Along this river there are six Malay villages, one Semoq Beri (a group of Orang Asli) village and several Bateqs (another group of Orang Asli) villages scattered in and outside within less than 4 km from the boundary. These Orang Asli groups can only be found in this national park and are believed to have a long history of inhabitation in this area. The Malays too has long resided within the national park until the establishment of the national park forced the Malay communities to move out since the gezettement enactment did not recognize the existence of the Malays as part of the national park unlike the Orang Asli. There are evidences of old villages inside the national park such as in Kuala Atok and Kuala Keniam with the existence of fruit trees and places believed to be old graveyards. In the past, there are more than six villages in this region until these small villages upstream were abandoned due to many reasons such living difficulties due to remoteness faced by the further upstream villages; the opening and relocation of communities to plantation scheme such as the Federal Land Development Authority Scheme (FELDA); the migration of younger generation to work in tourism sector in Kuala Tahan; and the consolidation of the small villages to bigger villages like Kampung Bantal and Kampung Gusai.
Anthropogenic activities have always had a great impact or modified the forest area along the national park boundary. Taman Negara Pahang too cannot escape from these threats. Development and human activities along the boundary pose many threats and often jeopardize the vitality of the national park. Areas surrounding Taman Negara Pahang have experienced some degree of biological degradation,especially from logging, land clearing, and farming as well as aquaculture projects. In some cases, fish pond project owned by the local community also pose a threat to the Ulu Tembeling river basins by the intrusion of exotic species from these ponds. Unlike the Orang Asli, the Malays cannot hunt in the national park. However, this activity is common amongst Malay villagers. On the other hand, the community of Kampung Bantal also face the threat of elephants raid to their rubber plantation which results to a huge monetary loss. Unfortunately, this loss is absorbed individually by the owners without compensation from any parties.