22Mar

Water management crucial for longevity – Musa

By MOHD IZHAM B. HASHIM KOTA KINABALU: Integrated efforts are crucial in managing the state’s water resources to ensure water security and improve supply of safe, clean and treated water to meet growing demand, said Tan Sri Musa Haji Aman. The Chief Minister also stressed the importance of efficient management of water supply for everyday life which is considered a primary resource inextricably linked to human development and economic activities especially in the agriculture and tourism sectors. “The state is blessed with abundant supply of natural water resources but without proper management, this will have a negative impact on everyday life due to the fact that water is a vital resource upon which nearly all social and economic activities and ecosystem functions depend on,” he said at the opening of the Sabah World Water Day Conference and Exhibition 2018 here yesterday. The text of his speech was read by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Yahya Hussin who is also Agriculture and Food Industry Minister. Musa also highlighted that the government has implemented various programmes aimed at improving the delivery of clean, safe, treated water supply for the well-being of the people and to ensure economic progress in the state. “Among the initiatives include a comprehensive review in identifying the state’s rainwater catchment areas which need to be preserved and protected in line with the Sabah Water Supply Enactment 1998,” he added. According to him, the catchment areas identified included villages which still used the traditional gravity-fed system to acquire water supply apart from domestic and economic catchment areas. The Chief Minister also that the programme’s theme this year – “Nature for Water” – was an important focus as it is also put the spotlight on the state’s planning of water resources in the future apart from policies, techniques and latest innovations in water management strategies. “Undoubtedly, the government-led initiatives in rainforest conservation efforts with the set target of securing 30 percent of totally protected areas (TPAs) is also an important strategy for preserving the function of rainforests as natural water catchment areas apart from being sanctuaries for countless endemic flora and fauna,” Musa said. He also said the implementation of the Heart of Borneo Initiative, Certification of Rainforest Management, as well as forest rehabilitation and replanting initiatives were part of strategies for rainforest conservation. Meanwhile, he urged all relevant parties and stakeholders involved in the water sector to work together towards ensuring Sabah’s water security which was the main priority of the government to ensure sufficient water supply for every city, town and village across the state. Apart from ensuring clean water supply, Musa said the state government has also outlined strategies to improve the sewerage systems with the passing of the State Sewerage Services Enactment in 2017. He said this was aimed at lessening the impact of pollution from sewerage and drain systems. “The Enactment will ensure the impact of pollution from sewerage systems is properly coordinated, regulated and effectively reduced to meet set quality standards before being discharged back into the rivers,” he said. He also said the state was preparing a comprehensive sewerage infrastructure plan to be implemented throughout the state, aided with the latest technical specifications aimed at reducing the impact of pollution caused by untreated sewerage. “Water is the crucial element for everyday life and enhancing public awareness is essential to ensure more people understand the importance of managing and preserving our precious water resources,” Musa said, noting that more awareness campaigns needed to be conducted more regularly. Musa also said with knowledge and heightened awareness, the people could play a more proactive role in managing water supply more effectively. Among the community-orientated programmes include the traditional Tagal carried out by the Fisheries Department and the regular monitoring of river water quality by local communities working together with the state Department of Water and Drainage. Among those present were Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Jainab Ahmad Ayid, Assistant Rural Development Minister Datuk Nilwan Kabang as well as Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Pang Yuk Ming. Source: New Sabah Times
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20Mar

