Quarrying limestone is worth billions but how does that compare to the ecological, touristic, cultural and historical values of this ecosystem?
DRIVING on the North-South Highway to Batu Gajah, Perak from Kuala Lumpur brings back many childhood memories of my balik kampung ritual.
We would pass limestone hills topped by dipterocarp trees fighting for space at canopy level while the sun created shadows in the hills’ crevices.
These views always made me ask my mother, “Do you think dragons live in these hills and caves?”
(Photo: Perak’s limestone hills are valuable as a source of raw materials for construction but is that all they should be valued for? | Gunung Kanthan pic by Sakyamuni Caves Monastery)
Two years ago in 2020, I was thrilled that a ‘dragon’ of sorts – a Stegodon or extinct elephant – was discovered in one of these caves.
That got the public’s attention. But not as much as the outcry last year from when a cement company licensed to blast another hill, tried to evict one of the oldest cave monasteries in the country.
While it is true that the monetary value of extracting limestone is far higher than that of keeping limestone hills intact, is that a fair evaluation of the hills’ worth?
The value of extraction
Rich in limestone, Perak leads by far other Malaysian states in the extraction of this mineral, according to the Minerals and Geosciences Department of Malaysia’s ‘Malaysian Minerals Yearbook’ (2019) (See diagram).
This earns the state income. Together with mining tin and the crushing of rocks, quarrying limestone contributed RM457.5 million in 2020 to the state’s gross domestic production (GDP), a measure of the state’s economic activity.
According to the Department of Statistic’s ‘Perak State Socioeconomic Report’ (2020), that made up 0.6% of the state’s total RM74.2 billion GDP.
“The state has been known as one of the key exporters of natural resources in the world,” says Dato’ Nolee Ashilin Mohammed Radzi, who is the Perak Housing, Local Government and Tourism committee chairperson.
“Hence (it is) a significant contributor to the national economy and world’s development.”
She also says that “Perak’s sustainable mining industry aims to focus on rehabilitation, preservation and high technology, including locally processed products too.”
A system of extraction
Limestone is quarried by licensed companies who lease land from the state.
The system for land leases and allocations to mine and quarry limestone was established during British colonial times, says Mohamed Shah Redza Bin Hussein, general manager of the Perak State Parks Corporation.
“Long-term concessions were given out way before the protection and conservation of limestone hills were deemed important.”
Today, the state has 42 quarries that are scattered around its capital, Ipoh. These quarries produce 48.1% of the nation’s limestone.
By far the largest use of limestone is to produce cement. Malaysian cement production has been on the rise since the 1980s. This is because cement use is closely tied to construction, and in particular large infrastructure projects, which grew from that period.
According to consultancy firm Consultancy.asia, Malaysia also has an outsized cement consumption of 600 kg per capita, higher than regional cement giant Vietnam, and even developed economies such as the US.
As the largest source of limestone for cement in Malaysia, Perak’s hills saw some reprieve in 2020—2021 as the pandemic-related movement controls halted the large infrastructure projects heavily dependent on cement.
However, now that Malaysia is cautiously gearing up to fully reopen its economy, will these limestone hills be threatened again?
Big bucks
Limestone quarrying is extremely lucrative.
Dominating the cement industry is corporate giant YTL. Its Malayan Cement Berhad group controls over half the market share in Malaysia.
The cement sector makes up the bulk of Malayan Cement’s annual revenue, which pre-pandemic, was more than RM2 billion in each of the financial years of 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Non-extractive values
What happens when we compare these economic values of Perak’s limestone hills to their non-extractive values?
Lim Tze Tshen from the Paleontological Society of Malaysia believes that the scientific information found in the Perak hills is invaluable.
“This includes their biodiversity, endemism, potential archaeology, and palaeontological significance,” says Lim, who studies life forms that existed in previous geologic periods, as represented by their fossils, particularly animals.
He was part of the team which discovered the Stegodon in a Perak cave.
The knowledge contained in the Perak hills cannot be found elsewhere because “each limestone landscape is unique in itself in its geologic history, biota composition and local climatic regime under which the landscape and biota will evolve”.
Biota is the collection of flora and fauna of a particular habitat, in this case, the limestone hills.
Limestone hills host a multitude of endemic species of flora and fauna, species found in no other ecosystem. This is due to the hills’ complex shape and structures that provide different suitable living conditions for flora and fauna to flourish. (Photo: Thick limestone forest surrounds Tasik Cermin, Gunung Rapat | Pic by Kovin Siva)
Lim stresses that the general lack of awareness and management of the limestone hills is worrying as significant discoveries might be lost if the hills continue to be unabatedly exploited.
Could this argument shift if a ringgit value were put on the hills’ ecological services to humans?
In Thailand, a study in 2014 revealed that the cave-dwelling wrinkle-lipped bat (Tadarida plicata) prevented losses of up to RM5 million annually from the rice production industry. These bats predate on the paddy-eating white-backed planthopper (Sogatella furcifera). These pests would otherwise cause 2,900 tonnes in damage in rice exports; that is enough food for 26,200 people.
Economic valuations of bat ecosystem services for agriculture in Malaysia are still being investigated by fruit bat expert Dr Sheema Abdul Aziz. Specifically, she and her team from conservation project Project Pteropus are studying the value of the services provided by durian-pollinating bats.
Malaysia has 3 species of limestone cave-roosting bats that are important pollinators:
- Cave Nectar Bat (Eonycteris spelaea)
- Common Rousette (Rousettus amplexicaudatus)
- Leschenault’s Rousette (Rousettus leschenaultti)
Tourism values
A key economic justification used by many governments to conserve natural areas is tourism. In Perak, this is certainly the case.
