Tag - Environment

Lahad Datu: Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD) and Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) have claimed success in their joint reforestation of orang-utan habitat in Northern Ulu Segama. Once "rare" and "decreasing" sighting of the orang-utan has now become "common" in the 5,400-hectare Bukit Piton Forest Reserve in Ulu Segama that was repeatedly whacked by severe logging and forest fires since the 1960s. The decisive game changer is an unusually large sum of cash worth RM25 million pumped in by Sime Darby Foundation, which imposed high standard corporate reforestation techniques in collaboration with the Sabah Forestry Department since 2009, focused primarily on recreating orang-utan habitats which also help other wildlife simultaneously. "I am pleased to see that the project has borne fruit, and we have achieved what we have set out to do – to provide trees for the orang-utan population," said Tun Musa Hitam, Chairman of Yayasan Sime Darby, who visited the project site for the first time on December 7 since its inception in 2009. Since then, 4,724 hectares had been rehabilitated with 350,000 seedlings of numerous species of indigenous dipterocarps and pioneer trees that secured 90 per cent survival rate. "We are proud of this success," said Musa, who told Daily Express he believes in admitting mistakes frankly and acting seriously on fixing those mistakes. Typical of Musa, he spared no one including criticising his own government for "rape" of Malaysia's forests in his heydays as Primary Industries Minister in charge of forests in the 1970s. "I think this success story in Sabah is something of interest to the world, we have been attacked over the orang-utan. I know our weaknesses, that we have committed mistakes but now we are putting our acts together and making it work," he said. "We slogged it out, started our Corporate Social Responsibility focused on wildlife quietly. Now 8 to 9 years later, we are happy we are ahead and what we started on orang-utan rehabilitation is now proven. And I would like to tell the world: Look, we have been doing the right thing because we walked the talk, not cakap cakap," he told a press conference in Ula Segama on Wednesday. Now that the Foundation had proven beyond doubt that healing of acutely damaged forests can be done, Musa encouraged the many other plantation companies involved in Sabah to copy the Yayasan Sime Darby CSR. "Let's do something about it. Sime Darby Foundation can accommodate, I am sure the Forestry Department will do the same," Musa added. "In the old days, one could accuse that Sabah was one of the biggest states that exploited the wealth of our timber and became a major exporter of our timber and, of course, it can be said 'unintentionally maybe we have destroyed the forests'." "The good news is that since I became the Chairman of Sime Darby Foundation, I realised that the Sabah Government is very, very positive on rehabilitation, the value of preservation and promotion of wildlife. And in order to justify in even in monetary terms, I realise that these things in themselves are money-making exercises in the long run, for instance becoming very popular eco-tourism," Musa said. For instance, the 5,400ha Bukit Piton Forest Reserve forms just a fraction of the 242,884ha Sabah Government initiative called Ulu Segama-Malua Sustainable Forest Management project established on March 15, 2006. Meanwhile, Sabah Conservator of Forest, Datuk Sam Mannan, described Musa's maiden visit to Bukit Piton as "excellent". "We need more people like that because it shows their commitment and their support to make things happen in the interest of conservation. It is very rare to find somebody like him who gives his full commitment and comes to have a look himself on the situation on the ground to get a better perspective of what it's all about and to continue support," Mannan said. Musa had pledged "sustained interest" in Bukit Piton beyond 2018 when the project matures maybe in the form of postgraduate scholarships to study the movement and behaviour of orang-utan in this newly-developed area. Asked how does the visit help this project, Mannan said: "Well, he is the one who has to approve finally the payment with the rest of the Board and he wants to see for himself whether the money is well spent and whether it is achieving the targets that have been set and he can see now that actually we have that measure of success – certified well done by the man himself," Mannan noted. Asked about his own opinion of the Bukit Piton project, he said: "This is excellent, this is the first time we have such a high standard of techniques in restoring forests and how we have learnt from the corporate field on how work should be done in an efficient manner following the discipline of the private sector. "By high standard of techniques in restoring forests, I mean attention to details , for, example, site species matching, handling of seedlings and field transportation, hardening of seedlings prior to field planting, proper planting and shade manipulation, weeding regularly, etc.," Mannan elaborated. On learning from the corporate field how work should be done in an efficient