Protected area management priorities crucial for future of Bornean elephants

KOTA KINABALU: Degraded forests play a crucial role in the future survival of Bornean elephants. A new study, published in the journal Biological Conservation, finds that forests of surprisingly short stature are ideal for elephants. “Our study indicates that forests with a mean canopy height of 13 m were those most utilized by Bornean elephants. These forests are consistent with degraded landscapes or those recovering from previous logging, or clearance,” noted lead author Luke Evans, a postdoctoral researcher at the Carnegie Institution for Science and Danau Girang Field Centre. “The study utilized GPS tracking data from 29 individual elephants that were collared across Sabah, providing high resolution, multi-year data,” said Evans. The study paired the GPS tracking data for each elephant with airborne laser-based images of Sabah’s forests, providing high resolution three-dimensional maps of forest canopy height and structure. Co-author Greg Asner, of the Carnegie Airborne Observatory, and Carnegie Institution for Science explained “Our mapping of Sabah’s forests is unique in that it provides accurate and detailed spatial information on forest structure. Combined with the GPS telemetry data for the elephants, the connection between relatively low-statured tree canopies and elephant habitat emerged in a way that was previously unknown. “The danger is that a large proportion of these lower-stature forest habitats could be prime candidates for conversion to large-scale agriculture before their importance is fully realized,” stated co-author Benoit Goossens, of Danau Girang Field Centre, Cardiff University and advisor for Sabah Wildlife Department. “The hope is that this study will reinforce the importance of protecting habitats perceived as ‘low-quality’, rather than merely solely old growth, high carbon, forests,” concluded Goossens. The project is part of an ongoing effort, funded by the Rainforest Trust, and spearheaded by Sabah Forestry Department, to increase totally protected areas in Sabah to 30% of total land area. “These new findings, when combined with our previous work on forest carbon, orang-utan habitat, and upcoming tree biodiversity results, will be a unique combination of studies to help Sabah achieve its conservation goals,” remarked Asner. Source: The Borneo Post
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14Mar

Swedish students raise RM7,000 for Mangrove conservation in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: About 500 schoolchildren in Sweden have raised RM7,000 for mangrove conservation in Sabah. Grubbe School teacher Claes Emteryd said the schoolchildren, aged between 13 and 16, earned money by cutting grass, painting walls or doing other odd jobs for their grandparents and other elderly people. “They also collected RM1,000 by bringing recyclable items to collection centres,” he said at the handover of the contribution to Sabah Wetland Conservation Society at the Kota Kinabalu Wetland Centre here. Emteryd said they got about RM1 for every beverage can. He said the school had been educating the children on sustainability. “Mangrove forests are an important part of the world’s ecosystem. This world is big but it is getting smaller. As we live together, what happens in Sabah will impact Sweden, and vice versa,” he said, adding that the annual contribution was part of the Carbon Offsetting project jointly organised by Grubbe School and SM La Salle Tanjung Aru near here since 2011. Present was SM La Salle Tanjung Aru’s principal Mary Macdalena Komuji. Emteryd said Swedish children were opting more and more for second-hand items, including clothes, to reduce waste. Plastic waste, he said, was used to heat homes during winter. He said more children were also becoming vegetarian to reduce their carbon footprints. Source: New Straits Times
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09Mar

Two rescued sun bears go back to the wild

SANDAKAN: Two rescued Malayan sun bears were released at the Tabin Wildlife Reserve, near Lahad Datu on March 7 by a team from the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC). The adult female sun bears, given the names of Damai and Debbie, were originally surrendered by their owners who kept them as pets, to the Sabah Wildlife Department. When the status of Malayan sun bear was upgraded to totally protected species in 1997, several people who kept sun bears as pets were allowed to retain the sun bears for a few years after the upgrade until the Sabah Wildlife Department was ready to take them. Over the past few years, the surrendered sun bears have been rehabilitated back into the forest at BSBCC, learning important skills like climbing, digging and finding food. They have adapted so well that they were chosen out of the 44 bears at the centre, as the first release for 2018. Both bears were fitted with GPS satellite collars which will enable the BSBCC to monitor their movements on a regular basis. On March 6, a final medical check-up was conducted by Dr. Nabila Sarkawi. Then, at 3 am on March 7, under the cool cloak of darkness, four vehicles left Sepilok with their important cargo for the helipad at Tabin Wildlife Reserve Headquarters. The cages were then airlifted by helicopter using cargo net high above the treetops to the chosen release location at the mud volcano site in the middle of the reserve. The project was a joint effort between Sabah Wildlife Department, Sabah Forestry Department, and the BSBCC team. Dr. Wong Siew Te, chief executive director and founder of BSBCC, said a great deal of planning had gone into the release and the effort had been very successful. “We were very lucky that the weather was very favourable and that the sun bears were delivered to the release site by helicopter with ease,” he said, adding that: “I am very thankful to my staff and Sabah Wildlife Department for all their support and hard work.” At the release site, the bear cages were moved under the forest canopy where they were opened, giving the two bears their much-awaited freedom. “Damai and Debbie may face many challenges to survive but this is the best life we can offer them in the hope they can propagate and maintain a healthy sun bear population in Tabin Wildlife Reserve. “I am sad to say goodbye, because we have raised them, but they are now where they belong and that makes the team very happy,” Dr. Wong said. Sun bear is a totally protected species under the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997. Offenders are liable to a fine of not less than RM50,000 but not exceeding RM250,000 and a jail term of not less one year but not exceeding five years or to both for possession of sun bear or any of its part. Sadly, however, some opportunistic locals and regular poachers continue to try and snare or shoot bears in the state’s forests. BSBCC hopes to release two more bears later this year in Sabah. BSBCC raises money from tourism to care for the bears at Sepilok, but the additional costs of release are very high. A fund raising campaign opens today. To help sun bears to freedom go to website: www.bsbcc.org.my/donate. Source: Borneo Post Online
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07Mar

