PETALING JAYA: State governments, scientists and conservationists have a new resource to help them identify biologically important limestone hills for protection and rehabilitation.

       The research publication titled "Conservation of Limestone Ecosystems of Malaysia" finds there are 1,393 limestone hills in Malaysia, with Kelantan having 298, the most in the country.

       "For the first time, we have a land-use planning tool that can help state governments and scientists identify which limestone hills should be urgently protected to prevent further species extinctions.

       "It can also reduce the number of hills that need to be sacrificed for development through better planning," said Prof Gopalasamy Reuben Clements from Sunway University and a co-researcher of Project Limestone.

       Protection and restoration of biodiversity-rich limestone ecosystems was listed as one of the 17 national biodiversity targets in the National Policy of Biological Diversity 2016-2025.

       According to the publication, a total of 116 limestone outcrops were being quarried or have been quarried.

       To date, eight had been completely destroyed due to quarrying, although most of them were considered small.

       The most intensive mining activity was carried out in Perak, where 32 of the 138 outcrops were either being quarried or had already been quarried.

       According to the study, Perak also had the largest number of outcrops used for recreation and tourism or as religious sites.

       A total of 911 hills are located in Peninsular Malaysia, while 482 are located in Sabah and Sarawak.

       Sarawak has the largest outcrop base area at 278sq km.

       Substantial limestone outcrops in terms of number and size were found in Perlis, Perak, Kedah, Pahang, Sabah, Sarawak, and Kelantan.

       Melaka, Pulau Pinang, Kuala Lumpur, and Putrajaya do not have any limestone outcrops.

       The research found that 0.3% of Peninsular Malaysia’s land surface was covered by limestone hills, while in Sabah and Sarawak, it was 0.2% of the total land surface.

       Research for the publication was funded by the National Conservation Trust Fund via Universiti Malaysia Sabah.

       The research was conducted with the help of satellite images, drone technology and ground verification.