manner and discipline, Mannan said: "This involves where resources should be allocated and when, payment on the basis of results, such as productivity, survival rates. For instance, a project can achieve up to 90pc or more survival against 75-80pc normally, regular monitoring and immediate actions to address issues, not waiting to solve problems." "My point always is whenever I go around the world to give talks, I always say to them: "You can forget completely what I have said but not one thing: If the orang utan is going to survive as a species, it has the greatest chance in Sabah because of the work that is going on," Mannan said. "The reason is most of Sabah's orang-utans are in certified forests, that is, well managed orang-utan habitats, their numbers are healthy – 11,000 individuals or more and orang-utan habitats are systematically being increased with minimal poaching of the red ape which is generally not a bush meat while most of their habitats are already protected," Mannan said. For example, the Ulu Segama forests are an integral area in conservation efforts as it is home to the single largest population of orang-utans in Sabah – some 3,000 to 4,000 individuals, or 30pc of Sabah's estimated orang-utan population and Sime Darby-SFD rehabilitation project clearly shows attention is given where it counts. Source: Daily Express

SEVEN local authorities (PBTs) and a state department under the Ministry of Local Government and Housing were given the Excellence Award in Financial Management based on the National Audit Department’s Accountability Index in 2015. Its minister, Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji Haji Noor, said the PBTs were the district councils of Keningau, Beaufort, Kota Marudu, Penampang, Sipitang, Tambunan and the Tawau Municipal Council while the department was the Department of Town and Regional Planning (JPBW). “In fact, the Keningau District Council scored the highest marks at the national level with 98.34%,” he added while winding up the debate on his ministry for the 2017 State Budget. Hajiji stated that this year, JPBW together with the WWF-Malaysia and the Semporna district office was given the International Planning Excellence Award by the Royal Town Planning Institute of London for its Semporna Marine Spatial Plan project. “This award is a recognition on the capability and expertise of the Sabah government in town planning in terms of livability, competitiveness and environment-friendliness,” he pointed out. Hajiji also revealed that beginning October this year, all PBTs in Sabah had implemented the e-Payment system with the co-operation of CIMB. “To familiarize Sabahans with the usage of JomPay, we are conducting a six-month awareness campaign for all households and commercial premises within the rating areas of PBTs,” he said. He added that the implementation of the e-Payment system was an encouraging achievement because Sabah had become a model, being the first state to implement it whereby all states were required to do so by the Malaysian Department of Local Government. “Not only that, the Tawau Municipal Council received the CIMB Award for being the Best Plug & Pay Implementing PBT throughout Malaysia 2016 while the Sandakan Municipal Council received the Best e-Payment Implementation Award 2016 for Sabah,” he stated. Meanwhile, the minister also revealed that the Federal Government had allocated RM143.86 million to the Ministry of Local Government and Housing this year for distribution to all PBTs in the State. “Out of this amount, RM35.86 million was for annual grant for operational costs, RM72.39 million for minor projects, RM34.64 million for rates assistance, and RM957,000 for landscaping,” he explained. He pointed out that the federal assistance would go a long way in helping Sabah PBTs to uplift their services to the public, including in terms of urban well-being and safety. Under the 2017 State Budget, the ministry was given RM100.7 million out of which RM83.05 million was for supply or recurring expenditure and RM17.02 million for development expenditure. Source: Borneo Post

Kota Kinabalu: The State Legislative Assembly on Thursday passed an amendment to the Forests (Constitution of Forest Reserves and Amendment) Enactment 1984 that is envisaged to increase Totally Protected Areas (TPAs) to 30 per cent of Sabah's land mass by 2025. It is the only such concerted action undertaken by any State Government in Malaysia and possibly in the Asean region to preserve the natural environment for posterity and accentuates Sabah's position as an ecotourism destination of global standing. It was recently confirmed by independent researchers that Sabah had all 50 of the world's tallest tropical trees, most located in the vicinity of the Danum Valley Conservation Area. The tallest reached 309ft into the sky. It was a feat that even the Amazon rainforest in Brazil could not match. Speaker Datuk Syed Abas Syed Ali announced the passing of the Bill that will be cited as the Forests (Constitution of Forest Reserves and Amendment) (Amendment) Enactment 2016 and take effect on Dec. 31, this year. Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister Datuk Ellron Angin who tabled the Bill said the amendment was to excise, constitute and reclassify identified forest reserves in the state. "Eight identified forest reserves with total acreage of 19,494.92 hectares would be excised and 18 forest reserves with total acreage of 8,522.38 hectares would be constituted. Nine Forest Reserve Class II (Commercial Forest) and Forest Reserve Class V (Mangrove Forest) with total acreage of 87,337.05 hectares would be reclassified as First Class Forest Reserve (Protection) and all these areas would later be sub-divided into 14 areas of First Class Forest Reserve (Protection)," he said. With this amendment to the Forests (Constitution of Forest Reserves and Amendment) Enactment 1984, Ellron said the acreages of the State Forest Reserves are expected to undergo changes. "The Forest Reserve Class 1 (Protection) will increase from 1.26 million hectares to 1.35 million hectares increasing by 7.43 per cent and the Forest Reserve Class II (Commercial) would be lesser from 1.75 million hectares to 1.668 million hectares accounting for a drop of 4.7 per cent. "The Forest Reserve Class III (Domestic) will remain 4,673 hectares and Forest Reserve Class IV (Amenity) would increase from 11,149.170 hectares to 11,386.45 hectares, rising by 2.13 per cent while the Forest Reserve Class 5 (Mangrove) will be lesser from 280,002.270 hectares to 256,009.27 hectares, dropping by 8.57 per cent. "The Forest Reserve Class VI (Virgin Jungle Reserve) will increase from 106,812.314 hectares to 107, 013.914 hectares, rising by 0.19 per cent, Wildlife Forest Reserve (Class VII) increase from 137,991 hectares to 139, 240.97 hectares with a 0.91 per cent increase," he said. Overall total forest reserves after the process of excising, constituting and reclassifying, Ellron said would be 3,540,274.214 hectares and there would be a decrease of 0.31 per cent compared to 2015 (3,551,246.754 hectares). "However, the total acreages of Totally Protected Areas would increase to 1,874,061.544 hectares equivalent to 25.46 per cent from the Sabah's land mass compared to 2015 with 1,779,030.3144 hectares (24.17 per cent)," he said. Hence, Ellron said he is confident that the State Government's target to achieve the 30 per cent TPAs by 2025 can be realised. He said about 19,494.92 hectares comprising several classes of forest reserves were proposed to be excised for land reserves for the purpose of community development and the state's economy as there are many village settlements and land titles in the forest reserves. Furthermore, he said the proposal to excise the forest reserves also took account of the condition of the forest reserves where some are degraded forests due to unplanned logging and repeated forest fires and past encroachments. He said rehabilitation of the forest reserves would involve high cost and the Government does not have special funds for forest rehabilitation. Among the forest reserves that were identified to be excised, Ellron said, are: 1. Kg. Hindian Forest Reserve Class IV (Amenity), Beuafort – a total of 83.62 hectares to be excised for settlement of villages such as Kg. Maraba Laut, Kg. Andian Maraba and Kg.Banting Maraba. Land titles within the forest reserve have been taken out before the forest reserve was gazetted. 2. Bonggaya Forest Reserve Class II (Commercial), Beluran – This forest reserve under a Forest Management Unit (FMU) 18 (Silam Forest Products Sdn Bhd/Arus Sawit Sdn Bhd) that is situated in Beluaran. A total acreage of 1,174 hectares was proposed to be excised for the purpose of village settlements such as Kg. Basai, Kg.Rungus Baru, Kg. Cenderamata, Kg. Kokos, Kg. Tolongan, and Kg. Bayok/Mekaniok. These areas have also been toiled with various agriculture crops. 3. Karakit Forest Reserve Class VI (Virgin Jungle Reserve), Kudat – Eight hectares forest reserved is proposed to be excised because it has been given land ownership. 4. Sg.Lasun Forest Reserve & Pulau Evans Class 1 (Protection), Lahad Datu – Total acreage of 499.30 hectares to be excised as these areas have been given land ownership before the forest reserves were gazetted. 5. Paitan Forest Reserve Class II (Commercial), Beluran – Total acreage of 2,041 hectares to be excised for village settlements as these areas have been toiled with various crops. 6. Pensiangan Forest Reserve Class II (Commercial), Nabawan – Total acreage of 5,000 hectares to be excised as State land reserves for the community development and State's economy. 7. Sugut Forest Reserve Class II (Commercial), Beluran – Total acreage of 5,689 hectares to be excised as land reserves for the community development and State's economy (5,000 hectares) and villages areas (689 hectares) involving Pantai Boring, among others that has long existed. 