RM35,000 for wildlife awareness programs in seven schools

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LOKKAWI: The Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry has allocated RM35,000 to be shared evenly by seven schools to help raise awareness on the need to conserve Sabah’s wildlife among the younger generation.

The schools involved are SM La Salle, SM Stella Maris, SMK Bandaray, SMK Sanzac, SMK Inanam, SM All Saints and SMK Taman Tun Fuad.

Its minister, Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun said the schools were free to implement any activities they felt would be able to promote conservation efforts.

He said he had also instructed the director of Sabah Wildlife Department, William Baya to conduct similar activities at Sabah’s rural areas such as Nabawan and Keningau where illegal hunting activities were still rampant.

The implementation of conservation efforts among the youths should not only involve urban schools but also rural schools, he said after attending the World Wildlife Day near here yesterday.

“Education is the key to educate the public and it is effective for the long term,” he said.

He hoped the students would become the spokespersons for wildlife in Sabah.

In his speech at the event, Masidi said Sabah was facing various challenges in protecting its wildlife.

He named illegal hunting activities as among the key reasons Sabah’s wildlife was getting lesser in number.

“Everyday we see in the markets wildlife meat being sold. It is very tempting to buy because they are tasty but it wouldn’t be nice for our future in the long run. We will lose our iconic species,” he said.

He cited that there were less than 10 Sumatran Rhinocerous left in Sabah, three of which were kept at Tabin Wildlife Reserve for breeding purposes.

“That means they will probably be extinct during our lifetime,” he said.

He reminded that once the Sumatran Rhinocerous were extinct, there would be no way to bring them back and Sabah’s future generation would only get to see them in pictures and films.

He also explained the habits of the Sumatran Rhinocerous to the audience.

“They are loners. But unfortunately, they are also separated from other Sumatran Rhinocerous by the plantations; so even if they want to mate, it would be difficult for them to find other Sumatran Rhinocerous,” he said.

At the same time, he also described the two females and one male now kept in captivity at Tabin Wildlife Reserve.

“They are unable to breed. We are trying to get experts from all over the world to help us but so far, there has been no success,” he said.

WWF Malaysia conservation director Dr Sundari Ramakrishna said Sabah was the few places in the world with many different flora and fauna species.

She said Sabah was also home to many of the world’s endangered species, among them the Sumatran Rhinocerous, the orangutans, the Bornean Elephant and the sea turtles.

She attributed habitat loss and illegal hunting as the contributing factors for the problem and that people should learn to care about wild animals as they would help humans to care for the forests.

“People cannot survive without the forests and trees because they produce the oxygen we need to thrive,” she said.

She then urged those attending the event to do their part in conserving wildlife.

“You can do this by staying away from those selling wildlife items. Refuse exotic meals, avoid traditional medicine practitioners who use animal parts as their medicine,” she said.

She reminded that a lot of wildlife were going extinct but it was still not too late to act.

At the event, Masidi also launched a Facebook page dubbed ‘5R Hidupan Liar’.

He also presented prizes to winners of essay and photography competitions that were held in conjunction with the event.

Among the winners were Gloria Wan Sze Lin from SM All Saints (essay); Intan Zulaikha Md Zainin from SMK Sanzac for the Best Photograph and Nurfarahainin Harun from SMK Sanzac for the best poster design.