Terengganu is a holiday destination that is popular among local and international tourists. This is because there are many attractive places in the state to visit.

Besides the beautiful beaches, Terengganu has Lake Kenyir that attracts nature lovers. The lake is a manmade lake, and it is the biggest in Southeast Asia, with an area covering 260,000 hectare and full of Malaysia’s unique biodiversities.

Located in the district of Hulu Terengganu, bordering Kelantan on the west and Pahang south, the wide lake contains a thousand secrets to be explored.

The lake is unique not because of its clear water or the forests and hills on its either side, but because it is the gateway to National Park that is popular worldwide.

The lake with the world’s oldest rainforest that has existed since 130 million years ago is also home to thousands of flora and fauna species.

Kenyir Natural Research Station (SPAK), UMT

In line with its function as a university for society, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) endeavours to excel in research that is multi-disciplinary and social-innovation oriented. Therefore, the Socio-Economic Development Centre (CSD) was established in 2011.

Due to the research development at UMT, CSD was upgraded to Kenyir Research Institute in 2013 and it was headed by its founder Professor Emeritus Dr. Faizah Mohd Sharoum. The excellence continued when it was led by Professor Dato’ Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Abdullah in 2016. The institute was renamed to Kenyir Natural Research Station (SPAK) in 2021 and it is now a complete and an up-to-date infrastructure.

Today, SPAK is placed under the Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development (IBTPL), UMT, and headed by Associate Professor Dr. Amiruddin Ahmad, its new director succeeding Prof. Marzuki Ismail. The institute is the nucleus of the multi-disciplinary scientific research at Lake Kenyir, which focuses on the institute’s two core fields, namely biodiversity and management of natural resources, and social development.

SPAK is UMT’s approach in materializing the state’s aspiration to make Kenyir the most popular tourists’ natural destination in the region and a rural development area that is exemplary in terms of environmental sustainability and society’s wellbeing.

The station intends to become an internationally recognized main centre of reference for Lake Kenyir’s biodiversity.

Function of SPAK

The uniqueness that Lake Kenyir has, such as biological varieties, an array of aquatic resources, tourists’ attractions, and authentic cultural heritage, helps SPAK towards becoming a leading research and knowledge transfer centre in the country.

SPAK welcomes visitors from local and overseas universities, schools, other institutions, and the public to fulfil their research interest at Lake Kenyir.

Research Facilities at SPAK

SPAK was set up in a sustainable manner. It fits in with the structure of the land and its building design adapts the tropical elements and Terengganu’s traditional architecture.

SPAK offers world-class facilities for ecological and aquatic research at Lake Kenyir. It has several modern buildings that house various facilities that support high quality teaching and learning and research.

There are two academic blocks that have research labs that provide spaces for research activities, lecture rooms, research rooms for postgraduate and postdoctoral students, lecturers’ rooms, and researchers’ rooms.

In addition, SPAK is equipped with two hostel blocks that can accommodate up to 64 people at one time and six guest houses that can fit 12 researchers. An auditorium with 100 people capacity is also available at SPAK, with facilities such as prayer room, cafeteria, and toilets for the disabled provided.

SPAK is also equipped with two specimen galleries that are used to display a variety of biological specimens and natural history and sociocultural elements at Lake Kenyir. Facilities including boat houses, speed boats, and jetty are also provided to enable researchers to explore the lake and locate specimens. The facilities make it easier for researchers to interact with nature.

Research Activities

The research focus at SPAK is towards biodiversity and aquatic natural factors along Terengganu River. Herpetofauna biodiversity studies involve studies on organism, animal, and plant varieties.

The species researchers focus on include birds, mammals such as gibbons and other small creatures, fish, insects, and herpetofauna including snakes, frogs, and lizards. Studies are conducted on these species to determine their habitats and their lifespans. Indirectly the studies help to determine the cycles of nature.

One of the studies that provide an impact is the SoundsKape Project, which is a gibbon bioacoustics study that uses the Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) technology. The study uses an efficient and effective recorder, which is non-invasive and semi-autonomous, to collect information on white hand gibbons (Hylobates lar). The animals are one of the endangered species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The unique research is conducted by Dr Aini Hasanah Abd Mutalib, research officer at IBTPL, and what is interesting is that the research won the Merdeka Award grant for international attachment (MAGIA) in 2021. The award recognizes scientists at the early stage of their career by supporting and funding the winners to undergo training at institutions of their choice. Dr Aini still continues to conduct research on bioacoustics and hopes that her research will support the effort of conserving forest species and habitats at Lake Kenyir, especially the endangered species.

According to Dr Amiruddin, a new species of snake, brown in colour and measuring 30 cm, has been discovered at Bukit Lawit. The non-poisonous snake from the family of Genus Hebius was captured and preserved for further study. He said the snakes normally build their habitats around mountain areas with high latitude and it is not common to discover them in low-altitude areas. If the snake is indeed a new species, it will be an encouraging development and a proof of biodiversity’s richness at the lake.

More new discoveries are expected to be made around the area as the flora and fauna there are still very much unexplored. The biological varieties will help maintain the good ecosystem there.

Another project involves the local community of Sungai Berua, and the project is called the Jungle School project. It began in August 2021 and is led by Professor Dr. Khatijah Omar. It is aimed at inculcating the interest of 40 Semaq Beri children in learning.

In addition, the Knowledge Transfer Programme to Instil Awareness of Jenagor Cultural Heritage among the Young Generation funded by a UNESCO grant is also being carried out.

Planned Research Activities

UMT has planned several research activities at Lake Kenyir basin, including Soundscape Project, Biodiversity Trail, Project Lepto, Birds of Kenyir, Plant Biodiversity and Species Richness, Assessment of Kenyir Ecoregion Environmental Conditions Related to Flora Diversity, and Terrestrial Resources. These activities not only require high commitment from researchers but also strong support from the university and the government to make them world-class studies.