Tag - Environment

KOTA KINABALU: An eco resort in ecologically sensitive Kina­batangan will preserve its 40 ha natural forest as a corridor for orang utan and Borneo pygmy elephants. Myne Resort signed a memorandum of understanding with the Borneo Conservation Trust (BCT) to create and manage the forest land that connects two plots of land under the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary. The pilot project is the first towards the establishment of an orang utan observation centre in Sabah, especially in the Kina­batangan Mega Biodiversity Corridor. State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said it would help visitors observe and learn the behaviour of orang utan in natural forests while securing a forest corridor for endangered primates and elephants. Witnessing the signing of the MoU between Myne Resort managing director Ouh Mee Lan  and BCT head Raymond Alfred here yesterday, Masidi said he hoped more private agencies, such as plantations and landowners, would come forward to help secure and re-establish ecological corridors for wildlife in lower Kina­batangan. He described the project as a milestone because it demonstrated an option on how to manage private natural forests effectively without converting them for other purposes, including for plantations. “In this way, they would make a sustainable income for their own future,” he said. “More landowners can consider moving into environmentally friendly activities that have a large tourist attraction.” Under the 10-year agreement, the resort operator and BCT officials will design programmes for the benefit of wildlife and biodiversity as well as for tourism. The project will become the first model in lower Kinabatangan that provides, among others, an observation tower for orang utan behaviour and wildlife monitoring using the latest technology and bird density and diversity observation and assessment. Source : The Star

Kota Kinabalu: Recent sightings of dolphins near the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, which went viral on the Internet recently, is a good indication of the local marine ecosystem, claim Universiti Malaysia Sabah's (UMS) Borneo Marine Research Institute Director, Prof. Dr Saleem Mustafa. He said Sabah has the potential to become a place for dolphin and whale watching if the local marine ecosystem is effectively protected. He said the mammal's echolocation system seems to have adapted to shallow coastal environment and may have the ability to sense conditions of the marine ecosystem. "I must emphasise that there could be instinctive attributes and ability to perceive environmental cues that are not known to science but could be factors in the dolphin behaviour. This include their forays in the marine protected area so near the shore and so close to Kota Kinabalu," he said, Wednesday. He said such sightings, however, are far from unusual, as most likely the mammals have a resident population in Borneo, and would venture into areas, especially where food is available and habitat. "Food supply is a major factor in the distance they travel and visit places," he said. Dr Saleem added if the dolphins are seen with their young ones, it would further mean that the calves felt secure in the area, as in shore and coastal areas, calves are protected from sharks. He said dolphins have good parental and nursing habits, as well as intelligent and fast learners, which may compel them to return to the same areas. Hence, measures to protect the dolphins can also contribute to protecting the marine ecosystem in general. "I would like to emphasise the importance of marine protected areas. We need to increase our marine protected areas É if we want to have more sightings of marine mammals," he said. Recently, photos of dolphins have emerged online, after pods of dolphins were discovered by staff from the Borneo Dream Travel and Tours on Jan 3, while another pod was also sighted two days later. Marine expert, Dr Lindsay Porter described the dolphins as mere visitors from further offshore, which is similar to what occurred near Tunku Abdul Rahman Park. "Dolphins appear only sporadically, it is difficult to figure out what influences the dolphins' movements," she said. Borneo Dream and professional diver, Joanne Cotterill also said the mammals are normally found in deepwaters, where ideally there is more abundant fish life for them. "We were indeed lucky enough to encounter the dolphins at the start of our snorkelling and diving trip," she said. A dolphin that was rescued off Sulaman eventually dies at the UMS nursery last week due to suspected infection. Source : Daily Express

Kota Kinabalu: Scott Ollerenshaw said he was extremely humbled and honoured to be named by a Malaysian online news portal recently as one of the top ten superstar signings that had made an impact on the scene since the game turned professional over the years. The 45-year-old former Australian international first came to Sabah in 1994 and it was towards the end of the signing deadline when Kelly Tham spotted and recruited him. He made an immediate impact upon his arrival at the local scene, forging a telepathic partnership with Matlan Marjan and the two terrorised opposing defenders with their goal prowess. Scott also boasted a record average of more than one goal a game for four straight seasons while playing for Sabah. He netted an astonishing 180 goals from 110 matches that saw him winning the Golden Boot twice before his retirement at 31 due to a serious hip injury. He is married to ex-national karate exponent Michelle Koh and runs his own sports tourism business in Kota Kinabalu which specialises in organising junior and adult football as well as lawn bowl tours of Sabah and regularly appears on Astro's FourFourTwo as a football pundit. Another Sabah foreign import, the late David Rocastle also made the list. The former England midfielder who was a household name as an Arsenal player joined Sabah in 1999. He had also played for Leeds, Manchester City as well as Chelsea but nagging injuries restricted him to appear in only 13 games for Sabah, during which he still managed to score eight goals. The other eight players on the list are Juan Manuel Arostegui (Argentina), Laszlo Repasi (Hungary), Merzagua Abderrazak (Morocco), Emile M'bouh M'bouh (Cameroon), Stephen Keshi (Nigeria), Karel Stromsik (Czechoslovakia), Tony Cottee (England) and Singaporean Fandi Ahmad. Source : Daily Express

Kota Kinabalu: Bornean elephants show low genetic diversity that can impact on their survival to a threatened habitat. This was one of the main conclusions in a recent paper published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE by a team of scientists from the Instituto Gulbenkiande Ciência (IGC, Portugal), the Centre for Applied Genetics and Technology and Floragenex, Inc. (USA), the CNRS (France), Cardiff University (UK), Sabah Wildlife Department and the Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC, Sabah). "Studying the genetic variability of endangered species is becoming increasingly necessary for species conservation and monitoring," said Dr Lounes Chikhi from IGC and one of the lead authors of the paper. "Using blood samples collected from captive Bornean elephants of Lok Kawi Wildlife Park, we used cutting edge DNA (hereditary material of all living organisms) sequencing methodology to identify genetic markers for the species," he said. He said the Bornean elephants live in an environment where natural habitats disappear quickly due mainly to oil palm plantation development that causes populations to be isolated from each other. "(Thus) having access to variable genetic markers will be crucial to identify populations that are isolated and genetically impoverished, and monitor them in the future," he said. Co-author Dr Benoit Goossens, Director of DGFC, said these new genetic markers may also allow them to reconstruct part of the demographic history of the Bornean elephants and possibly unravel the mystery of their origin. "The origin of these elephants in Borneo still raises controversy and we have long wondered why the elephants' range is so restricted. "The only previous genetic study done on these elephants recognised their presence in Borneo for more than 300,000 years, but there is lack of elephant fossils on the island to support this," he said. Another interesting theory, he said, is that in the late 12th century, the Sultan of Java sent Javan elephants as a gift to the Sultan of Sulu. These elephants became the founders of a feral population at the western end of the island of Sulu, he said. Subsequently, he said, the sultan of Sulu translocated some individuals to the northeast of Borneo and these individuals may have become the founder members of the current population in Sabah. Meanwhile, Director of Sabah Wildlife Department, Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu, said the State Government launched the 2012-2016 Elephant Action Plan in January. He said the Bornean elephant is genetically unique and that Sabah is blessed with a population of about 2,000 individuals that need to be protected. "Large areas of lowland forest are paramount for the survival of this pachyderm. "Land conversion to oil palm plantations in key areas such as the Kinabatangan floodplain and central Sabah should stop if we want to avoid isolation of herds and maintain a healthy population," he said. Source : Daily Express