How Eco-tourism Can Help Save Endangered Wildlife in Sabah, Borneo

Sabah, land of 'eco treasures'

Sabah, part of the Malaysian Federation of states and of the island of Borneo, attracts thousands of tourists every year. Marketed as a land of 'eco treasures', it is a place where tropical rainforest and rare species of plant and animals survive. Largely commercially unexploited until the nineteenth century, Sabah (and Borneo in general) still contains primary rainforest and, consequently, a wealth of amazing scenery and wildlife. Sustaining natural treasures while promoting economic growth is a tricky balancing act in any part of the world and Borneo is no different. Eco or conservation tourism seeks to generate income while protecting the region's most endangered species.

Forest destruction and oil palm plantation

Borneo's rich natural resources have been exploited for decades and a boom in the timber industry in the 1950s apparently created millionaires. Forest clearance has been followed in many areas by a monoculture of oil palm plantations and the past decade or so has seen the rise of another generation of millionaires who got rich by wreaking havoc on the landscape.

How much more of this destruction can Borneo take? As development and infringements on the rainforest continue the future for some wildlife looks bleak. Clearance has put inexorable pressure on forest dependent species, in particular large primates, the native Bornean orang utan. Another, smaller, primate in trouble as a result of forest clearance is the proboscis monkey, a species found only in Borneo. The fates of these animals are intertwined as habitat destruction is having huge negative impacts on both populations. Conserving the shrinking rainforest is the key to their survival.

What is the hope for the future?

Aside from preventative measures that provide protection for the forest and their inhabitants, such as the designation of national parks, perhaps the greatest hope for the conservation of the orang utan and the proboscis monkey in Borneo is the ability to generate jobs and income from the attempts to save them. This is where revenue from tourism can play a part. Two tourist destinations in particular illustrate the hope for the future; the Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary and the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre, both near the city of Sandakan in eastern Sabah.

Saving a part of the mangrove forest for the proboscis monkey

The proboscis monkey sanctuary at Labuk Bay is c. 40 km from Sandakan. It is set within a huge oil palm plantation. The owners of the land became fascinated by the proboscis monkey during development of their plantation and, in 1994, decided to set aside an area of mangrove swamp as a sanctuary. The monkeys are fed twice daily and these sessions are open to tourists. It's a charming place and a truly wonderful experience to watch these monkeys interact and to hear the guides' stories about the social organisation of all the monkey groups in the sanctuary. It is also possible to stay at the centre and to go on organised wildlife watching trips. The fact that the centre can earn revenue from tourists offsets the loss of income that the owners of the plantation had to absorb when they decided not to convert all their land to oil palm cultivation. And it is not just tourists and local people who benefit, research monitoring the behaviour of the monkeys is always ongoing at the sanctuary.

A safe haven in the forest for orang utan

The Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre is a more established stop on the tourist trail. Just outside Sandakan, this centre was set up in 1964 to help return orphaned orang utan to the wild. Twice a day rangers distribute food to waiting orang utan who need a little bit of extra help getting their meals from the forest. The feeding time is targeted at animals that are not yet fully rehabilitated; visitors to the feeding station are often young, and still learning to fend for themselves, or mothers with babies. The feeding time is a good opportunity to view animals that are making the transition from being human dependent to wild animals. The food is kept deliberately monotonous to encourage the orang utan to forage for themselves. Over 100 animals have been rehabilitated at the centre to date. Some of the apes have been so successfully rehabilitated that they have been relocated to protected areas elsewhere in Sabah, in a bid to manage population size in the forest at Sepilok and to contribute to population growth in areas where there is room for more apes. A visit to the rehabilitation centre is an excellent way to fund the rehabilitation centre's valuable work, which focuses on saving wildlife, education and research into the orang utan, and conservation. It's also one of the best ways to guarantee a sighting of an orang utan; they are shy, elusive animals in the wild, whereas at the rehabilitation centre there are usually at least two apes at the feeding station every day.