In 2018, the Kinta Valley National Geopark was announced (See map). The geopark area covers 1,952 km2 and contains 18 geoheritage sites or geosites.
According to Ain Maisyarah binti Yazrol, administrative officer with the Perak State Parks Corporation, “a geopark contains sites of interest that have geological value, history, biodiversity, and heritage”.
Geosites generally include fossil sites, scenic landscapes, floral and faunal habitats as well as landscapes with associated legends and myths. – Vice President, Global Geoparks Network, Prof Emeritus Dato’ Dr Ibrahim Komoo (Photo: A recreational site above, Gunung Lang’s underground passages are scenic too | Pic by Kinta Valley Watch)
Perak Exco Nolee tells Macaranga that “geotourism provides untapped opportunities which will benefit towards (sic) Perak’s sustainability.
“The vision includes job creation and community capability-building as well as sustainable mining with high yields yet environmentally-friendly practices and value-added education and research.”
Ain confirmed with Macaranga that the Perak state government allows other economic development activities in the Kinta Valley Geopark.
She says activities such as industrialisation and housing for example are therefore permitted as long as they are in line with the zoning system in the local district plans.
Overseeing the geopark area are the local authorities of the Ipoh City Council, and the Kampar and Batu Gajah District Councils.
A slew of regulations
In addition, “the geopark is subject to the existing laws, regulations and guidelines enforced by the relevant state/district and government agency authorities.”
The geopark status is assessed every 4 years by the Geopark National Steering Committee at the federal level.
Would development that impacted the integrity of the geosites go ahead considering the potentially large tourism value of the geopark?
Already, visiting Kinta Valley’s caves is part of every tour package to Ipoh. Moreover, the Ipoh Tourism Board features two limestone destination types in the city’s top 6 attractions: a show cave and cave temples.
In 2019, the show cave, Gua Tempurung, earned at least RM360,000 in revenue from 90,000 visitors, according to Tourism Perak figures shared with Macaranga.
If more of the Perak caves could be developed similarly for sustainable ecotourism, the Kinta Valley Geopark could reach the heights of Malaysia’s premier limestone destination: the Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak.
As of 2019, Mulu had been receiving up to 22,000 visitors and earning revenues of RM4.5 million annually, said Hein Gerstner, Park Manager. Mulu’s success also demonstrates that there is an opportunity for Perak to emulate high value rather than mass tourism.
Cultural values
There are more than 30 limestone cave temples in Perak which serve Buddhist, Taoist and Hindu devotees and draw tourists too.
The religious, culture and historical values of these temples are difficult to quantify but they were spotlighted earlier this year when an established temple was sent an eviction notice by a licensed quarry operator.
The Sakyamuni Cave Monastery in the foothills of Gunung Kanthan claims to be Perak’s oldest Buddhist cave monastery, established in the early 20th century.
Licensed quarrying
The entire hill, however, has been leased since the 1960s by the state government to licensed quarry operator and cement maker Associated Pan Malaysia Cement. The company is a subsidiary of YTL’s cement arm, Malayan Cement Berhad.
Quarrying had been going on since then. But the quarry operator’s attempt to evict the temple drew over 27,000 petition signatories and widespread media attention. The case has gone to court and is still unresolved.
So where do we stand?
Evidently, in terms of ringgit and sen, limestone hills’ non-extractive values cannot compare to their extractive values, at least according to available data in Malaysia.
However, these hills serve many invaluable purposes such as biodiversity and ecosystem services, cultural and historical heritage as well as religious and spiritual purposes.
Geologist and vice-president of the Malaysian Cave and Karst Conservancy Dr Ros Fatihah Haji Muhammad suggests that the government “shift focus from extractive mining and quarrying to sustainable development.”
Ros also believes that if mining were to be carried out, sub-surface mining is the only way to go, “especially with the invaluable scientific values at stake”.
Values that matter
When asked about their position on sustainable mining and the conflict with the Gunung Kanthan monastery, YTL referred Macaranga to their annual and sustainability reports.
As per their reports, YTL has been supporting biodiversity projects in Gunung Kanthan since 2014. Focused on research, species translocation and site rehabilitation, the projects are carried out in collaboration with university researchers and conservation NGOs.
Nonetheless, biodiversity is not high in priority in YTL Corp’s group sustainability assessment (accessed 10 December 2021). In terms of 24 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) matters, biodiversity was ranked at 22, local community at 20, and arts and culture, 24.
Mixture of uses
As far as the Perak state government is concerned, the limestone hills have a role to play in “economic returns” along with serving as a “picturesque natural backdrop” and recreational purposes, says state exco Nolee.
The unanticipated pause to limestone extraction by the pandemic has presented a rare opportunity for states and big industry players to make a fresh start and balance economic gains and the conservation of nature. Will all stakeholders be up for this challenge?
[Additional reporting by SL Wong. Edited by SL Wong]
Natasha Zulaikha (@natashazlkh) is a Macaranga Sprouts journalist. We thank the supporters of the Sprouts initiative who made this story possible. Natasha reported for this article during her time in the Rimbun Dahan Conservation Research Writing Residency.
Related story: Negative values can be ascribed to cement’s contribution to the climate crisis. Cement releases the fourth most carbon dioxide in terms of fossil fuels. Read about it in ‘Cement Matters in Climate Crisis’.
Also check out our Karst Ecosystem section on snails, bats, rock-climbing and mapping hills.
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