KUCHING: The state’s 34 national parks are free from poaching as they are well protected from poachers, says Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) deputy general manager (Protected Areas and Biodiversity Conservation Division) Oswald Braken Tisen.
However, he said the word ‘poaching’ of wildlife at the state’s national parks was subjective in nature. On a scale of 1 to 10 one could say that the incidence of poaching was 2-3.
“To the foreigners, when we say that some locals such as the Penans are allowed to hunt wildlife for food, then there is poaching. But then again, for us, we allow the local community to hunt them for food, as they have been doing that all along even before some of these national parks were gazetted,” Braken said.
He also admitted there were instances where hunters encroached into national parks but such incidence was ‘minimal’.
On the other hand, some local communities actually assisted in the conservation of wildlife in national parks in the vicinity of their longhouses, he said.
“The Ibans at Batang Ai National Park have actually assisted us in the conservation of the orangutans they consider these animals as their ancestors. In fact, orangutans thrive there,” said Braken.
He added that some national parks near urban areas had received better assistance in the
preservation of wildlife from local communities.
“Crocodiles and long tail-macaques have even become an issue in Sarawak when there is conflict between humans and animals. So we have to make sure that things are under control,” he said.
Braken said the issue of crocodiles becoming a menace to the local people had become a serious issue for his agency to tackle as shown by a resolution passed during the recent workshop on crocodiles in Sibu. It urged the relevant world government body to downgrade crocodiles from Appendix 1 to Appendix 2 so they could be properly managed.
During the workshop, the state was told to draft an annotated proposal to down-list its estuarine crocodiles from Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) Appendix 1 to Appendix 2.
Among the eight-member panel of the forum were Braken himself, Wildlife Management International chief scientist Dr Charles Manolis and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) chairman Prof Dr Graham Webb.
Cites Appendix 1 is for listed animals and plants threatened with extinction and their international trade banned.
Appendix 2 is for listed species that are not necessarily threatened with extinction but may become so unless trade is closely controlled.
The panellists also agreed that the state should develop a political strategy to lobby and ensure support from other regional CITES parties and non-governmental organisations for the down-listing purpose.
The proposal must be submitted before the next CITES Conference in 2016 in South Africa.
Currently, estuarine crocodiles are protected under the Wild Life Protection Ordinance 1998 whereby its population had once in the past dropped to near extinction.
Braken said the protection of wildlife in the state included all protected species of fauna and flora.
Sarawak’s 34 national parks are Bako National Park, Gunung Gading, Kubah, Tanjung
Datu, Talang-Satang, Kuching Wetlands, Santubong, Sedilu, Bungo Range, Batang Ai, Meludam, Ulu Sebuyau, Sampandi, Rajang Mangroves, Peagus, Similajau, Similajau Ext 1, Bukit Tiban, Gunung Mulu, Gunung Mulu Ext 1, Gunung Mulu Ext. 2, Niah, Lambir Hills, Loagan Bunut, Usun Apau, Miri Sibuti Coral Reefs, Pulong Tau, Pulong Tau Ext 1, Gunung Buda, Gunung Buda
Ext 1, Limbang Mangroves, Meluang, Dered Krian and Bruit National Park.