These stories demonstrates how tourism creates hope for the future of these primates, and for the ecosystem of Borneo in general. If tourism can generate enough income and, hopefully, wealth, for its people, we can dream that there will be no need to ravage the landscape in the future, or that development can co-exist in balance with habitat conservation.

Source: http://voices.yahoo.com/how-ecotourism-help-save-endangered-3337162.html?cat=16

Photo source: http://thatwildbunch.com/animals/fmai/proboscis-monkey-aka-old-tongue-nose.php

Hope for Borneo's Threatened Biodiversity

ScienceDaily (Nov. 10, 2010) — To tackle species loss representatives of the Rhino and Forest Fund (RFF) and of the Forestry Department of Sabah / Malaysia launched a long-term reforestation project to restore forest in Borneo. Borneo's unique biodiversity is threatened by deforestation and habitat fragmentation. To save endangered species like the Sabah rhino, the clouded leopard, or the orangutan, it is necessary to restore and reconnect degraded and fragmented forest land.

On Nov. 8, 2011, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Sabah Forestry Department and a German-based NGO, the Rhino and Forest Fund, giving the green light for a long-term forest restoration project in and around the Tabin Wildlife Reserve. The first trees will be planted in January 2011.  In the MoU the government of Sabah ensures that the reserve and the restored areas will remain protected, excluding any conversion or logging in the future.

The core area of Tabin remains still untouched and represents one of the oldest and most diverse rainforests in the world. The reserve is surrounded by oil palm plantations, restricting movements of large mammals. The restoration project of the Rhino and Forest Fund will increase habitat and reconnect patches of rainforest, enabling the movements and breeding of isolated populations, such as the pygmy elephant and the Sabah rhino.

The MoU was signed during the 'International Conference on Forests and Climate Change' held at the Magellan Sutera Hotel, in Sabah, Malaysia on Monday. Datuk Sam Mannan, Director of the Sabah Forestry Department stated during the conference: "Forests are important for Sabah's climate and its rich biodiversity. They provide fundamental services to human well beings and therefore need to be protected and restored."

The Rhino and Forest Fund aims to save biodiversity by reforesting degraded and fragmented habitat and has a special focus on the nearly extinct Sabah rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoni). The RFF gets scientific advice from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo- and Wildlife Research (IZW) Berlin, Germany and funding from the Zoo Leipzig in Germany.

Dr. Petra Kretzschmar, co-founder of the German-based NGO stated: "We see the charismatic Sabah rhino as a flagship species for the diverse lowland rainforest in Sabah. The signing is a major breakthrough to effectively combine the protection of endangered species like the rhino and the restoration of their natural habitat."

Robert Risch, co-founder of the Rhino and Forest Fund concluded: "Our reforestation project will support Sabah's outstanding efforts to preserve its extraordinary biodiversity for future generations. Sabah is a hotspot of biodiversity and therefore of global significance. If Sabah loses species, the whole planet will become poorer. So there should be global awareness, cooperation and action on an international level to stop species loss.“

The restoration work will start in early 2011 and will be expanded during the next years.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101110073458.htm

Photo source:  http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/sos/borneomalaysiaproject.htm

3 factors why investors love Sabah

RAPID ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Right leadership, stability and sound policies drawing investors to the state. 

Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman welcoming Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia president Tan Sri William Cheng Heng Jem at Sri Gaya in Kota Kinabalu yesterday.

KOTA KINABALU: SABAH'S political stability, sound policies and focused economic directions  are three key factors that have caught the attention of the country's business community.

Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia president Tan Sri William Cheng Heng Jem said this here yesterday after leading a delegation for a meeting with Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman.

"Rapid economic development has taken place in Sabah. It looks different and the economic landscape is different," Cheng said, adding that the three factors were prerequisites investors looked for in a country or state.

"Sabah is rich in natural resources, such as timber, minerals, oil and gas. However, what is important is it takes the right leadership to take the state to greater heights."

Cheng said tourism and agriculture, including aquaculture, were doing well in the state and had the potential to grow.