‘Ultra young’ vanguard of Libaran sea turtles

THIS is a rare story of an ultra young 12-year old who bakes and sells cookies to pay for what he considers urgent conservation in Libaran to beat the march of turtle extinction. The trigger of it all, he says, was in February last year when his science teacher Cikgu Hafiz at SK Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, showed a video about turtles. "I saw in the video a guy took a spear and stabbed a leatherback turtle on the back and then I realised that the extinction of the animal will be soon," recalled Ahmad Iszuddin Ahmad Izham. Following subsequent google searches, he also read about the prediction on how the leatherbacks were destined for extinction in four to five years. Ahmad Iszuddin cited the history of extinction to underscore his sense of urgency – why he commits himself to act on his concern. "Turtles have been around in the world even during the age of the dinosaurs 180 million years ago and, surprisingly, there were 230 to 300 species of turtles before but now there are only seven species left. "I also heard that the leatherback turtle may go extinct in the next four to five years!" he asserted. "The largest turtle ever spotted was a 2.5-metre long leatherback," Ahmad Iszuddin noted. So the boy is in command of troubling historical facts. From 230-300 down to a mere seven species left, the little known statistics, he cited, fits the bill of a mass extinction and now the biggest of them all among the last seven looks like going, going gone, too! Even father Ahmad Izham Khairuddin conceded his son knows more than he does which underscores his bond and commitment to do something to curb the march of extinction via recycled cash from baking and selling cookies. Stunned by help from a complete stranger Very much stunned by this unsolicited help was Alex Yee, the founder of Friends of Sea Turtles Education & Research (Foster), who said he suddenly received a call last October for a bank account number. "Out of nowhere, I got an e-mail from Ahmad's mum who said: 'I am Azlina from KL, please give me Foster's bank account number, I would like to send some money to you'!" Never had or expecting any offer like this, Yee remembered asking: "What's it for?" "'My son has raised some money for the turtle conservation work you are doing and we want to send that to you'!" How would she know Foster? Yee attributed it to the power of Facebook or social media where Azlina became aware of what Foster is doing in Walai Penyu Park, Libaran. So where is that money from Ahmad Iszuddin going? To exactly what he wanted to do – an animal enrichment project where it is spent on the habitat to make it better – keeping the Libaran sea turtle nesting beach clean and trash-free. The Walai Penyu Park project at Pulau Libaran, 40 minutes from Sandakan, fits his vision and mission. 'I am very excited to see the turtles': Ahmad Iszuddin Ahmad Iszuddin had raised enough money to keep a 100-metre of a 800m stretch trash-free for one year for easy turtle landing to lay eggs. He said he was "very excited" to be at Libaran on March 1 with father, Ahmad Izham Khairuddin, not only to personally erect the sign post on his adopted 100-metre beach plot, but also to join Yee to execute the milestone release of the 30,000th baby turtles. But rather than just sending the cheque to Foster, it was Yee who insisted that Ahmad Iszuddin fly to Sabah and be at Libaran to witness the March 1 release of the baby turtles. "I feel that if they just sent the money, it will lose the meaning and significance. The significance is not the amount ofm money but the genuine intention. "That's why I said I would fly down to KL first to meet them which I did last November to get the cheques for RM270 and later another RM600 and invite the boy over to Libaran." Not only that, Ahmad Iszuddin also raised money to pay for his airfares. "He has quite a number of followers on Facebook and when he mentioned he got invited to come to Libaran there were some people who actually sponsored him, saying: 'Yeah, we want to encourage you – here's RM100'. "So there are people who actually followed him online, supported him and gave encouraging words and so that actually helped him as well," noted father Ahmad Izham. Reputation raising comment about Libaran So the inevitable question was how he felt about his debut trip to Sabah and Libaran. His answer especially on his impression of Libaran was itself a great compliment to the accomplishment of the turtle conservation project: "So