All articles of environment in Sabah

18Sep

RM60 million needed to operate Malaysia’s largest marine park for first five years

KOTA KINABALU: A total of RM60 million is needed to operate the Tun Mustapha Park (TMP), Malaysia’s largest marine park, for its first five years (2017-2021). WWF-Malaysia, announcing this during a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing with Sabah Parks today, will assist the latter in developing a financial plan which could cover income generation or fundraising strategies, as well as sustainable financing. The 10-year agreement solidifies the existing cooperation between the non-governmental organisation (NGO) and the conservation-based government body in taking care of the 898,762-hectare TMP. The TMP, gazetted last year, spans three districts (Kudat, Kota Marudu and Pitas). WWF-Malaysia chief executive officer Datuk Dr Dionysius S.K. Sharma and Sabah Parks director Dr Jamili Nais signed the MoU, witnessed by State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun. Dionysius said WWF-Malaysia is committed to co-funding the TMP management and operation office, the TMP regulations development, sustainable financing mechanism and conservation, led by the state government. “TMP is a global symbol of how we can collectively commit to protecting the environment while local communities continue to live in a sustainable manner. “People must understand that the gazetting measure is just the first step in a long journey. “Right now, there are over 80,000 coastal and island folk living in the area. We don’t know how many there will be in the future but the goal is for them to have better life in a sustainable manner,” he said. WWF-Malaysia Marine Programme’s People and Biodiversity manager Monique Sumampouw said that 85 per cent of locals surveyed indicated that the gazetting measure had a positive impact. She said the MoU will focus on the protection and restoration of coral reefs, sea grass and mangroves as well as key species like sea turtles, dugong, sharks and commercially-valuable fish. Meanwhile, Masidi said the gazetting of such parks require political will. Its impact, she said, may not be seen in the short term but will benefit the people in the future. “I would like to give an example where a few days ago, a massive cleanup was conducted at the Kudat coastline, where many plastic bottles were collected. Surprisingly, some of the bottles came from other parts of the world, even as far as Saudi Arabia. “So do not think that what we do in TMP only benefits only Kudat and Sabah; it affects people all over the world. “We should not opt for shortcuts and short-term benefits but make decisions that allow people to prosper, generation after generation. “I hope that leaders, wherever they are, will do more of what is right instead of what is popular. I hope what we did will encourage others to follow suit,” said the minister. He also stressed on the importance of being realistic when it comes to gazetting more marine parks. “I believe the shortest time frame for the next one (to be gazetted) is maybe ten years. I am saying this to keep expectations within limits. There is a lot of work to be done and there are various technicalities involved,” he said. Masidi had earlier this month said that the government had identified Mantanani Island off Kota Belud and its surrounding areas as the next potential marine park. Source : New Straits Times
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12Sep

Mantanani Island may become Sabah’s next marine park, says Masidi

KOTA KINABALU: Mantanani Island, a well-known site for recreational diving off Kota Belud, and its surrounding areas have been identified as Sabah’s next potential marine park. Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said the state government aims to turn 10 per cent of Sabah’s waters into protected marine areas. He said the government has identified several potential areas to achieve that goal. “The United Nations has invited us to gazette at least 10 per cent of our ocean and we have gazetted 7.6 per cent, with the current size of protected marine parks in Sabah at two million hectares. “I’ve asked my assistant minister (Datuk Pang Yuk Ming) to form a committee to look into the possibility of increasing the size of these marine parks so that we can comply with the 10 per cent requirement. “We have ample amounts of areas that we can eventually turn into parks and we have identified several. This reflects the good conservation policies that the state government has started and continued to implement. “We are actually looking at Mantanani and we are seriously considering turning (Mantanani) into a protected marine park,” he told reporters after launching the Maritime Environmental Security Workshop 2017 here, today. Masidi, however, said this would take some time as the plan depends on the government’s engagement with local residents, district office, and other relevant quarters. He said the ministry is in the midst of preparing the necessary technical requirements before bringing the proposal to the state government’s attention. “It’s not something we have to do in a hurry. We have to take into account the current status of Mantanani as an agriculture area but we believe the island is an excellent candidate to be considered as a marine park,” he said. Last year, the state government gazetted Tun Mustapha Park off Kudat. Spanning approximately 898762.76 hectares, it is Malaysia’s largest marine park. Sabah’s two other marine parks are Tun Sakaran Marine Park off Semporna and the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park off Kota Kinabalu. Speaking on the maritime environmental security workshop, Masidi described the conference as important to Sabah. He also extended his gratitude to the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur for organising and sponsoring the event. The four-day workshop, which starts today, will see participants made up of ministers, officers, and military personnel from the US and Malaysia, as well as non-governmental organisations presenting talks and ideas related to the subject. “This workshop reflects the strong partnership between Sabah and the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. I am pleased that the US embassy has acknowledged Sabah’s uniqueness in the field of marine protection. “I believe participants will make use of this workshop to share views and find ways to protect our marine treasures while getting input on suitable methods to be used in Sabah to allow us to increase our ability to protect marine resources,” said Masidi. Meanwhile, US Embassy’s environmental officer Todd Hannah said the US was committed to global environment conservation. She also said the workshop speaks volume of the importance of Malaysia’s relationship with the US. “That is why we have this sustain this relationship and we will continue to have such relationship with Malaysia on environmental issues. “One of the most important outcomes of this workshop is to convene like-minded people in the same room to have conversations on the way forward. “On resources, the US has to make a decision on where to put its money and the fact we are here doing this (workshop) now shows how important our relationship is with South East Asia, including Malaysia." Source : New Straits Times
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11Sep