"I am also told that Sabah has strong environmental conservation laws.

"This is also good in terms of ecotourism."

Meanwhile, Musa said investors were interested in Malaysia because of the conducive atmosphere, good government policies and stable politics under the able leadership of Prime Minister Dauk Seri Najib Razak.

He said the environmental laws on conservation had a long-term positive impact on the overall development of the state.

"Protecting the forests, phasing out logging and focusing on reforestation means that future generations can once again have tropical rainforests, which had been logged, in 30 to 40 years' time."

Similarly, he said a clean and unpolluted environment helped to draw investors to Sabah.

Citing a United States-based multinational company, Darden Incorporated, he said the food giant had committed about US$2 billion (RM6.3 billion) to develop lobster farming off the coast of Semporna because the water was not polluted.

"They also told me that another important reason why they chose to invest here was because of the prevailing economic and political stability in Malaysia."

Source: http://www.nst.com.my/nation/general/3-factors-why-investors-love-sabah-1.86030

Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle

 

The Kemp’s ridley turtle is the world’s most endangered sea turtle, and with a worldwide female nesting population roughly estimated at just 1,000 individuals, its survival truly hangs in the balance. Their perilous situation is attributed primarily to the over-harvesting of their eggs during the last century. And though their nesting grounds are protected and many commercial fishing fleets now use turtle excluder devices in their nets, these turtles have not been able to rebound.

For this reason, their nesting processions, called arribadas, make for especially high drama. During an arribada, females take over entire portions of beaches, lugging their big bodies through the sand with their flippers until they find a satisfying spot to lay their eggs. Even more riveting is the later struggle to the ocean of each tiny, vulnerable hatchling. Beset by predators, hatchlings make this journey at night, breaking out of their shells using their caruncle, a single temporary tooth grown just for this purpose.

Found primarily in the Gulf of Mexico, but also as far north as Nova Scotia, Kemp’s ridleys are among the smallest sea turtles, reaching only about 2 feet (65 centimeters) in shell length and weighing up to 100 pounds (45 kilograms). Their upper shell, or carapace, is a greenish-grey color, and their bellies are off-white to yellowish.

They prefer shallow waters, where they dive to the bottom to feed on crabs, which are their favorite food, and other shellfish. They also eat jellyfish, and occasionally munch on seaweed and sargassum. They may live to be 50 years old.

Females aren’t sexually mature until about ten to twelve years of age. They nest every one to three years and may lay several clutches of eggs each season. Highly migratory animals, they often travel hundreds of miles (kilometers) to reach their nesting beach, usually the same beach they hatched from.

Source: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/kemps-ridley-sea-turtle/

Photo Source: http://oceana.org/en/our-work/protect-marine-wildlife/sea-turtles/species-at-risk/kemps-ridley-sea-turtle

Hawksbill sea turtle

Hawksbill turtles are found throughout the tropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. They avoid deep waters, preferring coastlines where sponges are abundant and sandy nesting sites are within reach.

Not particularly large compared with other sea turtles, hawksbills grow up to about 45 inches (114 centimeters) in shell length and 150 pounds (68 kilograms) in weight. While young, their carapace, or upper shell, is heart-shaped, and as they mature it elongates. Their strikingly colored carapace is serrated and has overlapping scutes, or thick bony plates. Their tapered heads end in a sharp point resembling a bird’s beak, hence their name. A further distinctive feature is a pair of claws adorning each flipper. Male hawksbills have longer claws, thicker tails, and somewhat brighter coloring than females.

They are normally found near reefs rich in the sponges they like to feed on. Hawksbills are omnivorous and will also eat mollusks, marine algae, crustaceans, sea urchins, fish, and jellyfish. Their hard shells protect them from many predators, but they still fall prey to large fish, sharks, crocodiles, octopuses, and humans.
Like other sea turtles, hawksbills make incredible migrations in order to move from feeding sites to nesting grounds, normally on tropical beaches. Mating occurs every two to three years and normally takes place in shallow waters close to the shore. The nesting procedure begins when the turtles leave the sea to choose an area to lay their eggs. A pit is dug in the sand, filled with eggs, and then covered. At this stage the turtles retreat to the sea, leaving the eggs, which will hatch in about 60 days. The most dangerous time of their lives comes when hatchlings make the journey from their nests to the sea. Crabs and flocks of gulls voraciously prey on the young turtles during this short scamper.

