The Klias peat swamp is located within the Klias Peninsula, situated at the southern part of the lower west coast of Sabah between the Padas River and the Bukau-Api-api River where the peat deposit measures up to 7 kilometers wide and 15 kilometres in length. Today, the remaining intact peat swamp forest is largely confined to the Klias Forest Reserve (approx. 3,630 ha), which was established as a Class I protection forest in 1984. Since its designation as a protection forest, no commercial logging has taken place within the forest reserve although selective timber extraction had been carried out in the sixties. Nevertheless, peat fire incidents and extensive land conversion, including the construction of drainage canals, surrounding the reserve, posed significant threats to the integrity of the peat swamp forest ecosystem. Realizing these issues, the reserve was selected as the core area to be protected and conserved in Sabah under the Peat Swamp Forest Conservation project which was implemented by the Government of Malaysia (GoM) in cooperation with DANIDA (2002-2005) and UNDP/GEF (2002-2008). In summary, DANIDA's component looked into the Hydrological aspect of Klias peat swamp forest which complemented the development of Klias Site Conservation Plan pursued under the UNDP/GEF's component. Towards the end of the project implementation, the project had proposed various management and conservation strategies to address the various threats and issues affecting the Klias peat swamp forest. These strategies are (1) promoting rapid development on adjacent alienated land; (2) initiating critical restoration exercise; (3) extending protected area boundary; (4) addressing abandoned drainage canals; (5) collecting and monitoring of critical data for long term forest protection i.e. Fire Danger Rating System (FDRS); and (6) enhancing local knowledge base. In order to implement these strategies, the government had constructed a field centre located on site. The centre is equipped with basic facilities to promote awareness among the general public on the management and conservation of this last remaining intact peat swamp ecosystem in Sabah. This paper briefly highlights activities implemented by the Klias Field Centre related to environmental education and awareness on peat management and conservation and also presents the issues and challenges in running the center since its establishment.
