Ultra-rich and awareness to save Sabah's pygmy elephants

THE latest warning is Sabah's elephants may go the same way of the Sumatran rhino – destined for extinction.

But the heart is going to need the help of a big purse to prevent that from happening, renowned American animal behaviourist, Katerina Pirelli believes.

So what about getting ultra-rich tourists to Sabah for lecture-style eco-tours and at the same time buy up lands deemed the jumbos' critical migration routes to avert extinction?

Yes, that's precisely the idea Katerina is working on by signing a pact with Borneo Conservation Trust on November 22.

Money and awareness is critical at this juncture, says Katerina, a trainer of animals for 20 years for movies and television on just about any animal, ranging from lions, tigers, bears and kangaroos, reptiles and primates among others.

Daily Express noticed her presence at the Nov 30-31 International Workshop on the Banteng held in Le Meridien Hotel but did not know she was into this bold initiative, until Sabah Nature Club founder, Omar introduced Katerina – founder of Borneo Wildlife Preservation (BWP).

With clear diction, an articulate Katerina expounded her vision and mission.

She said: "Basically, we in Borneo Wildlife Preservation and Borneo Conservation Trust have collaborated with a Memorandum of Understanding to put our efforts together to help progress the Bornean pygmy elephant survival."

Lecture-style eco tours for ultra-rich "We are helping Borneo Conservation Trust to purchase land in fragmented forests to connect fragmented migration routes for the elephants with tree planting projects.

"We are also purchasing land to preserve some lands that are already forests for the migrating elephants along the Kinabatangan river," Katerina said.

To get it off the ground, she said she had been working with one Josephine.

"We have been travelling together throughout Sabah, trying to put together an eco tour – a lecture style eco tour geared towards the ultra-rich to come from Europe and the United States to view some of the rainforests of Borneo."

She noted: "Right now there are luxury cruise coming here on private yachts. They come to Borneo and various parts of the island, including Kota Kinabalu and different parts of Sabah.

"But my idea is to try to bring in more luxury tourists seeking luxury and to help them with conservation efforts with the pygmy elephant, along with the Orangutan and Proboscis monkey, because these three animals are all with the same migration routes."

The big idea – Conservation "The big idea is conservation and protecting these animals because I don't honestly see that poaching is decreasing," she explained her drive to arrest the decline..

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Ultra-rich and awareness to save Sabah's pygmy elephants

.
.

Sabah conservation area will be four times Penang island size

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is piecing together a conservation area that will eventually become a key biodiversity zone about four times the size of Penang island.

State Forestry Department director Datuk Sam Mannan said the Kuamut Forest Reserve would be expanded by 14,000ha as part of efforts to realise this massive conservation area that was an important habitat for orang utan and other wildlife.

“It is like piecing together the parts of a jigsaw puzzle. It will eventually be assembled,” he said yesterday.

On Thursday, the Sabah state assembly passed an amendment to the Forests (Constitution of Forest Reserves and Amendment) Enactment 1984.

The amendment, tabled by Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department Datuk Ellron Angin, will see Class 1 totally protected forest reserves being increased from 1.26 million hectares to 1.35 million hectares.

The area for Class VI virgin jungle reserves has also been increased from over 106,000ha to more than 107,000ha as well as wildlife forest reserves from nearly 138,000ha to over 139,000ha.

However, the amendment will also provide for the removal of over 19,400ha of land from the existing forest reserves.

The department, said Mannan, was assembling a complex of protected areas comprising Kuamut, Ulu Segama, Dermakot and Segaliud Lokan forest reserves as well as the existing Maliau Basin and Danum Valley conservation zones.

Continue reading (incl. Pic) at: Sabah conservation area will be four times Penang island size

.
.

Sabah green conservation efforts and ecotourism goes global

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s remarkable success in green conservation efforts and ecotourism had put the state on the world map and continues to be a role model for developing countries in tropical biodiversity management “Sabah is well-positioned to lead conservation initiatives in the country given its growing reputation as an ecotourism destination and success in managing biodiversity,” said Prof Dr Charles S. Variappan, Director of the Institute of Tropical Biology and Conservation (ITBC) of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS).

Contrary to claims of deforestation for oil palm, Prof Dr Charles highlighted that conservation efforts headed by the Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) has expanded the number of forest reserves, wildlife corridors in the state for the last 5-10 years.

“Sabah is very unique in nature tourism and tropical biodiversity, which is why UMS is selected as the training institution for conservation,” he said during the press conference of the Third Country Training Programme (TCTCP) yesterday.

The programme, now in its 3rd cycle (2016-2018) is derived from the United Nations Triangular Cooperation Initiative with expertise provided by the government agencies such as the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD), Sabah Forestry Department and Sabah Parks, as well as Sabah Biodiversity Centre (SABC).

