KOTA KINABALU: Yayasan Sabah is looking to more organisations for long-term collaborations in the protection of the conservation areas like Imbak Canyon, Danum Valley and Maliau Basin.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said Yayasan Sabah will be able to strengthen its capabilities in the conservation areas through collaborations with organisations like the Academy of Sciences Malaysia.
He said this in a speech read by Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Masidi Manjun yesterday at the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding between Yayasan Sabah and the Academy of Sciences Malaysia, and the launch of a book entitled Maliau Basin: Physical Environment and Biological Diversity of the Northern Rim.
The MoU extends the collaboration between the two parties for another five years.
According to Musa, the government is committed to developing the state but is also mindful of the negative impacts on the environment if development is not managed properly,.
“Sabah is doing what it can to protect the environment as it has abundant unique flora and fauna and helps to ensure long term food security, a subject which is greatly debated worldwide,” added Musa.
“Public awareness and education are vital tools in promoting greater understanding of the environment as well as the concept and practice of sustainable development.”
He also said that the government have enacted the creations of national parks, wildlife reserves, sanctuaries and forest reserves to ensure the ecosystems to function.
“Yayasan Sabah too regards environmental education as a key to sustainable development of our resources, a commitment which is endorsed by the state government and is shared by other organisations and institutions,” said Musa.
To fund the activities of Yayasan Sabah, including advancing education and reducing poverty, the state government has allocated the foundation with forest concessions which are to be managed in a sustainable manner, both economically and environmentally.
“This does not only provide the foundation with an income for its socio-economic activities, but also allows it to help protect the habitats of the iconic wildlife such as the Borneo pygmy elephants, the Sumatran rhinoceros, the orang utan and other endangered species.”
This commitment is reflected by the setting aside of 43,800 hectares at Danum Valley, 58,800 hectares at Maliau Basin and 30,000 hectares at Imbak Canyon for conservation,” he said.
Musa noted that Imbak Canyon was gazetted a Class 1 forest reserve last year but allowing Yayasan Sabah to manage the area for research, education and training, carbon sequestration and biodiversity activities as well as appropriate eco-tourism activities. The inter-agency Imbak Canyon Management Committee which gives advice on policy issues and overseas research activities is a sign of the state’s firm commitment to protect the areas.
The move, according to Musa, is testimony of the fact that Sabah is taking steps to keep the remaining natural heritage sites intact whilst forgoing timber rights and economic returns.
Present at the event were the vice president of Academy Sciences Malaysia Datuk Ahmad Zaidee Laidin, director of Yayasan Sabah Tan Sri Datu Khalil Datu Jamalul and state education director Datuk Dr Muhidin Yusin.