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Sains Malaysiana 55(2)(2026): 191-208
http://doi.org/10.17576/jsm-2026-5502-02
Pemetaan Gua dan
Pembangunan Parameter Saintifik bagi Penilaian Gua Batu Kapur sebagai Tapak Geowarisan: Kajian Kes di Gua Bilah dan Gua Persit, Merapoh, Pahang, Malaysia
(Cave Mapping and Development of
Scientific Parameters for the Evaluation of Limestone Caves as Geoheritage Sites: Case Study at Gua Bilah and Gua Persit, Merapoh, Pahang,
Malaysia)
NORBERT
SIMON1,* , LAILA FADILAH ZULFIKRI2,
MOHD IDHAM MANSOR3, ZAHID AHMAD3 & AMMAR HAKIM SHAH
SHAHABUDIN2
1Program Geologi, Fakulti Sains dan Teknologi, Universiti Malaysia
Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
2Program Geologi, Jabatan Sains Bumi dan Alam Sekitar, Fakulti Sains dan Teknologi, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi,
Selangor, Malaysia
3Agensi Angkasa Malaysia, No. 13,
Jalan Tun Ismail, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Received: 19 June 2025/Accepted: 28
January 2026
Abstrak
Tapak geologi, umpamanya batu kapur sering dilihat sebagai sumber ekonomi dari sudut pengkuarian. Namun begitu, sumber ini yang kaya dari segi nilai saintifik boleh menjana pendapatan untuk pelancongan dan menjadi tempat pembelajaran berkenaan sejarah dan proses bumi. Gua batu kapur bukan saja penting dari aspek geologi tetapi juga berfungsi sebagai habitat organisma tertentu dan juga akuifer, menjadikannya penting untuk dipelihara bagi tujuan pendidikan, penyelidikan dan pelancongan. Walau bagaimanapun, satu cabaran utama dalam menilai kepentingan geologi gua batu kapur adalah kurangnya set parameter yang jelas untuk pencirian saintifik geologi, yang sering menyebabkan pendekatan penilaian menjadi terlalu umum. Oleh itu, kajian ini membangunkan satu set parameter yang sesuai bagi mengenal pasti dan menilai nilai saintifik gua batu kapur berdasarkan pemetaan geologi. Set penilaian ini mengandungi 13 parameter yang merangkumi: kehadiran mineral, bilangan jenis batuan, fosil, struktur geologi, hidrogeologi, kepelbagaian speleotem, kepelbagaian speleogen, bilangan keunikan speleotem & speleogen, bilangan proses pembentukan speleotem, bentuk laluan gua, corak gua, bilangan ruang untuk dipelihara dan integriti. Parameter ini diuji di Gua Bilah dan Gua Persit, Merapoh, Pahang dan didapati parameter yang digunakan mampu mengenal pasti keistimewaan gua dari aspek saintifik geologi dan keunikan setiap gua.
Kata kunci: Geo kepelbagaian; geowarisan; kelestarian; pemeliharaan; speleo-kepelbagaian
Abstract
Geological sites such as limestone are often regarded as
resources for quarrying. However, these sites which are rich in scientific
value can generate income for tourism and become a learning site about Earth's
history and processes. Limestone caves, are scientifically important not only
for their geological features but also as habitats for certain organisms and
aquifers, making their preservation important for educational, research, and
tourism purposes. A key challenge in assessing the geological significance of
limestone caves is the absence of clear parameters for geological scientific characterisation, which can lead to overly generalised evaluation methods. To address this issue, this
study developed a comprehensive set of parameters to identify and evaluate the
scientific value of limestone caves through geological mapping. This evaluation
set contains 13 parameters which covers: presence of minerals, number of rock
types, fossils, geological structure, hydrogeology, diversity of speleothem,
diversity of speleogen, number of unique speleothem
& speleogen, number of speleothem formation
processes, types of cave passages, cave patterns, number of chambers to be
preserved, and integrity. These parameters were tested at Gua Bilah and Gua Persit in Merapoh, Pahang, and it
was found that these parameters were capable of identifying the scientific
significance and the uniqueness of each cave.
Keywords: Geodiversity; geoheritage;
preservation; speleo-diversity; sustainability
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*Corresponding
author; email: norbsn@ums.edu.my
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