A total of 20 participants from 11 countries which include national park officers and wardens, agriculturists, government officials and agriculturists will be joining the TCTP programme from Sept 8 until Sept 27 at various designated training venues at the west coast, including Penampang, Keningau, Beaufort and Klias.

“We are keen to share the knowledge, expertise and experience on integrated biodiversity and ecosystem conservation acquired through years of conservation efforts in the state, “said Prof Dr Charles, who noted participants will also get the opportunity to join field visits learn first-hand on biodiversity management and conservation initiatives in Sabah.

The participating countries in the 3rd TCTP programme include Malaysia, Cambodia, Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, India, Sri Lanka, Botswana, Kenya, Mali, Uganda and Tanzania.

Continue reading at: Sabah green conservation efforts and ecotourism goes global

.
.

Kawag Forest Area in Lahad Datu set for geotourism

LAHAD DATU: Just before sunset, a group of visitors watched excitedly as a lone flying black squirrel slowly made its way up to the highest point of a tall tree, before it plunged and slided into another tree.

The small mammal’s presence is indeed very significant because the magas tree where it lived is actually standing right in the compound of the quiet and tranquil Kawag Danum Rainforest Lodge (KDRL), in the district of Lahad Datu.

KDRL is in the logged-over Kawag Forest Area, which is situated inside the Ulu Segama Malua Forest Reserve that is part of the 242,000 ha of the Ulu Segama Malua-Sustainable Forest Management Project (USM-SFMP).

For the flying squirrel, forest restoration effort in a disturbed vegetation like the Ulu Segama Malua Forest Reserve brings genuine hope and future to the  endangered wildlife in Malaysia, particularly Sabah.

In fact, the Kawag Forest Area (KFA), sited in the Greater Danum Valley Conservation Area and Ulu Segama Malua, has been identified as a wildlife tourism region under the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC).

In 2012 and 2013 the State Government regazetted the  Ulu Segama Forest Reserve and Malua Forest Reserve to Class 1 Protection Forest Reserve respectively to protect more high conservation value area.

Since its inception in 2006, the USM-SFMP has implemented several initiatives towards restoring and conserving contiguous forest reserves in the Ulu Segama-Malua.

Activities being carried out include silviculture treatment, forest restoration, wildlife monitoring, forest resource management and community forestry.

According to Sabah Forestry Department (SFD), forest restoration, silviculture and wildlife monitoring were implemented in collaboration and supported by local and international stakeholders.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Kawag Forest Area in Lahad Datu set for geotourism

.
.

Fighting Dynamite With Marine Protection in Borneo

Our small skiff is anchored at the edge of a remote coral reef a mile off the North end of a small Malaysian island few outsiders will ever visit.

Beneath us is a shallow seascape of complex and colorful corals. Branching Acroporid corals provide refuge for neon blue damsel fish.

Large plate-like forms two meters in diameter resemble swirling brown mushrooms, while other forms look like large orange boulders.

Soft corals and anemones wave in the gentle current. The bottom is covered with over 100 species of corals painted in purples and neon greens and blues.

Numerous species of small fish flit within the branches.  As part of an online series called Borneo From Below, we are diving and filming the local reefs and sharks in a small island group off Malaysian Borneo, including this episode called Coral Reef in Crisis.

The reef is a colorful complex and other-worldly, until we kick to the edge of an open area of broken and bleached coral. Collecting some of the fresh fragments, we surface.

Our guide, Dr. Steve Oakley of the Malaysian based Tropical Reef Conservation Center (TRACC), hands me a broken piece of coral rock the size of my hand.

“Fresh fragments. See this sheared rock?”  He points where the tiny cups left behind by the coral polyps line the rounded surface where the last living coral organisms had been.

Beneath that layer are hundreds of years of calcium carbonate deposited by overgrown generations of living coral cups.

A kind of living fossil, the side of the shorn coral indicates centuries of growth, one layer above the next. “This kind of damage only comes from fish bombing.”

At the edge of healthy coral reef we find the source of the scattered fragments. A moonscape of broken rubble centers a circle with a diameter of 5 or 6 meters. We kick over a patch of healthy coral to an area where soft corals edge the margins indicating an older bomb site.

Not a single living coral has recolonized the blast zone. No sharks or large fish are visible, and even the small reef fish are being extracted using this destructive practice.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Fighting Dynamite With Marine Protection in Borneo

.
.

Sacrificing the forest revenue to save the forest in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah though may have lost substantial revenue from the forest and its resources, it has achieved many milestones in forest management and conservation.

“Due to deliberate conservation measures and economic diversification, forest revenue today accounts for only four percent or less of the total state revenue,” Sabah Forestry Department Director Datuk Sam Mannan told Bernama.

However, he said, conservation measures caused high opportunity costs.

