

masa l epas , semasa dan akan datang , serta menganggarkan

penggunaan ba lak pada masa depan o leh industri kayu

tempatan .

Data dari inventor i hutan negeri Sabah dan anggaran

has i l ba lak o leh FAO digunakan dalam unj uran pengeluaran

bal ak . Tiga scenario yang menggunakan pelbagai andaian

anggaran has i l balak dan pengurusan hutan diana l i s i s . Bagi

anggaran penggunaan ba lak , mode l statik dan dinamik

digunakan dan diuji dalam l ima bentuk fungsi . Data yang

digunakan merangkumi tempoh 2 0 tahun . Da lam merama l

penggunaan ba lak , data bagi pendapatan per kapita , harga

xiv

balak tempatan dan import digunakan , berasaskan tren masa

lepas dan anqgaran oleh pihak keraj aan dan swasta .

Unj uran pengeluaran balak menunj ukkan pengeluaran

tahunan bagi scenario 1 , 2 dan 3 masing-masing di antara

2 . 8 hingga 3 . 7 , 3 . 7 hingga 4 . 7 dan 4 . 7 hingga 6 . 1 j uta

meter . Hanya scenario 3 dij angka dapat menampung keperluan

balak tempatan . Lebih kurang 49 hingga 9 3 % pengeluaran

balak bagi semua scenario adalah dari hutan asli . Dasar

mengenai ladang hutan , pusingan tebangan , intensiti

pengurusan hutan , kuota eksport balak , pembangunan tanah ,

dan pemerosesan hiliran merupakan faktor mempengaruhi

pengeluaran balak .

Fungsi bentuk double- log memberikan keputusan regresi

yang terbaik dengan pemalar yang signifikan bagi per

capita pendapatan dan harga balak tempatan , statistik F 2

yang signif ikan , dan nilai R yang tinggi . Untuk menguj i

kesesuaian fungsi penggunaan yang dianggarkan untuk

tujuan ramalan , uj ian Thei l ' s dan peratus ralat punca

ganda dua digunakan dan didapati nilainya rendah .

Penggunaan balak tempatan dianggarkan meningkat di antara

1. 0 hingga 6.8% setahun dari 5 . 94 juta meter padu pada

tahun 1992 kepada 7 . 2 6 j uta meter padu pada tahun 1996 .

Perbandingan unj uran penggunaan balak tahunan dengan

unj uran pengeluaran tahunan balak pada scenario 3

menunjukkan berlakunya defisit pengeluaran balak di

antara 1. 2 hingga 2 . 1 juta meter padu setahun untuk

xv

tempoh l ima tahun akan datang . Ini menunj ukkan kaj ian

semula dasar kuota eksport balak , penubuhan ladang

hutan , teknik pembalakan , intensiti pengurusan hutan ,

pus ingan tebangan , industri pemerosesan hil iran dan

zon pemerosesan balak patut dipertimbangkan . Sumber lain

bekalan kayu juga harus dikenalpasti .

xvi

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Problem statement

The Government ' s Second Out l ine Perspective P lan

( 19 9 1 - 2 0 0 0 ) and Vis ion 2 02 0 , coupled with the social

pressure with in Sabah , which stems from its rapidly

expanding populat ion , have led to planning prioriti s ing

further employment opportunities through expanded

industrial development and massive convers ion o f

forested land into agr iculture . During the period 19 7 1

t o 1 9 8 8 , about 4 07 , 3 0 0 ha have been opened up for

agricultural purposes . It is envisaged that between

4 , 2 0 0 to 6 1 , 0 0 0 ha per year of forested l and wi l l be

converted to agriculture in the future ( SD S , 1 9 9 0 ) .

About 1 3 0 , 0 0 0 ha of forested land have been harvested

annual ly f or the period from 1 9 6 5 to 1 9 9 0 ( FDS , 1 9 9 0 b ) ,

whereas the rate of the annua l coupe necessary for

sustained-yield management is only about 3 3 , 4 3 2 ha

( Pardo , 1 9 8 9 ) .

I f this current annual rate of harvesting o f 1 3 0 , 0 0 0

ha , which yie lds an estimated 9 . 0 mi l l ion cu . m o f

r oundlogs , i s not substanti a l ly reduced , i t i s env isaged

that by the year 2 0 0 0 , Sabah w i l l be entirely dependent

1

2

on the remaining Permanent Forest Estate . Thus a

shortfall in production of logs is envisaged by the year

2 00 0 or even earlier if the current wood based industry

operated at its full potential capacity of 7 . 4 million

cu . m ( FOB , 199 1 ) . There wi ll be adverse socio-economic

consequences to the development of the forest sector

especially the sawmill and plywood/veneer industries .

