KOTA KINABALU: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Aman expressed confidence the Imbak Canyon Studies Centre (ICSC), currently being developed in Ulu Kinabatangan, will grow into an internationally renowned centre of excellence for research, training and education environmental conservation.
The project he officially launched here yesterday is scheduled for completion in 2016 and poised to become the central hub for research and studies on environment and biodiversity for Ulu Kinabatangan, where the world-famous Imbak Canyon Conservation Area (ICCA) is located.
Speaking at the launching-cum-breaking of fast event, Musa expressed hope that programmes to be conducted at the ICSC would receive support from all parties, to ensure that all the facilities to be made available at the centre could be fully utilized.
In this regard, he called for a long-term participation from the Malaysian Academy of Science to help develop suitable activities for ICSC, similar to The Royal Society United Kingdom which has been involved with research, training and educational activities at Lembah Danum since over 30 years ago.
The chief Minister said the State Government was committed and proactive in conserving the State’s natural resources, where priority would be given to any conservation projects regardless of their scale.
However, he reminded that in ensuring a continuous and effective conservation programme is not an easy task and that strong support and participation from all stakeholders are vital for its success.
“It requires expertise, experience, commitment and a huge funding. As such, I would like to take the opportunity to record appreciation and gratitude to Petronas for its contribution of funds amounting to RM77 million for developing the ICSC with Yayasan Sabah.
“The State Government will continue to further strengthen its effort to ensure the success of this project in the hope that ICSC will open a new chapter in our endeavour to preserve our unique heritage for the future generations,” he said.
The ICSC is a project implemented under the second phase of Yayasan Sabah-Petronas Imbak Canyon Conservation Partnership, a collaboration formalized in 2010.
Covering an area of 27 hectares, the centre once completed will house an office complex, laboratories, research stations, environmental education complex, accommodation facilities, a rainforest park, and a sport and recreational complex, among others.
With the latest funding, Petronas has so far committed a total of RM83 million for the conservation of Imbak Canyon, a Class 1 (Protection) Forest Reserve gazetted since 2009.
Petronas President and Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Shamsul Azhar Abbas said the ICCA partnership project was ready to move to the next stage after a successful five years of the first phase.
He said apart from serving as the administration and research centre for the ICCA, the ICSC would also play a role in gene bank conservation and exploration of biotechnology and pharmaceutical potential.
Meanwhile, Yayasan Sabah Director Datuk Sapawi Ahmad said the centre would strengthen the position of ICCA as a centre of learning in biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.
He added that the Yayasan Sabah-Petronas collaboration would also support effort to improve the water quality and ecosystem of Sungai Kinabatangan, which is the longest river in Sabah.
Also present at the launching were Minister of Community Development and Consumer Affairs Datuk Jainab Ahmad Ayid, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Datuk Ronald Kiandee, assistant ministers, elected representatives, senior officials of Petronas and Yayasan Sabah as well as several community leaders from Kinabatangan.