FINAL VERSION FOR APPROVAL - Sdn Bhd - WWF Malaysia

Gunung Stong State Park Preliminary Management Plan
9. Trails Physical development along the trails should be limited to
directional signposts informing the hiker of the distance to the next
destination. The longer trails like the G. Ayam Trail, the G. Stong
Trail, and the Seven Summits Trail, should have these signposts.
Since these trails follow former logging roads, they are, if not
maintained, quickly overgrown with the resam, Dicranopteris
linearis.
Photo 6.24: A Hanging Bridge Across the Sungai Jasin
WWF-Malaysia/N.M. Maseri
6.11 Visitor-Specific Carrying Capacity
Carrying capacity is defined as the level of visitor use an area can accommodate with high
levels of satisfaction for visitors and few impacts on resources (WTO/UNEP, 1992).
Basically, this relates to the capacity of an area to absorb visitor impacts. Below a certain
threshold, there is a capacity for the physical and biological resources of the land to
regenerate. However, in the case of protected areas that are also promoted to tourism, the
increase of visitors beyond a certain level, and their prolonged activities at a site, may not
only have negative, profound impacts on the physical and biological resources of the area, but
also on the visitors themselves, especially from the effects of overcrowding. This is usually
when, in an attempt to attract mass tourism, there is inappropriate development that reduces
the natural values inherent within a protected area such as GSSP.
Nevertheless, as a general rule, it is better to tolerate a few sites in a protected area to be
hardened by repeated use while keeping other areas relatively undisturbed, as the proportion
of these hardened sites in relation to the whole area is usually not very significant. Wildlife
may initially be stressed by the presence of visitors, but it is assumed that, with time, most
wildlife will get used to them, provided that visitors observe a code of conduct. The impact
of visitors on frequently-used trails can be minimised by hardening trails with concrete or
gravel and the construction of metal or wooden boardwalks and ladders to reduce erosion.
Alternatively, over-used trails can be closed and allowed to regenerate, and visitors diverted
to new trails.
There is a formula available (WTO/UNEP, 1992) for determining carrying capacity estimates
of a given area focused on three capacity variables, i.e. material, psychological, and
ecological, that are based on environmental (size of area and usable space, fragility, wildlife
resources, topography and plants, sensitivity of wildlife to human visitations) and social
factors (visitors viewing patterns, choice of sites, availability of facilities, visitors opinions).
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