SAMA JAYA NATURE RESERVE: THE FIRST MULTI-PURPOSE URBAN FOREST PARK IN SARAWAK, MALAYSIA

IMRAN BIN SHAMIT

Sama Jaya Nature Reserve is situated within the boundary of Kuching City, covering an area of 17.61 hectares. The park is covered with heath forest, patches of peat forest and a few areas of primary forest, which are rich in flora and fauna. The park provides recreational opportunities for individuals and families, with cycling tracks, a jogging track also used for walking, wildlife watching, foot reflexology, nature photography and other physical exercise. Apart from physical recreational, visitors can also visit the Timber Museum; learn about insects, mushrooms and forest organisms at the Forest Biology Museum, and see collections of bamboo artefacts at the Bamboo Museum. The park also provides a new experience of beautiful landscape and architectural design by the Japanese Architecture Association at the Japanese Garden.

The survey was undertaken to collect information on the frequency of activities done by visitors using the facilities and the frequency of visitors to the park, and to provide information and feedback from visitors regarding the introduction of entry fees in the future (Sarawak Government 1999:115).

Two methods were used for this research: an Interview Survey and Direct Observation.

Interview Survey
Visitors were interviewed when they were about to leave the park. Interviews were conducted amongst groups of visitors (treating unaccompanied visitors as "groups of one"), and the person having the next birthday was selected to represent the group. Visitors aged under twenty years or unable to communicate in English were excluded.

Interviews were carried out for three weekdays, with two sessions starting at 7.30 am and two starting at 3.30 pm. Each session lasted for two hours. Seven interviews were carried out per session, making up the total of 28 interviews.

Direct Observation
This is used to collect data on the mode of transportation and number of visitors coming to the park.

Response rate
A few elderly Chinese visitors were excluded because they could not understand English, and some visitors declined to be interviewed as they were rushing to go home, especially during the morning sessions. No bicyclists were interviewed, as they left the park without stopping.

Identity of Visitors
All the 28 visitors interviewed lived in Kuching City. The age groups of visitors are shown in figure 1. All the respondents reported that they visited the Reserve at least once a week; the frequency of visits is shown in figure 2.

Activities
All of the 28 interviewees came for jogging or walking. Figure 3 shows the approximate amount of time that respondents said they had spent in the Reserve.

Figure 3: Time spent in the Reserve

Transportation
Details of mode of transport used and number of visitors came to the park are shown in Table 1 below.

Entrance Fees
When initially asked, all 28 interviewees said they intended to come back to the Reserve.

If an entrance fee of RM3.00 for adults (half price for students, senior citizens and handicapped persons) were charged, 27 interviewees (96%) would not come again and one (4%) was not sure.

With reduced rates of RM10.00 for five entries (per person/transferable) or for a group entry (5 person per group) for adult (half price for students, senior citizens and handicapped persons), 22 interviewees (79%) again said they would not return, four (14%) didn’t know and only two (7%) said they would return.

The response to a season ticket valid for multiple entries for one month for RM30.00 or three months for RM60.00 (half price for students, senior citizens and handicapped persons) was more favourable: 18 interviewees (64%) said they would return, eight (29%) said they would not return, and two (7 %) didn’t know.

The response rate from the visitors to the questionnaire was good. It was a small sample and only picked up joggers or walkers; others were seen using the reflexology path and doing other activities, but did not come into the sample. As noted, cyclists could not be interviewed, but only 3 cyclists were recorded entering the reserve during the survey time (out of a total of 150 visitors). More varied activities might be shown if the survey had included weekends or public holidays. The fact that the museums are open only from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. and 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. might have also affected the results.

The survey gives a clear profile of the people using the reserve during the week. Most of the visitors are older people, nearly half of them over 50 and only one respondent under 30. All the respondents were regular visitors, with half of them coming at least five times a week to walk or jog. Half of them said they had spent about one hour in the park and only two had spent longer, up to 1½ hours. Most use a car or motorcycle, but nearly 10% arrive on foot. This is very different to the usage for other sites administered by the Forest Department.

The implementation of entry fees will discourage many of them from returning, even if we assume that some interviewees were responding strategically, ie in the hope that a negative response would result in no entry fee or lower entry fees. For people coming several times a week, paying RM3.00 to spend an hour doing the same activity each time could be prohibitive. For these people, introducing one-month or three-month multiple entry tickets would be an important concession, and the majority of regular visitors would take advantage of this and continue to come.

Should entrance fees be imposed for Sama Jaya, the survey indicates a likely decrease in weekday visitors. In view of the visitor profile revealed by the study, which is different from that for most parks or wildlife centres, the question of fees at Sama Jaya should be given special attention. In particular, the availability of none-month and three-month multiple entry passes should be highlighted in any publicity material related to the new fees.

From the data analysis, the main activity undertaken by the regular visitors was jogging or walking.

The survey should be repeated over a longer period and covering a wider range of time, including weekends and public holidays. This will capture a larger sample of visitors, in turn giving better data for management recommendations.

Many thanks to all the staff and Park Warden of Sama Jaya Nature Reserves for their cooperation and also to all my colleagues for their assistance in my research. Special thanks to all respondents involved at Sama Jaya Nature Reserve during the survey and to all who have helped me directly or indirectly with this research.

Sarawak Government "The National Park And Nature Reserves Regulations 1999 (Fees and Charges)" Sarawak Government Gazette, Vol. L IV, No. 25 Part II