For example, land with good palm oil potential in the Ulu Segama-Malua Sabah Forest Management (SFM) and Forest Stewardship Council (SFC) certified areas, demand a current market price of at least USD10,000 (RM42000) per hectare, excluding the timber resources on the land.

“This translates to a capped potential financial return on land value alone of at least USD20 billion (RM80 billion).

“This is a mind boggling opportunity lost in the cause of conservation. Despite this loss, the forests are no longer exhausted but managed for sustainability,” he said to Bernama.

PHASING OUT ANNUAL LICENCES

In line with the state’s deliberate conservation measures and economic diversification, the State Government has phased out short term annual logging licences inside Forest Reserves (FR).

“In a historical decision logging in Ulu Segama-Malua was phased out completely in December 2007, after nearly 50 years of continuous logging.

“Thus eliminating some 50 years of non-sustainable, politically driven timber allocation policies of the past.

“This has helped to ensure that timber harvesting in Sabah is now planned with governance and addressing sustainability at the same time,” he said.

The ulu Segama-Malua area that holds about 30 percent (3,500-4,000) of Sabah’s total Orang Utan population was given Class 1 (Protected Forest Reserve) protection status and Totally Protected Areas (TPAs) in Nov 2012.

HALF A MILLION HECTARE REHABILITATED

On reforestation measures in Sabah, Mannan said as of Dec 2014 the state had planted naturally treated and rehabilited natural forest covering an area of about 550,000 hectares.

This, since 2005, translates to an annual average outcome of 20,000 hectare  of silviculture and 3,000 hectares of natural forest rehabilitation planting.

The establishment of 6,000-10,000 hectares of new forest plantations of fast growing exotics and natural species each year has been maintained.

It is forecasted that Sabah would produce 5 million cubic metres (m3) of certified plantation timber (exotics and natural species) and natural forests harvesting of 500,000 m3 by the year 2030.

“This will be more than sufficient to support a robust timber industry, employing modern technology to produce high quality products,” he said.

The products include fancy plywood, garden furniture, cellulose-based plastics, and green fuel, pulp and paper, ethanol and truck bodies, amongst others.

THE MILESTONES IN CONSERVATION

In a move to build Sabah’s reputation as the pioneer of compelling undertakings in tropical forest conservation and management, the state has established an extensive network of collaboration with several renowned foreign institutions.

These institutions include the Royal Society of the United Kingdom (UK), a prestigious research organisation that has been working in Danum Valley since 1985.

Other research institutions engaged in bio-diversity research in Sabah are Kyoto University, Cambridge University, the University of London (since 2011) with the collaboration from Royal Society, Imperial College London and Sime Darby.

Sabah pioneered Reduced Impact Logging (RIL) in the 1990s for Dipterocarp forests, with research undertaken near Danum Valley, a 1,900 hectares compartment with assistance from the Royal Society Research Programme.

The state is the home to the largest research project assessing land-use changes at Kalabakan called SAFE (Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystem).

Continue reading at: Sacrificing the forest revenue to save the forest in Sabah

.
.

Five forest corridors in Sabah identified for protection

KINABATANGAN: Five private forest lands about 3,000 hectares in size at the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary (LKWS) that have the capacity to enhance connectivity of existing fragmented wildlife forest in LKWS have been identified by the FGV-BCT Conservation Project Initiative.

They comprise the Batu Putih Corridor, Tanjung Bulat Corridor, Buang Sayang Corridor, Lokan–Sangau Corridor, and Balat-Deramakot-KTS plantation Corridor.

Borneo Conservation Trust (BCT) honorary secretary Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu emphasised in a statement yesterday that the forest corridors identified must be maintained and protected for their sustainability.

Dr Laurentius also urged that these areas be safeguarded against illegal logging activities and from encroachment.

He said that a recent river patrol conducted by the FGV-BCT-SWD team revealed that the forested areas from Batu Putih to Bukit and from Bukit Garam to Kampung Balat had been encroached. The encroachment indexes were 0.47 and 0.63 respectively.

“There has been clearing of the riparian reserve and illegal structure was seen established along the reserve,” he said.

Continue reading at: Five forest corridors in Sabah identified for protection

.
.

The Heart of Borneo

The single largest stretch of rainforest left standing in Southeast Asia sits on the tropical island of Borneo.

Called the Heart of Borneo Rainforest, it is the world’s third largest rainforest and could be the most biodiverse.

The forest is shared by Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.

It has been historically preyed upon by all three countries and is still threatened by illegal logging, but for the past 10 years it has had a powerful guardian – the Heart of Borneo Rainforest Foundation.

An international cooperation between all three countries on the island, the Heart of Borneo Rainforest Foundation has been protecting the biological, ecological, and cultural richness of all Borneo’s rainforests.