8. Kuala Tomani Forest Reserve Class II (Commercial), Tenom – 5,000 hectares of the forest reserve excised as State land reserves for the community development and State's economy. Ellron said there are 18 State land reserves with total acreage of 8,522.38 hectares to be forest reserves to replace identified forest reserves areas that have been proposed to be excised. "These State land reserves comprise those lands that have been surrendered to the government, reserve lands belonged to Sabah Forest Development Authority (Safoda), lands that were procured through acquisition by the Sabah Forestry Department for recreational activities and existing government land and some are land swap villages within the forest reserve that have been excised. "It also includes three proposed water catchment areas in new State lands to be gazetted as forest reserves namely in Ulu Kalang, Tenom, Tindikon and Tikolod in Tambunan," he said. Those proposed forest reserves, Ellron said have among the best ecosystem mangrove forest and high conservation values as well as being the habitat and corridor to wildlife and protection places for several species of flora. "There are also unique wildlife species such as the yellow sea otter that is endemic in one of the proposed areas namely the Rabin Wildlife Forest Reserve (Additional II) Class VII," he said. On nine forest reserves involving total acreages of about 87,337.05 hectares, Ellron said that this would be reclassified as Forest Reserve Class 1 (Protection) and subdivided into 14 new forest reserves from the Forest Reserve Class II (Commercial) and Forest Reserve Class V (Mangrove Forest) in Sabah. The upcoming 14 new forest reserves Class 1 (Protection), he said would involve a total of 15,438.3 hectares of the Lingkabau Forest Reserve Class II, a total of 2,181.74 hectares from the Sg. Pinangan Forest Reserve Class II, 1,127.05 hectares from the Kalabakan Forest Reserve Class II, and 23,993 hectares from the Kuala Segama Forest Reserve Class II and Kuala Maruap Forest Reserve Class V, among others. He said the 14 new forest reserves included 62,611.05 hectares that were surrendered by the Sustainable Forest Management Licence Agreement (SFMLA) holders such as the Sabah Foundation (17,293.75 hectares), Anika Desiran Sdn Bhd (12,241 hectares) Timberwell Bhd (15,438.30 hectares) and Eco-Plantation Berhad (17,638 hectares) to the State government for conservation purposes. Source: Daily Express

Penampang: The Kibambangan Tagal Centre at Kg Putaton in Inobong has been given a facelift by 20 SM St Michael's students and is well on track to becoming an eco-education and tourism spot. The Form Four students spent six weeks working with members of the local community during off-school hours to give the centre a fresher look through the Petronas All About Youth (AAY) competition which they are again competing this year. Their school is one of seven secondary schools in Sabah and 30 nationwide which are taking part in competition that is endorsed by the Ministry of Education. The three-year old programme, which started as a pilot project by Petronas, aims to nurture well-rounded youths in areas of social development, community well-being and environment. Given a RM1,000 grant from the custodian of the national oil and gas resources, this year's students who call themselves Michaelian Little Helpers chose to revive the Kibambangan Tagal Centre and their entry project in the competition. But in those weeks being hands-on in works like mural painting on the Tagal Hall, repainting the Riverview Balcony, helping out in the building of a traditional hut, toilet and hanging bridge as well as planting indigenous fruits trees and donating a river harvesting tank, the students felt their world has got a lot bigger. Their team leader Glenn Gerald told Daily Express they would use the centre to advocate and promote the indigenous 'tagal' system, which is implemented only in Sabah, to the world. "We'll spread the tagal system through our friends especially through social media," said the 16-year-old from Kampung Babagon, another village in Penampang known for its successful implementation of the traditional riverine conservation system. He said even though taking on the social media platform may not likely convince foreign governments to replicate what communities in Sabah have accomplished, at least not overnight, the students still believe that change for the better is possible in time. As some young people will become future decision and policy makers in governments, Glenn's effort together with his peers received nothing but strong support from their teachers. "We hope they'll be successful and on our part we can only encourage and guide them," said school principal Jennifer Asing. The Kibambangan Tagal Centre at Kg Putaton in Inobong is located between 20 to 30 minutes' drive from Donggongon Township but remains relatively unknown to members of the public. Through the project, the students and community hope the site will gradually elevate itself to becoming a place that promotes eco-education and leisure. A ceremony was held Tuesday to officiate the centre's new look by representatives from Petronas led by its chairman for Sabah and the Federal Territory of Labuan Mohd Zaini Mohd Yunus. Also present were the company's general manager Julita Untol, Petronita Kota Kinabalu chairperson Rohana Affandi and SM St Michael's PTA chairman Datuk Philip Lasimbang. Also present were District Education Officer Mojuntin Ebin, village head Michael Kubot, District Fisheries Department enforcement officer Tony Anus, Tagal Kibambangan chairman Maximus Miwil and Kg Putaton JKKK chairman David Inang. Source: Daily Express