Background Info
THE ROYAL BELUM STATE PARK, PERAK OR ALSO KNOWN AS ROYAL BELUM IS ONE OF THE RICH-MEGABIODIVERSITY AREAS IN MALAYSIA. THE TROPICAL RAINFOREST AREA REPRESENTS SOME OF THE MOST BIOLOGICALLY DIVERSE, STRUCTURALLY COMPLEX WITH ABOUT 60% OF CARBON STORED IN GLOBAL FOREST VEGETATION. IT IS ONE OF THE OLDEST TROPICAL RAINFORESTS IN THE WORLD AND IS REMAINED AS ONE OF THE LARGEST UNTOUCHED FOREST RESERVES WITH AMAZING FLORA AND FAUNA IN MALAYSIA. DESPITE THE LARGEST CONTINUOUS FOREST COMPLEX IN PENINSULAR MALAYSIA, ONLY FEW ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO CONDUCT A CENTRALIZED HIGH IMPACT RESEARCH PARTICULARLY IN APPLYING MODERN GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGY COUPLED TO ENGINEERING, SOCIAL SCIENCES, EARTH SCIENCES, AND APPLIED SCIENCES TO ADDRESS THE REAL PROBLEMS RELATED TO TERRESTRIAL AND AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM IN THE SUPPORT TO RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTS AND CLIMATE CHANGED STUDIES. IT IS IN LINE WITH CONTINOUS EFFORTS OF THE GOVERNMENT TO INTERNATIONALIZE THE LOCAL RESEARCH, TO INCREASE THE HIGH IMPACT PUBLICATIONS ESPECIALLY DEALING WITH THE PRESERVATION AND CONTROLLING THE SOURCE OF NATIONAL MEGA-BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM. UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA (UTM) IS LEADING A RESEARCH CONSORTIUM CONSISTS OF UNIVERSITI KEBANGSAAN MALAYSIA (UKM), UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA (UITM), UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA TERENGGANU (UMT), UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA (UPM), UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI PETRONAS (UTP), POLITEKNIK AND SUPPORTED BY INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATORS FROM THE NETHERLANDS, JAPAN, UNITED STATED OF AMERICA, INDIA, AND TURKEY. UTM SCIENTISTS INITIATED THIS COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH IN MARCH 2013 (SEE RESEARCH ACTIVITY IN THE FOLLOWING SECTION). SEVERAL MEETINGS AND DISCUSSIONS HAVE BEEN ARRANGED WITH ALL STAKEHOLDERS TO EXPLICITLY DISCUSS THE LOCAL ISSUES AND PROBLEMS FACED BY THE LOCALS AND ALSO POSSIBILITY TO PROVIDE SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATION THROUGH THE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND INTENSIVE STUDY FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE COUNTRY IN THE NEAR-FUTURE.