Help for Sabah’s clouded leopards
Kota Kinabalu: The Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildlifeCRU) of Zoology, Oxford University in the United Kingdom has created a Tool Kit for the conservation of forest biodiversity and Sunda clouded leopards in Sabah, which are said to number around 750 in Sabah, by far the best haven for the creature in Malaysia.
Founder and now Director of WildCRU, Profn David Macdonald from Oxford University said this tool optimises the trade-off between conservation and development.
He founded WildCRU in 1986 as the first University Conservation Unit in the world whose mission is to undertake research that could be useful.
"We hope we have created a gift, a present, for your Government that you might find useful to Sabah and conservation. We spent more than 10 years led by Dr Andrew Hearn (Postdoctoral Researcher and Scientist) living in Sabah trying to find out the ecology of a special species in Sabah - the Sunda clouded leopard - and to use that to understand the relationship between conservation and development.
"We were trying to understand the basic ecology of this remarkable charismatic apex predator so we could use it as a model for understanding forest conservation.
"There will always be some tension between development and conservation but we believe we have made a tool to help get the answer right when Sabah faces difficult choices. That will be a triumph for the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment and for the Government," he said during a courtesy call on Deputy Chief Minister cum Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Datuk Christina Liew, recently.
Prof David, who first set foot on Borneo at age 20, touched on the 2033 Structure Plan for Sabah where they explored 58 different possible developments (examples, new roads, new railways, etc). "In each case, we model how the distribution of the clouded leopards and the linkages of the corridors would be affected by each development plan. And that, we believe, gives us a tool, a powerful scientific method that your Government and your officials might find helpful in evaluating the best compromise, an optimal compromise between development and protection of nature," he said.
He hoped the Government would be interested in using the WildCRU Model to help in the decision-making process when considering developments like roads, hydropower, reforestation or restoration of certain habitat.
Prof David also introduced members of his WildCRU Team - Dr Andrew who dedicated his life to Sabah and difficult field work, Dr Samuel Cushman, a world expert in landscape ecology for planning (Director, Centre for Landscape Science, US Forest Service, USA, and WildCRU, University of Oxford), Dr Dawn Burnham who is the Manager of WildCRU and a conservation researcher), Dr Zaneta Kaszta, a Postdoctoral Conservation Researcher, and Chrishen Gomez, a Malaysian who is the Research Manager of WildCRU, University of Oxford. Currently, Dr Andrew and Chrishen are based in Tawau.
WildCRU's next direction in Sabah will be influenced by the Ministry's and State Government's forthcoming decision whether the Unit's continuing work can be helpful to the State.
"We have got to this point...finding our own money and doing our own work. Of course, you (Minister) may decide whether this is a 'gift' you want or otherwise.
If you decide to go forward with us, if you decide that our approaches are useful for Sabah, then we would be very honoured and happy to work with you and the Government to try and develop a bigger project for the future.
Our goal is to be useful people. Maybe we could somehow collaborate, as government and university can make a powerful team," he said.
Liew said the appreciated the efforts put in by the team and would discuss with Ministry pfficials before deciding whether WildCRU will maintain its work as it is now or have a bigger scope of work. Any funding will have to be within the capacity of the Government, she said"
Both Liew and Prof David agreed that the clouded leopard is a beautiful, charismatic and important species where Sabah has the best population.
"Preservation of wildlife is precious to the State while it implements its development agenda. The clouded leopard is God's gift to Sabah," she remarked. Prof David said Sabah has the most clouded leopards compared with Sarawak and the Peninsula, adding "Sabah is the jewel in the Crown."
According to scientist Dr Andrew, the estimated population size of the Sunda clouded leopard in Sabah is in the region of 750. "That's not many...but this (Sabah) is really the 'hotspot' in Borneo," he quipped.
WildCRU has two million images of the her enlightening the Minister, the Director of WildCRU said WildCRU's detailed understanding of the animal is based now on camera-trapping. "This has been really hard work and we use those images to work with scientist Dr Samuel on really modern analytical techniques to generalise to where these animals would be throughout Sabah."
With the aid of satellite tracking devices, Dr Andrew has captured three clouded leopards. Prof David added : "So we know exactly where they went and that allowed us in the Kinabatangan River to draw a map saying which habitats are very good for the clouded leopards, which are less good and which are bad. Oil-palm plantations are very bad but forests are very good."
He showed the Minister a map that helps researchers identify danger points where the habitat might get broken so the animals cannot move between them as a result. Taking all that sort of information, the Professor said it gives them an idea of the present where those animals are living.
Another map shows a summary of the best places for this particular species for the whole country, and probably for many other aspects of forest biodiversity in Sabah. "It's not only where they are living but what corridors or routes they might take through the landscape. In other words, we can see where they are living and how they might disperse and move through the landscape."
While conceding that the clouded leopard is important, Prof David said WildCRU is using the animal more as a symbol of forest conservation.
"The leopard is your greatest credit. Remember, if we protect the habitat for the clouded leopard, then we are also protecting the habitat for all of its prey and for all of the other species that travel with it.
"So we chose the clouded leopard, not only because it is interesting and important but also because we think it is a good way to understand forest conservation as a whole. So yes, let us be excited about the clouded leopard as a symbol to protect forests," he pointed out.
On the importance of using the WildCRU's Conservation Tool Kit, the Professor asserted that it is to consider what the consequences might be from development programmes. Such programmes could be new roads, new railways or in forest restoration. "For each case, the Government must make difficult choices. Our hope is that our model will enable the Government to see some consequences for forest biodiversity, some consequences for conservation, of each choice."
Source: Daily Express