Though small, the team is well-supported and making a lot of things happen.

Biodiversity surveys teach governments and protection agencies how best to conserve the forests and their animals.

Assessments of illegal poaching increase capacity to crack down on hunters of endangered species like clouded leopards.

Rainforest conservation education classes are being planned internationally, and a hub for all of Borneo’s various smaller NGOs is being built, so that they can all share learning and resources to better protect their beautiful natural environment.

What’s more, the effort is being powerfully backed by Sarawak, Malaysia.

Sarawak Chief Minster Adenan Satem recently assured that his government recognizes the importance of rainforests as a life support system for the island and in the big picture, the whole planet.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: The Heart of Borneo

.
.

Heart of Borneo initiative can count on Malaysia government's support

KUCHING: The federal government is committed to help Sabah and Sarawak implement projects and activities under the Heart of Borneo (HoB) initiative.

However, support from HoB partners from the private sector and government aid agencies from around the world is also very much needed to strengthen these forest and wildlife conservation projects, which cover Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei and Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dato Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the federal government allocated about RM34.46 million under the ninth and 10th Malaysia Plan (MP), and would continue to support HoB under the 11th MP.

“Regardless the amount that the government is able to commit to, it would never be enough to adequately implement a visionary plan such as that of the Heart of Borneo Corridor.

“As such, I call upon HoB partners from the private sector, government aid agencies from around the world to support this corridor project for a better conserved Heart of Borneo,” the Santubong MP said when closing the International HoB Corridor Project Implementation Workshop here yesterday.

His text-of-speech was read out by the ministry’s secretary-general Dato Sri Azizan Ahmad. Also present were World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia chief executive officer Dato Dr Dino Sharma and state Forestry Department director Sapuan Ahmad.

Wan Junaidi noted that proposals on the HoB Corridor Project Implementation – spanning three countries, stretching more than 2,000 miles, and covering four million hectares – was a visionary endeavour.

The project is expected to allow comprehensive conservation and sustainable development in the HoB area to be managed as a single connected landscape across the third largest island in the world.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Heart of Borneo initiative can count on Malaysia government's support

.
.

Sarawak to have more, bigger Totally Protected Areas under Heart of Borneo

KUCHING: The state government will expand and establish new Totally Protected Areas (TPA) within the Heart of Borneo (HoB) in Sarawak, with plans for effective management and increasing the size of protected areas as well as enhancing their connectivity.

Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem said this would help to preserve their ecological integrity, enhance the flow of ecosystem services and facilitate gene flow and build resilience in a changing climate.

“Many more national parks, both gazetted as well as proposed, would now be connected to each other,” he said in his speech read out by Assistant Minister of Environment Datu Len Talif Salleh at the launching of International Workshop on Heart of Borneo Corridor Project Implementation at a hotel, here, yesterday.

The HoB initiative is a voluntary trans-boundary cooperation between three countries – Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia – combining the stakeholders’ interests, based on local wisdom, acknowledgment of and respect for laws, regulations and policies of the respective countries.

Adenan said Sarawak’s cooperation is based on sustainable development principles through research and development, sustainable use, protection, education and training, fundraising, as well as other activities relevant to trans-boundary management, conservation and development within the areas of HoB.

According to him, the state’s contributions to the HoB initiative would be its policy on sustainable forest management, nature conservation through the establishment of TPAs and Trans-Boundary Conservation Areas (TBCAs), as well as planning and development of new socio-economic projects to benefit the rural populations, all of which would contribute to conservation and sustainable development.

“We have engaged WWF-Malaysia to implement strategic conservation plan for Sarawak. Under this project, we will identify areas for conservation that include as much biodiversity where possible, across a full range of variation of species, habitats or ecological processes that are adequate for the existence of biodiversity features and achieving these conservation objectives at minimal costs.”

He said the state government had called on timber concession holders within the HoB to obtain forest management certification by 2017, adding that forest certification is in line with Sarawak’s commitment to sustainable forest management.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Sarawak to have more, bigger Totally Protected Areas under Heart of Borneo

.
.

Saving Sabah's forests via certification

Kota Kinabalu: Forests impact our daily lives in more ways than we can imagine. Most, if not all of our daily activities, involve products and services from the forests.

Paper comes from trees, and according to the Swedish Forest Industries Federation, the global average for paper consumption is about 57kg per person annually.

Sadly, despite our high dependency on forests, we tend to take them for granted. Over the past 50 years, we have lost about half of the world's original forest cover, mainly due to irresponsible extraction of its resources and conversion of forested land to other uses.

Not many are aware that forests contribute to local temperature regulation and soil retention. Well-managed forests also act as buffers in the case of future climate change events.

Regulating temperature prevents us from undergoing extreme weather changes because trees absorb heat and release moisture into the atmosphere.

