All articles of environment in Sabah

11Nov

Kiulu Adventure Challenge returns Dec 4 with RM18k prize purse

Kota Kinabalu: A total prize money of RM18,000 awaits the winners in the 2nd Kiulu Adventure Challenge (KAC) which is set to take place on December 4. The race which involves running (15km), cycling (30km) and rafting down the famed Kiulu river (7km) is organised by the Kiulu Tourism Association (KTA) and supported by the Sabah Tourism Board (STB) and Tourism Malaysia ™. STB Chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai who initiated the race a year ago said in a press conference on Thursday that the main objective for the event is to promote Kiulu as a recreation and adventure destination. "Our main purpose is to introduce Kiulu as an eco-tourism destination and with that the participants of the event will get the chance to witness some beautiful scenery in the area. "It is also going to be tough as the name suggests and those adventure enthusiasts who love the challenge are encouraged to participate." The event will be divided into several categories with men and women for the running event; men, women and veterans as well as juniors aged 13-18 for the cycling event while the team category are for three men plus a woman or three men plus one man veteran. Joniston said the addition of the Boys and Girls category is taking into account the growing popularity of such adventure races among the young. "The introduction of the Boys and Girls category is in line with our objective to promote Kiulu as a recreation and adventure destination for families. "Participants and visitors will also have the chance to win lucky draw prizes such as airtickets, electrical goods, hotel accommodation and sports gear. Furthermore, there would be various activities, such as traditional games with attractive prizes to be won, sampling of Kiulu's traditional food and drinks and display of authentic local handicrafts, for family members and the public at the Adventure Centre," he added. The race will start and end at the Adventure Centre at Kg Rangalau Lama, Kiulu and participants will receive a T-shirt and certificate, and a medal for those who complete the race within the stipulated time. Meanwhile, KAC chairman Octavius Usman said the event is one of the association's initiatives to promote eco-adventure tourism in support of STB's concerted effort to promote rural tourism as a new and viable source of income for the rural community as well as to create awareness on the importance of conserving the pristine Kiulu River. "At the advice of the Kiulu assemblyman Datuk Joniston Bangkui, who is also KTA's adviser, we have been working very closely with the local community, through the Kampung Development and Security Committee (JKKK), to provide knowledge and guidance to improve their standard of living by engaging in tourism activities," Octavius said. "In the long run, we aim to make Kiulu, which is only about an hour drive from Kota Kinabalu, as a renowned adventure hub offering a variety of activities to adventure and nature lovers," he added. The KAC will begin with a 15km run along the Kiulu valley, before a bumpy bike ride on the banks of the Kiulu River and ends with a refreshing raft ride down the river. Octavius said considering the encouraging response and to accommodate as many participants as possible, registration would be opened until the very last minute. Those interested to participate could contact Suslisa at 019-8515431, Ahmadul Tahir (Race director) at 019-8511225 or Authet J Kimon (Event director) at 013-8860080. Source: Daily Express
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04Nov

International Conference on Heart of Borneo here Nov 8-9

Kota Kinabalu: The eighth edition of the International Conference on Heart of Borneo is back. The event which gathers experts to discuss crucial issues related to the implementation of Sabah's Heart of Borneo Strategic Plan of Action will take place on Nov 8-9, here. Organiser, Sabah Forestry Department has set the theme "Enabling and Empowering Conservation through Science-Policy Interface, Conservation Finance and Community Engagement." Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman is scheduled to launch the event here which some 800 people from various sectors locally and internationally including students are expected to attend. "Participation is by invitation only but members of the public are most welcomed to visit the conference exhibition, to view the various conservation initiatives within the Heart of Borneo landscape," the department said in a statement here. Natural Resources and Environment Ministry Deputy Secretary General Datuk Dr Azimuddin Bahari will be among those who will deliver keynote addresses at the conference. Among others include Biodiversity Finance Initiative Senior Technical Adviser Dr David Meyers, Institute of Plant Sciences University of Bern, Switzerland Professor David Newberry and Carnegie Institution for Science Professor Dr. Gregory Asner. In addition, a total of 41 speakers will also present their papers in the concurrent sessions. Several memorandums will also be signed between the State Government and various parties, while a journal of plant systematic, morphology and natural history published by the Forest Research Centre titled Sandakania No. 21 Special Edition will also be unveiled at the event. The journal is launched also in view of the 100 years of Sandakan Herbarium celebration. Following the conclusion of the conference, the Sabah Ramsar Conference will be held from Nov 10. The event aims to provide updates on the achievement, challenges and success on establishing the Lower Kinabatangan-Segama Wetlands, which is the largest Ramsar site in the country. Source: Daily Express
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04Nov

Seven Sabah schools in All-Star contest

Kota Kinabalu: Seven schools from Sabah are competing in this year's Petronas All About Youth (AAY) competition, which kicked off recently with an "all-star" participation. Endorsed by the Ministry of Education, the AAY All Star 2016 sees the return of 30 schools from Terengganu, Kelantan, Melaka, Johor, Sabah and Sarawak selected from the list of former participants of the programme. The schools are represented by their respective Form 4 students and have been awarded a grant worth RM1,000 each to further enhance their projects. Last year's competition saw SMK Tamparuli winning the top prize with their flood alert system at Tamparuli Bridge. "AAY is a Corporate Social Investment programme developed to empower youths and is being implemented at selected areas near Petronas' operations. "We decided to go with an 'All-Star' edition this year to ensure past projects can be further enhanced to ensure the sustainability of the projects," said Petronas Senior General Manager, Group Strategic Communications, Zahariah (Liza) Abdul Rahman. The three-year old programme, which started out as a pilot project, aims to nurture well-rounded youths in the areas of social development, community wellbeing and environment. The participating projects from Sabah are a community bus stop in Telupid by SMK Ulu Sapi, uplifting of facilities at Kibambangan Tagal Centre in Penampang by SM St Michael, portable water filter by SMK Bongkol of Pitas, beautification of Kota Belud tamu besar site by SMK Arshad, river clean up using bokashi mud balls by SMK Kota Marudu, community one-stop centre by SMK Penangah in Tongod, and hall cooling system by SMK Badin of Tuaran. Petronas AAY activities commenced late last month. Each school team, made up of 20 students, will be provided with a refresher course and a volunteer serving as a "buddy" to provide guidance and support. Each team has four weeks to complete their final projects and judging will be based on creativity, the project's enhancement and sustainability, impact on community and clarity of presentation. Upon selecting the finalists, a Grand Finale will be held in Kuala Lumpur to celebrate efforts and success. The winning school, to be announced at the finale, will receive a grand prize worth RM50,000 for the purpose of upgrading their existing projects. In addition, each member of the winning team will receive RM1,000 worth of cash and prizes, while team members in the second and third place categories will receive RM800 and RM500 worth of cash and prizes respectively. To monitor the participants' long-term development, an "AAY Alumni" will be formed where former participants can converge to share their success stories and provide peer support to each other. "There will be opportunities for alumni members to attend Youth Development Conferences and engagements across Asia. Our end goal is to coach alumni members and prepare them for the workforce," said Zahariah. Source: Daily Express
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28Oct

Sharks a source of many jobs

KOTA KINABALU: Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun, is ‘unapologetic’ about his stand on the issue of shark fin harvesting and shark killing, saying  sharks played an important role as an economic driver in the tourism industry. Masidi, who opened the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) Malaysia and Sabah Shark Protection Association (SSPA) business dialogue, ‘My Fin My Life,’ also said the shark population in the state is a source of many jobs for locals. “Every year, foreign divers come over to dive in Sabah and 80 per cent of them want to see sharks in the wild, among others. “We gross about RM350 to RM380 million each year from the diving industry and that’s a huge amount of money, but aside from that, the industry creates jobs, especially for locals. “By our own reluctance to go full steam ahead to protect the sharks, we are actually giving an opportunity to our neighbouring countries to grab the tourism windfall that we are currently experiencing. “We’re going to lose a lot of jobs due to this. The first people to lose jobs are locals, and the tourism industry is the only industry in Sabah, even probably in Malaysia, with the highest percentage of local employment. “In Sabah, about 90 over per cent of tourism employees are local. So, we are basically saying that in the name of shark fin soup, we make sure that 90 per cent of Sabahans in the country are out of jobs,” he said. Masidi went on to say that even the food industry will eventually lose if sharks are continually hunted and killed for their fins, adding that it’s a temporary feeling of relief that they are protecting a small industry, but killing a much bigger one in the long run. Nevertheless, work is being done for the protection of sharks in Sabah waters, as Masidi reiterated that all marine parks will be converted into a shark sanctuary, as was passed by the State Assembly. He added that Sabah Parks was also currently going through the barriers and legal issues and, if the need arose, would bring up the necessity for amendments in the law to ensure that the marine parks really acted as a sanctuary for sharks to be protected. “My personal hope is that the marine parks will be the first step towards the total banning of shark hunting and shark killing in Sabah. “We are here not just to live our life, but to prepare the lives of the future generation. This is an emotional issue, so to speak. Some are passionately for the protection of sharks, while others are not agreeable with what we are fighting for. “My job here is not to condemn those who do not agree with me, but I can say that I am for shark protection and I’m not apologetic with my stand. “To me, the proposition is very simple: either we finish all the sharks that are available in Sabah and that’s the end of it, or protect them and turn them into an economic driver of the tourism industry and make money out of them,” he said. Also present at yesterday’s dialogue was Kota Kinabalu City Mayor Datuk Yeo Boon Hai, who similarly expressed his support for the protection of sharks.   Source : The Borneo Post
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28Oct

Masidi: Study groundwater potential in Ranau, Kota Belud

KOTA KINABALU: Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun has proposed that a detailed study on the groundwater potential be carried out in Ranau and Kota Belud areas as groundwater could provide water security, especially in times of crisis.

Masidi said Sabah was among the most seismically active states in Malaysia due to its close proximity to the Ring of Fire.

“On June 5 last year, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 on the Richter scale struck Ranau where 18 climbers of five different nationalities died. The tremors caused massive rock falls in the catchment areas. Debris from the rock falls polluted the surface water resources and damaged the intake points of the water supplies causing water supply disruption in Ranau and Kota Belud districts,” he recalled.

Although the surface water was affected by the debris pollution, Masidi said the quantity and quality of groundwater remained unaffected.

“Considering that, may I suggest that a detailed study on the groundwater potential be carried out in the affected Ranau and Kota Belud areas? In my opinion, groundwater, if developed successfully, would provide water security in such areas especially in times of crisis,” Masidi stated in his speech, which was delivered by his permanent secretary, Datu Rosmadi Datu Sulai, at the opening of Institute Geology of Malaysia (IGM) Groundwater Seminar 2016 themed ‘Mainstreaming Groundwater Into Public Water Supply System’ held here yesterday and attended by more than 100 participants.

On another note, he said the Minerals and Geoscience Department Malaysia (JMG), the main and leading government department undertaking groundwater exploration and development in the country, had drilled 33 exploration wells in 2015 alone, of which 30 production wells and nine monitoring wells have been successfully developed.

“JMG has so far constructed more than 200 tube wells in Sabah, mainly in rural or isolated villages, as well as schools in Pantai Barat Selatan (southwestern coast), Pantai Barat Utara (northeastern coast) and Pedalaman (interior) areas.

“I hope the JMG will continue to intensify its effort to exploit groundwater to control peat land fires and supply as an alternative water resource for the populace in areas of water stress, especially during droughts,” Masidi said.

He said groundwater, the largest source of usable freshwater, was resilient to droughts because it reacted very slowly to the changes of hot and wet season and therefore was able to provide a continuous water supply.

Masidi said data released by UNESCO and research by water experts stated that more than 95 per cent of readily available freshwater was on the ground. In developed countries, groundwater resources have been extensively used and have contributed to socio-economic development.

“The groundwater acceptance by the public and policy maker is obviously on the rise in our country. Groundwater that used to be resorted to in times of water crisis is now more and more being sought out for agricultural, industrial and domestic usages.”

Besides that, he said more public funding is seen allocated in recent years into studying and developing groundwater.

“It is hoped that groundwater resources can play a significant role in the mainstream water supply, thereby creating more job opportunities for groundwater players and industries to grow and contribute to the development of our nation. It is our responsibility to ensure good studies and practices are conducted to ensure sustainable groundwater supply for the mainstream water supply, Masidi said.

That said, Masidi pointed out that there were still big gaps in our understanding of groundwater in Malaysia that needed to be addressed for better water management in the country, such as the amount of groundwater reserves, the extent the resource could be utilized without damaging the environment, the current usage of groundwater, and the extent of groundwater being polluted through farming activities, landfills and other industrial activities.

He stressed that the knowledge and understanding of groundwater resources was important to increase the utilization of this resources.

“Appropriate monitoring, early warning systems, water conservation and proper protection of each water source or recharge area becomes pertinent,” he noted.

He said the JMG, National Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia (NAHRIM), IGM and other related agencies in the country were not alone in this challenge.

“Through Federal government funding of most of the water resources studies in the country, the Sabah government will play an important role in supporting JMG in developing groundwater resources in the State in order to provide clean water for the populace in areas of water stress and also to control peat fires, which commonly occur during seasonal dry spells.

“Our approach to groundwater cannot be addressed in isolation, but require a concerted effort approach in which both Federal and State governments, government agencies, institutions of higher learning, private sector and civil society will need to work together.”

Also present were JMG director-general cum IGM president Mior Sallehhuddin bin Mior Jadid, NAHRIM director-general Ir Dr. Azuhan bin Mohamed, Board of Geologists chairman Dato’ Yunus Abdul Razak and organizing chairman Dr Saim Suratman.

Source : The Borneo Post
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