KTS Plantation to use MIST for wildlife monitoring, enforcement

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SANDAKAN: KTS Plantation is set to become the first forest management unit (FMU) to implement wildlife monitoring and enforcement programme using Management Information System (MIST).

A two-day honorary wildlife warden course was conducted recently at Segaliud Lokan Forest Reserve, a FMU under the management of KTS Plantation Sdn Bhd in Sandakan.

The course, attended by 14 participants, was jointly organised by Sabah Wildlife Department and Borneo Conservation Trust, and aimed to strengthen the knowledge and capacity of the FMU staff to handle illegal hunting issues as part of the systematic monitoring and enforcement programme in the forest reserve.

Raymond Alfred, head of conservation and research of Borneo Conservation Trust, explained that this course is the initial step before a systematic monitoring and enforcement programme using MIST can be implemented in Segaliud Lokan Forest Reserve.

The orang-utan density in Segaliud Lokan Forest reserve is the highest in the state, and shared with the Deramakot Forest Reserve. Segaliud Lokan Forest reserve also is the key corridor for the Bornean Elephants to migrate from central forest of Sabah to the Lower Kinabatangan forest area.

MIST is a GIS (Geographic Information System) database, which enables all data to be linked spatially.

Alfred emphasised that with the implementation of MIST, it is possible to not only compare standardised indicators for anti-encroaching effectiveness between teams, conservation sites and time periods, but also to view results on maps that show where events occur and how often they occur in certain areas.

According to David Chieng, general manager of KTS Plantation Sdn Bhd, most of the hunting or encroachment activities were found along the Segaliud Lokan boundary, especially in the eastern part.

To address this, as a first step Borneo Conservation Trust will initiate dialogues with the surrounding key oil palm plantation companies to define roles and support for anti-poaching/encroachment programme in the forest reserve.

The director of Sabah Wildlife Department, Dr Laurentius Ambu, stated that his department welcomes the support and co-operation of the private sector in working with BCT, to improve the monitoring and enforcement programme, so that any encroachment or illegal hunting can be reduced in the forest reserves as well as in the wildlife sanctuaries.