This then condenses as rain and cools the earth's surface. It is also important to retain topsoil, the outermost layer of the earth, as it contains the nutrients needed by plants. While this layer measures less than a foot deep, it takes Mother Nature between 100 to 500 years to create just an inch of topsoil.

All is not lost yet

The degradation of forests can be minimised by managing them responsibly according to credible forest management standards, such as those of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Founded in 1993 by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and other parties concerned about accelerating deforestation, environmental degradation, and social exclusion, the FSC is an independent and not-for-profit organisation that promotes responsible forest management.

Over the past 20 years, the organisation has earned a reputation as the most credible forest certification scheme, with more than 180,000,000 hectares of forest around the world certified to its standards and guaranteed to be managed sustainably.

The benefits of the FSC certification for well-managed forests include more responsible logging, retention of land under natural forest cover, management and monitoring of High Conservation Value (HCV) areas, independent auditing and monitoring, and greater stakeholder participation.

On the other hand, non-certified forest reserves face a higher risk of degradation, degazettement, and conversion to non-forest land use. These will lead to loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, amongst other things.

It was therefore a big win for conservation in May 2015 when four forest reserves managed by Sabah Forest Department (SFD) were certified as well-managed forests by the FSC. With a combined size of 155,440 hectares, these forest reserves form about 10pc of protected forests in Sabah.

There are also other protection forest reserves in Sabah that have received FSC certification in the previous years and they total up to 441,264 hectares. Good management of protected areas is important to conserve biodiversity which is a primary aim.

Loss of biodiversity is a global problem and of particular concern in Southeast Asia. However, Sabah is progressive and strives to make a difference with the credible certification of its protection forests by SFD.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Saving Sabah’s forests through certification

.
.

Sustainable forest plan for interior Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: A comprehensive plan is being drawn up for the sustainable use of land in Sabah’s interior that is about 10 times the size of Penang island.

The ambitious plan would place an area of at least 260,000ha, including key conservation areas as well as land being used as forest and oil palm plantations, under a “common and integrated” strategy.

The Forestry Department recently placed advertisements calling for consortiums or companies to provide experts specialising in landscape modelling and environmental economy for the project.

Sabah Forestry Department director Datuk Sam Mannan said the project was crucial as it encompassed a land mass connecting three key protected areas.

These are the 105,443ha Maliau Basin, Danum Valley (42,800ha) and Imbak Canyon (16,750ha).

The project also partly covers the Kalabakan and Gunung Rara forest reserves that are part of the state-owned Yayasan Sabah sustainable forest management licence agreement area.

“Among the things we want to see under this project is the providing of corridors of forests in this area connecting Danum, Imbak Canyon and Maliau Basin for the benefit of wildlife,” said Mannan, whose department is spearheading the project.

Called the Biodiversity Conservation in Multiple-use Forest Landscapes, the plan would address multiple uses of the land to ensure that any activities there were sustainable.

Apart from the three conservation zones, the area would also include parcels of land that had been earmarked for forest rehabilitation, timber production as well as industrial tree plantations including oil palm cultivation.

“We are confident that what we are doing in Sabah can eventually become a model for other areas in South-East Asia,” Mannan said.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Sustainable forest plan for interior Sabah

.
.

Hopes for Kota Kinabalu Wetland Centre to be declared a Ramsar Site

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Wetland Conservation Society (SWCS) is hoping to get the Kota Kinabalu Wetland Centre (KKWC) declared a Ramsar Site at the Ramsar Convention Day this year.

“The convention is expected to be held in Uruguay in June this year,” said society president, Datuk Zainie Abdul Aucasa.

The 24-hectare KKWC has been nominated to be declared a Ramsar Site since 2012. However, since a new procedure was introduced by the Ramsar headquarters, SWCS had no choice but to abide by it.

“We have already submitted the nomination manually through the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry in Europe last year but the procedure has changed which requires the submission to be made online,” he said. The online system is still new to many, including the SWCS members, he told reporters when met at the Jesselton Point Jetty last Saturday evening.

“To be familiar with the system, the federal ministry has sent one representative to Cambodia for training recently,” he added.

SWCS is currently working closely with the Sabah Biodiversity Centre (SBC) to do the filing for the online nomination.

Zainie told reporters that SWCS will try to expedite the process and hopefully by June, KKWC will be declared a Ramsar Site.

It will be a great achievement to SWCS as the KKWC is located within a 10-kilometre radius of the city centre, thus making it as one of the few urban Ramsar Sites in the world.

Zainie said if everything went according to plan, SWCS will hold double celebrations in one ceremony.

“One is for when KKWC is declared a Ramsar site and the other is to launch a book,” he said, adding that the book is now close to completion with only an official write-up and some photographs of KKWC that are pending.

