Gunung Mulu National

Sarawak’s Gunung Mulu National Park is situated about 100km east of Miri town and covers an area of 544 square kilometers. Within the park, there are three massifs - Gunung Mulu, a sandstone missif, Gunung Api and Gunung Benarat, the limestone massifs. The National Park is immensely rich in plants and animals. A staggering 2,000 species of flowering plants including new species have been identified and it is estimated that the park contains at least 3,500 plant species. Approximately 20,000 animal species are also found there. Although the majority are insects, there are 60 mammal species, 262 birds, 23 lizards and toads.

Gunung Mulu National Park was declared a World Heritage Site by the World Heritage Committee in December 2000. It now joins the same rank as Kinabalu National Park in Sabah and 128 other sites in the world which have been accorded this status. Somes of these other sites include the Yellowstone, Everglade and the Grand Canyon National Parks in the United States, Mount Everest in Nepal and Galapagos Island of Ecuador.

Gunung Mulu National Park is an example which shows major changes in the Earth’s history. It also has ongoing development in the ecosystems and the communities of plants and animals. From the view of science of conservation, it contains the most important natural habitats for theatened species that are valued universally. In addition, it contains areas of exceptional natural beauty. In this region, the only other site nearest to Malaysia that meets all criteria is the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia.