All articles of environment in Sabah

10Nov

Not so taken aback over turtle deaths

SEMPORNA: People have been lukewarm about the killing of sea turtles although it is an endangered species, said Assistant Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Datuk Pang Yuk Ming. He said the issue of irresponsible parties killing the turtles to be smuggled out of Sabah to a neighbouring country this year did not receive widespread attention from the public, unlike the issue of elephant deaths. He urged the relevant authorities, particularly tourism industry players and Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) to expand awareness about sea turtles in the West Coast, for example, in Banggi, Kudat. This would give an opportunity to the community in the West Coast, to see and know the turtles and indirectly express a love for and the need to protect endangered species. "Once we have known the species, we would be sure to love it and automatically there will arise efforts to protect the animals," he said on Mabul Island, Tuesday. Pang was speaking after a turtles welcoming programme at Mabul Island by Borneo Divers. Also present was the Borneo Divers and Sea Sports Chief Executive Officer Datuk Edmund Looh and Semporna Assistant District Officer Suhaime @ Suhaimi Ejip. He was proud that Mabul-Sipadan was recognised by the United States as the world's number one dive centre with a succesful environmental governance. "This recognition is certainly very welcome because it proves that the Government's efforts in the past 12 years had finally paid off not only in the conservation of the ecosystem, but also in gaining international recognition. "Although at first, the Government's decision to close the resort and limit tourists to 120 people at a time at a time was not well received, the action has proven to conserve the marine ecosystem," he said. Pang also revealed that Tun Sakaran Marine Park will be opened in Banggi and gazetted in the near future, possibly next year. Earlier, in his remarks Admund stated that efforts to maintain and protect the sea turtle is a shared responsibility because the animal has been likened to a human family as their existence at Mabul Island and its surrounding areas was from very long ago. He hoped the "Celebration of Sea Turtles in Mabul" for three days starting from Nov 3 will bring awareness to preserve and conserve the marine life as well as the cleanliness of the sea. Source: Daily Express
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24Oct

‘Today’s govt policies must benefit future generations’

KOTA KINABALU, Oct 17, 2014: A government policy, especially that concerns the environment, must not only benefit the future generation, but also get its appreciation. Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun in disclosing this said the state government should therefore take into consideration the needs and importance of conservation when drafting the policy. Responding to Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents (MATTA) president Hamzah Rahmat’s call for the state government to seriously look into efforts for environmental conservation, Masidi welcomed the view. He added it would defeat the whole purpose of promoting the country as an eco-tourism destination if half of its conservation policies were breached. “I am not criticising what the State Government has done, this is just a mere reminder to self and also Sabahans to please consider the needs and welfare of future generations when drafting any policy. “We need to realise that our action today will haunt us forever. We may not feel the effect for the next one or two decades, but we have to think forward and draft a policy that will serve a long-term solution that will benefit our children and their children in the next 30 or 50 years,” he said when launching the Asia Pacific Eco-Tourism Conference (Apeco) 2014, here, today. He said there were “unpopular” policies made today, but he believed that as long as it was executed well, it would work. “What we think is popular may not be the right decision. What we really need is the right policy and ensure it is executed well.” He said the State Government had been working hard to ensure balance between development and nature conservation, which among others had set that 55% of Sabah be retained as protected forest. “We are moving towards that and I believe that through education, we will be there.” He said although logging was the largest contributor to the state’s economy, last year’s decision to revoke licenses for the industry showed the State Government’s sincerity to protect the environment. The revenue dropped from RM2 billion to RM110 million. “This is an example of an unpopular decision, but it did bring positive impact to other industries, such as tourism which clocked RM6.3 billion in revenue, over RM4 billion more compared with what we had received from logging.” Masidi was also optimistic that although this year was not a good year for Sabah’s tourism industry, he believed it would be able to pick up pace in time. “Our performance shows a 10% increase in the first five months this year. And I am confident that Malaysia will be able to meet its 28 million tourist arrival target and collect RM76 billion from the industry.”
Source: The Rakyat Post
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15Oct

Program Sekolah Rakan Alam Sekitar (SERASI)

151014_1 YB Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun receiving a cheque with the amount of RM100,000 from SHELL Malaysia's representative, YBhg Datin Lucy Wong for the “Friends of Nature School Program 2014” (Program Sekolah Rakan Alam Sekitar (SERASI) 2014) on 14 October 2014 at the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment Sabah office. SERASI is one of the major programs for Environment Week’s annual celebration in Sabah. YB Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun menerima cek sebanyak RM100,000 yang disampaikan oleh wakil daripada SHELL Malaysia, YBhg Datin Lucy Wong sempena dengan Program Sekolah Rakan Alam Sekitar (SERASI) 2014 pada 14 Oktober 2014 bertempat di Tingkat 7, Kementerian Pelancongan, Kebudayaan dan Alam Sekitar Sabah. Program Sekolah Rakan Alam Sekitar (SERASI) merupakan salah satu program utama bagi sambutan tahunan Minggu Alam Sekitar (MASM) di Sabah.
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09Oct

Duo on environmental, humanitarian walk

KOTA KINABALU: Two men, each carrying 20kg of backpack, decided to walk 2,500 kilometres from Tawau to Kuching to raise awareness on positive environmental and humanitarian projects in Borneo. The duo, David Atthowe, 25, from Norfolk England, and Yusep Sukmana, 24, from Bandung Indonesia, calling themselves the Nomadic Lion, attended a press conference here yesterday after 47 days of walking from Tawau to Kota Kinabalu, which covers a distance of 780 kilometres. Their planned journey which will cover Sabah, Sarawak, and Brunei, will take about five months and will be made into a documentary focusing on positive environmental and humanitarian projects and solutions. Walking and relying solely on the help of people they meet along the way for food and hospitality, David, the founder of Nomadic Lion, said they had been blessed as the people they meet here (Sabah) are very helpful and supportive towards their cause. “We share positive stories when learning from the locals here. We focus a lot in documenting our journey and take pictures every day to spread the positivity to the world through the social media,” he said, giving an example that the duo had made the Society for the Deaf in Lahad Datu known to the public. The project in Borneo is the second walking mission for the duo after completing a 1,100 kilometer-walk in Peninsular Malaysia in February. “I am passionate about this part of the world and to help people and nature here. We chose Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo to be the venue of our first two projects because they have one of the oldest rainforests in the world and their precious resources,” David said, while pointing out that the people here are incredibly diverse, especially in Borneo. To date, David’s cause has received an increasing number of followers on social media, including its website (www.nomadiclion.com) and Facebook. Commenting on his experience gained from the journey, David said he found Peninsular Malaysia very different from Sabah in terms of culture and its people. “The Borneo people are more similar to those in Kalimantan. In the peninsula, they have a completely different culture compared to Sabah. It is like being in two different countries. “A lot of people say we are crazy, but we are very passionate about raising awareness as we progress on the walk via our website, social media activities and engaging local people every day, to talk to them about local positive projects,” he explained. Commenting on their success, David said the walk took 47 days and was tough going at times. “We were lucky that we have not encountered serious challenges, and we were continuously supported and spurred on by the warm welcome and generosity of the Malaysian people we met on our route,” he explained. As for David’s partner in the project, Yusep, a student majoring in literature, said he loved the culture, customs and tradition of Sabahans, especially their music. “I love to see different traditional music genres in different places, which reflect their colourful cultures. I am passionate about music and I love to see how people unite through it,” he said. Their walk began in Tawau on August 22, and has taken them to Semporna, Kunak, Lahad Datu, Sandakan, Telupid, Ranau, up Mount Kinabalu, and to Kota Kinabalu. From Kota Kinabalu, they will be going through Brunei before entering Sarawak and walking all the way down to Kuching, where they will finish their journey in February next year. Throughout their journey, they will visit a number of conservation projects, education projects, community empowerment projects and national parks. The have visited the PKPKM (Sabah Society for underprivileged children), which is a project working to help provide education to stateless children around Semporna, as well as the Danum Valley Reforestation Project, Sun Bear Conservation Centre, Kinabalu International School, and the Mescot community. The Nomadic Lion has received a few sponsors locally so far, including from the Sabah Tourism Board, United Sikh, Goldheart Project, Gerakh Sikh, Leap Spiral, PACOS, and three sponsors from London, namely Transglobe Expedition Trust, Water-to-go Foundation, and Naturya. Also present at the press conference was Sabah Tourism Board chairman (STB), Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, who commented that STB was very happy to be sponsoring the Nomadic Lion’s walk.
Source: Borneo Post
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03Oct

Sepilok Orangutan Rehab Centre to mark 50th anniversary

KOTA KINABALU: The world renowned Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in Sepilok, Sandakan, which is currently accommodating over 700 orang-utan of the Bornean Pongo pygmaeus morio species, will be celebrating its 50th anniversary on Oct 9-10. In conjunction with the celebration, the centre will be opened for free-of-charge to the public on the first day. Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman would also join in the celebration on that day (Oct 9) at 8am. He would also officiate at the opening of the Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC), located near the centre, and the Orangutan Outdoor Nursery. State Wildlife Director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu, in welcoming people to the event, said the two openings are the highlights of the anniversary celebration which would also feature exhibition by the conservation partners, face painting activity and orang utan adoption programme. Apart from that, he said the first day's programme will also be filled with an orang utan and sun bear photography contests as well as other activities at the orang utan feeding platform and outdoor nursery as well as at the BSBCC. On the second day of the celebration there will be a primary school story-telling contest, fashion design using recyclable materials contest, collage and colouring contest, as well as face painting, orang utan adoption programme, documentary screenings and Sun Bear education activities, among others. The Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, about 25 kilometres west of Sandakan, was opened in 1964, about a year after Malaysia was formed, as the first official orang utan rehabilitation project for rescued orphaned baby orang utans from logging sites, plantations, illegal hunting or kept as pets. At this centre the orphaned orang utans are trained to survive again in the wild and are released as soon as they are ready. The sanctuary is located within the protected Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve which covers an area of 4,294hectares (10,610acres). Dr Ambu said since its opening and to date the centre has received 758 orang utans for rehabilitation of which about 81.6 per cent of them successfully rehabilitated. "About 66 per cent out of the 758 have successfully been released back into the protected forest reserve," he said, adding this is one of the successes of the centre which is already known globally for its works in rescuing and rehabilitating orang utans and in increasing global awareness on the importance of protecting orang utans from extinction. He said the success of this centre can also be seen through the decreasing number of orang utans it receives for rehabilitation, with only one orang utan received from January to September this year. Presently there are not least than 10,000 orang utans in Sabah, he said, adding the centre record also showed it is visited by an average of about 80,000 tourists annually. International-based non-governmental organisations would also be joining their local counterparts in the occasion, together with 150 students from the surrounding schools. On the outdoor nursery, Dr Ambu said that is one of the latest approaches by the department where visitors would stay in-house to watch the orang utans outside which is to minimize stress among the orang utans. Source: Daily Express
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