Ramsar Site is a recognition given to a wetland area for the purpose of global biological diversity conservation through ecological and hydrological functions.

Continue reading at: Hopes for Kota Kinabalu Wetland Centre to be declared a Ramsar Site

.
.

RM77 million to develop Imbak Canyon Studies Centre

KOTA KINABALU: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Aman expressed confidence the Imbak Canyon Studies Centre (ICSC), currently being developed in Ulu Kinabatangan, will grow into an internationally renowned centre of excellence for research, training and education environmental conservation.

The project he officially launched here yesterday is scheduled for completion in 2016 and poised to become the central hub for research and studies on environment and biodiversity for Ulu Kinabatangan, where the world-famous Imbak Canyon Conservation Area (ICCA) is located.

Speaking at the launching-cum-breaking of fast event, Musa expressed hope that programmes to be conducted at the ICSC would receive support from all parties, to ensure that all the facilities to be made available at the centre could be fully utilized.

In this regard, he called for a long-term participation from the Malaysian Academy of Science to help develop suitable activities for ICSC, similar to The Royal Society United Kingdom which has been involved with research, training and educational activities at Lembah Danum since over 30 years ago.

The chief Minister said the State Government was committed and proactive in conserving the State’s natural resources, where priority would be given to any conservation projects regardless of their scale.

However, he reminded that in ensuring a continuous and effective Borneo conservation programme is not an easy task and that strong support and participation from all stakeholders are vital for its success.

“It requires expertise, experience, commitment and a huge funding. As such, I would like to take the opportunity to record appreciation and gratitude to Petronas for its contribution of funds amounting to RM77 million for developing the ICSC with Yayasan Sabah.

“The State Government will continue to further strengthen its effort to ensure the success of this project in the hope that ICSC will open a new chapter in our endeavour to preserve our unique heritage for the future generations,” he said.

The ICSC is a project implemented under the second phase of Yayasan Sabah-Petronas Imbak Canyon Conservation Partnership, a collaboration formalized in 2010.

Continue reading at: RM77 million to develop Imbak Canyon Studies Centre

.
.

Conservation strong part of Sarawak’s tourism industry

KUCHING: Conservation of Sarawak’s rich biodiversity and culture is a strong part of the state’s tourism industry.

Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) chief executive officer Datuk Rashid Khan said the state is blessed with a heritage of nature, with many unique places still inaccessible.

“This is the state’s niche tourism and we hope to maintain some of these elements for future generations of tourists, so at the moment, we are not rushing to capitalise on tourism in a mass market way,” he told a press conference after launching the second segment of Aeromeet 2014 yesterday.

He pointed out that programmes such as the Rainforest World Music Festival are part of the state’s efforts to preserve traditional music, especially the Orang Ulu sape.

“We also have the orang-utan conservation programme and turtle conservation programme. For the turtle conservation programme, the release of turtles is an experience and definitely has to be for high-end tourists due to its limited accessibility.

“Sarawak is where adventure becomes a position with the elements of culture and nature so we do not want to claim to be the best shopping paradise but tourists can shop for native handicrafts, which is something a little bit different,” he said.

On Scandinavian tourist arrivals, Rashid said the number has been growing over the last three years by around 25 per cent annually.

“I believe Scandinavian visitors look for something that we have to offer given the growth. We offer nature for those who love the greenery and active outdoor activities.

“I also believe that most Scandinavians, Australians and Americans like active outdoor activities like canoeing in rivers and family activities where their children will learn about nature,” he said.

On Australian tourist arrivals, Rashid said it was “not big in number” at an average of around 5,000, but growing at an average of 5 per cent per annum.

“I think one of the challenges of marketing Sarawak is also about air accessibility. So they can go through two airport hubs to arrive in Sarawak, either through Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) or Changi Airport.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Conservation strong part of Sarawak’s tourism industry

.
.

Borneo Elephant Sanctuary begins second phase

KOTA KINABALU: A safe haven for Sabah’s threatened elephants is taking shape in the wildlife-rich Lower Kinabatangan region on Sabah’s east coast, thanks to seven Japanese groups and companies.

The first phase of the Borneo Elephant Sanctuary (BES) project has seen the  construction of an elephant handling paddock, staff quarters and a storage building at a cost of some RM1.8mil.

Helping to make BES a reality is local NGO Borneo Conservation Trust whose head of conservation and research, Raymond Alfred, said that first phase of the sanctuary was due to funding from  Asahiyama Zoo, Suraya, Hunting World, Tokio Marine, NTT Data Kirin, Taiseh and Yusen Logistics.

“The endeavour is what the Japanese describes as an ‘Ongaeshi project’ which means ‘giving back to nature’,” explained Raymond.