far the island is really clean – cleaner than the other places that I have been to and I am so excited to see the (baby) turtles!" From a mountain of rubbish to this new-found reputation, the credit goes to Alex's Foster Community Beach Cleaning initiative launched in February 2015 which called for daily cleaning by paid villagers who will now benefit from a very young Ahmad Iszuddin's fundraising efforts. This unexpected interest from a KL lad proved to be a powerful shot in the arm for Foster. "This is the first time that I get somebody, a complete stranger who volunteers to pass funding. The significance is not the amount of money, it is the genuine intention to help the work that I am doing, the amount of challenges that I face," Yee noted. "So I am pleasantly surprised and I feel it has validated the work we are doing down here, that is, we are able to reach out to the young generation and that is what this work is all about – the future of the environment," Yee said. A positive word from Sabah Wildlife Department Richard Jaikim, Sandakan based Sabah Wildlife Department Officer, praised Ahmad Iszuddin for setting an example to his peers which proves that very young people can also make a telling impact on conservation. "It also shows that awareness of this special turtle protection project in Libaran has reached beyond the shores of Sabah since the MoU between SWD and Foster was signed in January 2015," Jaikim said. Boy acted on his newfound concern But father Ahmad Izham Khairuddin said what makes the difference is his son who is a caring lad "acted on his interest." We can see this from a series of actions Ahmad Iszuddin did since seeing his science teacher's troubling video. "On February 25, 2017, I enrolled for a workshop called 'Grow the Goose' where I learnt how to raise money and how to give back to charity." "In March, I went to my first bazaar to start selling cookies and in May, I donated rm1,000 to the Turtle Conservation Society of Terengganu." "Then I produced a recipe book and in August 2017, I donated RM470 in Port Dickson and in October, I donated rm270 to Taman Walai Penyu here in Libaran," he added. "In August 2017, I did a video to join the first camp of Sunway Wildlife Heroes and I got selected. "In September I went to Terengganu again for the release of 400 terapins (small species of fresh water or brackish water turtles) but I released only two," he said. "In November I also made it to the second Sunway Wildlife Heroes camp where they said I had to do an animals enrichment project where I had to choose an animal and what can we do to the habitat and make it better. "In the same month of November, I joined the Young Game Changers award and I made it to the Top 10." "In December 2017, I started helping Grow the Goose Workshop as a senior to share my experience so I started selling stuff like cookies, books and paintings but it was my mother who taught me how to bake at 6," said Ahmad Iszuddin. Based on his personal experience, Ahmad Iszuddin, has this to tell the people of Sabah: "If you have more, give some to charity and be always grateful to what you have." What does he have to say to his generation of young boys and girls? "If you feel inspired to help something, do something that will help the environment but never do it alone, do it with family and friends." But why should they care about things like turtles? "Because if caring is not important, it's like war and fighting because people don't care but if we do care people will also care about the animals and also will keep the earth clean." A father's insight, son's commitment What is unusual in Ahmad Iszuddin's case is his intense commitment from such a young boy. Father Ahmad Izham Khairuddin provided his insight. "I think the video from his science teacher really made an impact. "The thing is this generation have a lot of information, they have access to a lot of information on the YouTube etc. "Even the video of the science teacher on how the leatherback turtle will become extinct because of what people are doing to them and after that he actually googled and checked to find more videos on this. "He acted on his interest whereas during our time there was no google or YouTube… "To get information was to go to the library if they have the facts and if they don't have it's very difficult but now they (the new generation) can just go to the computer and find all these information," Ahmad Izham said. - Kan Yaw Chong Source: Daily Express
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