KOTA BELUD: The Sabah Parks (TTS) has issued occupation permits to 47 villagers of Kampung Mantanau near here, which will enable them to use the protected land for agricultural activities, said TTS Board of Trustee chairman Datuk Seri Dr Tengku Zainal Adlin Tengku Mahamood.
He said the villagers had also been given the opportunity to use the natural resources on the 121.59 hectare site on Kinabalu Park to promote eco-tourism activities to help boost economic growth and income.
Elaborating he said, this was the first time the permit was issued and the village community had from the start given their cooperation in conducting surveys on the land to identify if it was within the confines of the park area.
“The understanding and cooperation between TTS and Kampung Mantanau community has created a symbiotic relationship or a win-win situation. We are able to develop the land (within the park) and at the same time conserve the area,” he told Bernama after handing over the permits here yesterday.
Tengku Zainal Adlin said the move benefitted permit holders since they were given the rights to occupy and cultivate the area and the permit could be passed on to their immediate family.
He added that permit holders were also eligible for agricultural subsidies and would not be subjected to any legal action as long as they complied with stipulated rules and conditions.
For the TTS management, he said control and protection of the park area would be more effective as the community would only work in the permitted area and no longer go beyond or encroach into other areas.
Meanwhile, TTS director Dr Jamili Nais said granting the permit was the best way to resolve conflicts over land use from overlapping rights which have been identified in 13 areas, including in Kampung Mantanau as discovered by a qualified surveyor some 22 years ago.
“Kinabalu Park was gazetted in 1964, but at that time land surveys were only conducted by rangers. The current management and team decided that granting the permit was the best solution to which the Kampung Mantanau villagers agreed,” he said. — Bernama