Raymond said that work on the second phase of the BES on 25 hectares of land had already begun and is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

The second phase of the project is expected to cost between RM25mil and RM30mil.

“The Malaysia Palm Oil Council (MPOC) has already allocated a funding of RM5.2mil for this part of the project,” he said.

The council was also providing financial support in the preparation of the BES master plan at Lot 8 of the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary,’’ Raymond added.

He said  the master plan was being prepared by BCT together with the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD).

Sabah Wildlife director, Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu said that BES will be able to accommodate between 12 and 16 elephants at any one time.

Continue reading at: Borneo Elephant Sanctuary begins second phase

.
.

Borneo Conservation Trust, Myne Forest Resort promote wildlife and forest conservation

KINABATANGAN: Borneo Conservation Trust (BCT) has embarked on a 10-year programme with a resort here to prove that people are more likely to benefit from natural forest that are teeming with wildlife than without.

BCT conservation and research head, Raymond Alfred said in a press statement yesterday that the 10-year programme is currently carried out on the 100 acres of forest land belonging to Myne Resort.

“We will carry out three core activities during this duration and they are geared towards the conservation and management of the 100 acres of forest land belonging to the resort,” he said.

The resort has, earlier this year, pledged not to clear the forest land and said that its intention was to maintain and protect the rainforest for wildlife corridor that would benefit wildlife such as the Bornean pygmy elephants, the orangutans and others.

The activities that will be carried out during that duration shall be the establishment of the wild orangutan sighting and Bornean pygmy elephants’ observation platform.

“We believe this move will encourage more people to come and visit the Lower Kinabatangan Mega Biodiversity Corridor which is within the Myne’s Forest corridor. Additionally, they can also learn what they can do to support conservation efforts in the area,” he said.

BCT will also carry out a unique wildlife observation programme which will be opened to volunteers who were keen to take part in actual field recreation work.

“This will encompass the enrichment and restoration programme for wildlife…it will become one of the activities that Myne Resort can offer to its visitors from both locally and abroad,” he said.

BCT would also develop a long-term volunteer programme that encourages youth participation, he said.

“We will also continuously promote the said land as an orangutan conservation area and elephant corridor that connects the wildlife to the bigger Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary,” he said.

To date, the BCT and Myne Resort’s project aimed at preserving the forest had not received any funding from the government or any international donors to initiate this programme, and this programme was initiated by the private sector, he said.

“We do get some donations from tourists and volunteers who are supportive of our programme,” he said.

He added that the support and guidance from the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) and the Tourism, Culture and Environment were crucial for the success of the endeavour.

“We also need the support of other relevant government agencies especially Sabah Forestry Department and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, particularly those involved in the REDD+ programme,” he said.

Equally important, said Raymond, was the support from the European countries as BCT, which was a non-government organisation (NGO) and Myne Resort, a player in the private sector, had committed itself to secure and protect the forest which would help mitigate the climate change crisis.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Borneo Conservation Trust, Myne Forest Resort promote wildlife and forest conservation

.
.

A Journey to Save the Bornean Elephant (Part III)

Pilot project to manage multiple-use forest landscape in the works

KOTA KINABALU: The Borneo Conservation Trust (BCT) with the support from relevant government department (i.e. Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD)) are in the midst of preparing a five to 10 years programme as a pilot project to manage multiple-use forest landscape and secure the Sabah Mega Biodiversity in Gunung Rara and Kalabakan.

Borneo Conservation Trust (BCT) conservation and research head, Raymond Alfred said in a statement that under the programme, each plantation would be needed to establish their own wildlife conservation unit.

Among others, the programme aims to initiative a monitoring programme to assess the status of elephant population.

It also hopes to start the honorary wildlife warden programme as well as manage and restore degraded forests corridor, particularly those within the DaMaI (Danum Valley, Maliau Basin and Imbak Canyon) corridor.

Additionally through the programme, they also hoped to initiative enforcement using MIST and provide mitigation training and management measures to reduce human – elephant conflicts, he said.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: A Journey to Save the Bornean Elephant (Part III)

Also Read: A Journey to Save the Bornean Elephant (Part II)

Also Read: A Journey to Save the Bornean Elephant (Part I)

.
.

A Journey to Save the Bornean Elephant (Part II)

Elephants are very suspicious creatures and that they can smell danger

KOTA KINABALU: The death of the 14 Borneo Pygmy Elephants within the duration of two months in forest in Sabah could be due to poisoning.

Borneo Conservation Trust (BCT) conservation and research head, Raymond Alfred, in a statement yesterday opined that the poisoning could have been due to cyanide or sulphur contamination in their food sources.

“Traces of cyanide could be traced in certain pesticides that are being used to increase the growth of young oil palm trees. Whereas sulphur is normally used by local hunters or Indonesian workers hunting wild boars (bearded pig) at the edge of plantations which is sited adjacent to the forest,” he said.