Trash Hero group cleans up waterfront area

KOTA KINABALU: There was an unusual sight in Tanjung Lipat, the State capital’s popular waterfront area here yesterday. Alongside couples taking romantic walks and families lounging under the afternoon sun were scores of people happily combing the sandy beaches for rubbish. Many donned a yellow t-shirt proclaiming themselves as a 'Trash Hero'. It was a fitting name for individuals selflessly taking it upon themselves to keeping our beaches trash-free. The leader Monica Chin said they started out with six to 10 people in their first initiative here in Sabah and now there were 125 volunteers. Monica is the co-founder of Trash Hero Borneo, which is a local chapter of the international non-governmental organisation. During her travels in Thailand in 2014, she was amazed by the fact that everywhere she went, Trash Hero volunteers were tidying the places. "I thought, why not start this in Sabah?" she said, embarking on various environmental talks and gathering supporters before finally launching the chapter's first cleanup operation in March. But not all the volunteers at Tanjung Lipat were locals. Swiss national Roman Peter stuck out like a sore thumb with his towering height and sandy brown hair. Roman in fact is the co-founder of the original Trash Hero World that has taken the world by storm - with nothing more than plastic bags and a willing pair of hands. "We could take pictures of the rubbish, show them to people and say 'someone should clean this up! This is someone's job!' "But that is not true. This is everyone's job," said Roman, who was visiting Sabah for the first time to personally take part in the beach cleanup. In just a little over three years, Trash Hero has evolved from a small project into 42 chapters worldwide. "Trash Hero's concept is that we do not blame anyone, or just simply talk about problems. We want to provide solutions and actions because ultimately, actions speak louder than words. "Furthermore, we are not getting any money from this as it is fully supported and funded by the volunteers and local communities themselves," said Roman, who believes this was the reason for the NGO's success. At the end of the day, rubbish weighing a total of 252 kilogrammes was collected from Tanjung Lipat - a proud achievement for the passionate group, which consisted of Trash Hero crew members, students, and other volunteers. While Trash Hero has undeniably made an impact here, many more Malaysians will need to contribute in order to ensure that the environment stays clean. For those interested in volunteering, check out Trash Hero Borneo's facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TrashHeroBorneo/), where they post the latest updates on their next cleanup activity. Source : New Straits Times
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05Sep

Students learn about sustainable use of resources at environmental camp

KOTA KINABALU: A total of 35 secondary school students attended an environmental camp at the Shallom Valley Park in Inanam near here. The Friends of Rivers and Oceans Camp (FROC) 2017 saw the students aged between 13 and 17 years learn about ocean conservation and related issues. The students from Kota Kinabalu, Penampang, Papar, Tuaran and Kota Belud were taught about the sustainable use of resources. Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation lecturer Kelvin Kueh then taught them how frogs play important roles in the ecosystem and water source. “Every ecosystem has different frogs and toads and by looking at the species present, we can know whether the area is clean or not,” he said.
After that, the students were taught about the ocean, corals and marine ecosystem by UMS lecturer from the Borneo Marine Research Institute, Dr Zarinah Waheed. They then joined in a beach clean-up, together with volunteers from Raleigh Sabah. The camp continued with students learning ways to test for water quality and learned how to make bio-enzyme solution, bokashi and mudballs. Participants also had the opportunity to hear about the environment from this year’s harvest queen or Unduk Ngadau, Kerinah Mah. She told them about her role as the ambassador of culture, tourism and the environment and urged them to make the environment a priority in their everyday lives. The camp was organised by Little Feet Initiative, a group formed after the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative’s Borneo Eco Warriors workshop last July in Kota Kinabalu. The UMS EcoCampus Center supported the camp while other collaborators included Partners of Community Organizations in Sabah Trust and Raleigh Sabah Society. Source: The Star
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05Sep

Trash Hero Borneo is asking for help to clean up Sabah beaches

KOTA KINABALU: A non-governmental organisation is taking baby steps in encouraging participation from the public to look after the environment around them, in particular the beaches here. Trash Hero Borneo co-founder Monica Chin said she has been actively involved in helping to keep the beaches clean since joining the Trash Hero organisation in Krabi, Thailand, three years ago. Recently, Trash Hero Borneo has been focusing their attention on the beaches at Tanjung Lipat and Tanjung Aru. “Our city beach is full of trash and on average we collect around 200kg of rubbish per week. “If our beach is full of trash, those lying and stuck in the seabed could be double or triple (that amount) and it will have a very bad effect to marine life especially the coral reef,” she said, adding that anyone can join in their weekly activity. Chin, a scuba diver who hails from Kota Belud, said there was a good response from the locals in her hometown but public here had yet to be receptive to the idea of picking up rubbish with their own hands. She added currently there were 35 dedicated volunteers aged between 7 and 55 joining the activity. “Tourists, who jog at Tanjung Lipat, are keener to join when they see us cleaning the place. “We hope our action can create more attention and people will learn to love our ocean and nature,” Chin said, adding she was optimistic that more people would join this cause. The organisation also holds talks at schools and villages on conservation topics. Coming up next will be a Kudat coastal clean-up on Sept 16. You can also follow the Trash Hero Borneo Facebook page the find out the next clean-up location. Source: New Straits Times
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