Musa barioensis

At the time of the type collection, Bario was extremely isolated with no roads or rivers connecting it to settlements outside Kelabit territory (Häkkinen 2006). However, a road linking Bario to the coast has since opened and ecotourism in the area has grown in popularity (Sheldon et al. 2013). The surrounds of villages and farms are heavily disturbed by small-scale logging, wood-gathering and grazing, while forest loss is apparent along the newly opened transport routes (Sheldon et al. 2013, GFW 2019). However, the specific impact of deforestation on members of the Musa genus is somewhat difficult to quantify: while clear-felling or land conversion is likely to be detrimental to the species, wild bananas spring up in transient, often man-made, habitats and thus may benefit from human disturbance to some extent (Simmonds 1962). As such, felling of trees along narrow stretches of roadside may actually provide suitable habitat for some Musa species (Kiew 1987). On the assumption that this species occupies a highly restricted distribution, research into prevailing threats, and their effective mitigation, will be necessary.

The genus Musa is listed in Annex I of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) which aims to guarantee sustainable agriculture and food security through the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, as well as ensuring the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of their use (FAO 2009). A single wild germplasm accession is held by the Bioversity International Musa Germplasm Transit Centre (ITC) in Belgium (Ruas et al. 2017). It is not known to be conserved ex situ in botanic gardens (BGCI 2019). The type collection was not made within a protected area, however, the 1,645 km² Pulong Tau National Park reaches some of the lower montane areas of the Kelabit Highlands, bounding the west of the plateau (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2019); if the species does occur in other areas of the Kelabit Highland, then some may plants may occur within this protected area (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2019).