In the last decade , forecasts made of future

forestry and forest industry situations have been

highly variable . The proj ection made by Munang ( 1979 )

indicated that future harvests would initial ly decrease

to 4 . 8 million cu . m per year and then become constant

at 2 . 3 mil lion cu . m beginning 19 80 . However , the

Forestry Department of Sabah ( Chai and Yahya , 1989 )

predicted that under sustained yield forest management ,

the Permanent Forest Estate could only produce about

1 . 2 million cu . m and about 1 . 8 million cu . m from

plantation forest by the year 2 000 which may cause Babah

to become a net importer of forest produce by that year .

other studies proj ected the sustained annual

harvest from the Permanent Forest Estate and Plantation

to be 2 . 6 mi llion cu . m (Poyry , 1990 ) , 3 . 6 ( Liew and

Bario , 1 9 8 0 ) , 4 . 6 million cu . m (John et al . , 1983 ;

Yusuf , 198 5 ) .

3

There is a need to improve log production analysis

by taking full account of future intensive forestry and

forest processing practices , including the utilisation

of lesser known species and smal ler diameter trees , the

establishment of plantation of fast-growing species , the

improvement of logging technique and the intensification

of si lvicultural treatment in the indigenous forests .

Past analyses only considered one level of intens ity of

future forest management , where it was

yield from the forests was not much

assumed that the

higher than that

achieved under current practice in Sabah .

There is

various types of

a need also to take into account the

forest strata which have different

timber yield per ha in the Class I I Commercial Forest

Reserve as indicated in the more recent inventory data

in 1987 . In the past , log production proj ection was

only based on the average volume per ha , not taking into

account the yield per ha from the various strata .

Lastly , there is a need to analyse log production

together with the utilisation by the wood-based

industries in the same study .

4

obj ectiv ••

This thesis attempts to analyse some aspect of the

development of forestry industry in Sabah . The specific

obj ectives are :

( i ) to analyse the past , present , and future timber

production from Sabah , and

( ii ) to forecast the future log consumption by the wood­

based industries .

organization of the Thes is

The study wil l be presented as fol lows : Chapter I I

provides a background information on Sabah and a review

of the state forest and forest industry sector . Chapter

I I I reviews past proj ection of log production in

previous studies since 19 79 and ends with a synthesis of

these forecasts . The chapter also discusses the past

log consumption proj ection .

The method of analysis of proj ection of the future

log production and consumptions by the wood

processing mills are presented in Chapter IV . Chapter V

presents the results and discussion of the log

production proj ection corresponding to different

5

assumptions of forest policy , forest management and

timber yield and on the future log consumption by the

wood processing mil ls in Sabah and also the pol icy

implication . Finally , Chapter VI provides the summary

and recommendations of the study .

CHAPTER I I

FOREST AND FORESTRY INDUSTRY I N SABAH

General Background

The Malaysian state of Sabah is situated at the

northern t ip of Borneo I s land . It occupies a tot a l land o 0

area o f 7 , 3 7 1 , 1 0 0 ha between latitudes 4 8 ' and 7 2 2 ' o 0

North and longitudes 1 1 5 9 ' and 1 1 9 1 5 ' East . Sabah

i s predominantly h i l ly and can be div ided into three

regi ons .

( i ) The western lowlands contain the largest area o f

l ow , flat ground and include a number o f o f f-shore

i s l ands . Though narrow in extent these l owlands

are inhabited by almost 7 0 % of the total

popu lation of the state .

( i i ) The Crocker Range runs almost para l l e l to the west

coast , extending from the southern end of Marudu

Bay in the north and fol lowing the coast l ine 2 5

k i lometers inland , and extends southwards a long

the western part of the state to the Sarawak

border . Little or no habitation exists . The

centra l up lands are lower than the Crocker Range

but have a comp lex structure . The region is thinly

populated and the populat ion mainly compri ses of

shi fting cu lt ivators .

6

7

( i i i ) The eastern lowlands , containing low- lying swampy

z ones , embrace the deltas and the maj or r ivers ,

interspersed with sandy stretches o f the

coastl ine . Land use is characterised by l arge

p lantat ions of o i l palm , cocoa and other estate

crops .

C l imate

The c l imate of Sabah is warm and moi st . The o

temperature of the lowland region averages 2 6 . 3 C .

var i ation in temperature is diurnal rather than o 0

seasona l , ranging from 2 3 C to 3 4 C . The average annual

rainfa l l var ies from 1 , 7 3 0 mm to 5 , 0 5 0 mm and i s subj ect

to seas ona l var iation due to the monsoon . The northeast

monsoon i s exper ienced from October or November to

February , and the south-east monsoon from May to August

or September . Between the monsoons , winds are

indeterminate . Humidity is genera l ly high , espec ia l ly

ins ide the forest , at 7 0 - 9 0 % .

Geology and S o i l s

The soi ls of Sabah are genera l ly derived from

s i l iceous sand-stones which compr ise the great mounta in

chain travers ing the state . The exceptions include a

l oca l i sed area of volcanic soil in the Semporna

Peninsul a and intrus ions of soils derived from basic