He added however that no concrete evidence have been gathered to show that the elephants were poisoned by the plantation during their encroachment or presence along the Ulu Sg. Napagon and Imbok Rivers.

The following map 1 shows the historical movement of the elephants in key elephant managed ranges in Sabah.

“And there is also no concrete evidence showing that the logging contractors were using high amount of pesticides to kill the elephants at the Gunung Rara Forest Reserve, although one white substances was found within the vicinity where the elephant corpses were found. There were onlyfour plantations and one logging contractor camp sited within the elephant ranging in Gunung Rara Forest Reserve,” he said.

Raymond also emphasized that he was unsure if the 14 elephants found dead in Gunung Rara and Ulu Segama Malua Forest Reserve from Dec 29, 2012 to Jan 31, 2013, were killed intentionally.

He explained that elephants were very suspicious creatures and that they can smell danger if someone tried to poison them.

“So the key management measures now were not to blame any industries or group or people,” he said.

He also added that a similar incident has occurred in Sumatra.

In his statement, Raymond also explained that the reasons why the elephants encroached into the plantations sited within the Gunung Rara and Kalabakan Forest Reserve were to gain access to water source and saltlick.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: A Journey to Save the Bornean Elephant (Part II)

.
.

A Journey to Save the Bornean Elephant (Part 1)

Reducing Human – elephants’ conflicts by understanding the elephants’ needs

KOTA KINABALU: Scientific information is extremely important and valuable for both conservation managers and research scientists in their effort to manage and save the Bornean elephants.

According to Borneo Conservation Trust (BCT) conservation and research head, Raymond Alfred, who has been studying the movement of the species for more than 10 years, the scientific information is often used to direct daily activities by those in the field.

Additionally, the information is also useful during land use planning process, as research scientists will use the information to formulate hypotheses which they will test by undertaking further research, he said.

“I spent more than 10 years gathering key information on the Bornean elephant’s habitat ecology, population status, as well as their feeding behavior with the aim of providing this information and prepare guidelines to the future generation especially Sabahan so that they would be able to save the species from further extinction,” he said.

Among the major threats facing the Bornean elephants presently are the degradation and fragmentation of their habitat, which incidentally raises their risk of genetic isolation from other elephants’ population, particularly when their traditional seasonal migratory routes are blocked.

The blockage also encourages the impoverishment and stochastic extinction of the species.

Aside from that, Raymond also found that the home range of elephants residing in fragmented forests or habitat tend to be larger compared to those living in intact and contiguous forest landscape.

He cited the elephants’ population at the Lower Kinabatangan as an example of elephants living in fragmented forests.

The population at the Lower Kinabatangan has been separated from the main elephants’ population at Sabah’s central forest for 30 years as their traditional migratory routes have been blocked by the development of large scale plantations including the main Sandakan-Lahad Satu Road.

“My finding clearly showed that the size of the home range of the elephant herds in the central forest (non-fragmented forests) is smaller (300 km2) than the home ranging of the elephant herds in the fragmented forests. Human activities and forest disturbances have a measureable impact on the elephants’ movement.”

In continuous forest landscape, the movement rate of the elephant herds was about one kilometer to two kilometers daily but in fragmented forests such as the Lower Kinabatangan, the elephants have a higher movement rate of between five kilometers and nine kilometers daily.

The home range of elephants’ population living in fragmented forests recorded was more than 700 square kilometers.

Raymond blamed the mass difference to the elephant habitat fragmentation.

Incidentally, the fragmentation of elephants’ habitat has also led to the increasing number of human – elephant conflicts at the Lower Kinabatangan, he said.

He said that the herds were found to cover greater distances under three circumstances:

1) When the elephants were affected by elephant control activities’ such as the use of firecrackers and drums to scare them off the plantations;

2) When the elephants enter unsuitable forest habitats such as swamp areas and upland forest probably due to limited food resources; and

3) When elephants were forced to travel through narrow habitat corridors, sometimes as narrow as 30 to 50 meters along rivers that were bordered by oil palm plantations.

To counter the issues faced by the elephants, Raymond stressed the need to establish forest corridors or to strengthen existing ones.

“The corridors don’t necessarily have to be established at prime elephant habitats. It could be established at degraded forests areas to facilitate and not restrict the elephant movement. Additionally, the corridor will also provide the elephants with some cover,” he said.

He also stressed that the forest corridors need to be properly designed and managed as this will help minimize the elephants’ ranging distance as well as decrease human – elephants’ conflicts.

He also mentioned that some of the forests corridors that have already been established in Gunung Rara and several other areas by the plantations were not suitable as the elephants’ migration route as they were not wide enough.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: A Journey to Save the Bornean Elephant (Part 1)

.
.