Like many sea turtles, hawksbills are a critically endangered species due mostly to human impact. Hawksbill eggs are still eaten around the world despite the turtle’s international protected status, and they are often killed for their flesh and their stunning shells. These graceful sea turtles are also threatened by accidental capture in fishing nets.

 

Source: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/hawksbill-turtle/

Sabahans will be affected if sharks extinct – Masidi

KOTA KINABALU: Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun has called on Sabahans to support and protect the population of sharks that are heading towards extinction to ensure the tourism industry would not be affected badly.

He said the tourism industry, particularly diving activity, is depending on the sharks as most of the divers want to see them in the natural habitat.

Therefore, there is a need to protect the sharks population, which is now only 20 per cent remaining in the Sabah waters.

He said diving activity is contributing to the growth of tourism in Sabah. Last year, it contributed a turnover of RM237 million to the tourism industry.

“Just imagine if the sharks’ population is heading towards extinction, divers will move to other countries and it will affect the tourism industry,” he said after launching the Imperial Gourmet Soup Challenge-2012 Sabah Protect Sharks, organized by JCI Tanjung Aru at Suria Sabah Shopping Complex here yesterday.

Masidi said the only industry that is totally owned by Sabahans is tourism as almost 90 per cent of the tourism operators and staff are Sabahans.

“If we look at the other industries such as plantation, 80 per cent of the workers are Indonesians and 70 per cent of the construction workers also foreigners.

“If the tourism industry is affected because of the sharks extinction, the first persons affected are local people. Therefore, I would like to urge the people of Sabah to protect and take care of welfare of the workers in Sabah by protecting sharks.

“It is wrong for us probably to protect the sharks so that the future of Sabahans can be protected and they can make money from the industry.

“It is more on whether we love shark fins more or we love Sabahans less,” he pointed out.

Masidi stressed that without sharks, he assured the diving industry will just collapse because the Indonesians and Southern Filipinos are coming up with it. It is a matter of time before they catch up with us in Sabah.

Commenting on the enforcement of the Fisheries Act to protect sharks, he said it had not been done yet as they had proposed to the related federal ministry to carry out amendment to the Act.

“We would ask for amendment to protect all types of sharks in Sabah. Even now, there is existing protection on certain type of sharks. But we want all the sharks to be protected in Sabah to ensure we can the save the population of sharks.”

On the Imperial Gourmet Soup Challenge to find an alternative to sharp fin soup, Masidi said it was carried out by JCI Tanjung Aru to encourage people to have an option in soup other than shark fin soup.

“Shark fin is considered a very prestigious soup and normally served during wedding ceremony. What they are trying to show today is that there is other alternative prestigious soup and the reason why they have this challenge is to prove to the people that there are other soups to impress the guests.

“The challenge is to educate the people not to eat shark fin soup as the sharks are heading towards extinction,” said the minister.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/05/07/sabahans-will-be-affected-if-sharks-extinct-masidi/#ixzz1utOPewUv

Photo Source: http://www.supportoursharks.com/listofsharks.htm

Have agricultural expos in all districts in Sabah – Musa

PUTATAN: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman wants agricultural expos to be held in all districts in Sabah as a platform to expose local farmers to the latest development in the sector.

Such events, he said, could help in disseminating information on new findings that could be applied by the agriculture communities to improve their income and help retain the sector as one of the major economic earners for the state.

Speaking at the launch of Putatan Agricultural Expo 2012 here yesterday, Musa said the agriculture sector had been identified as one of the major focuses under the state’s development Halatuju launched in 2003, alongside the tourism and manufacturing sectors.

Apart from reducing dependency on imported food products, further development of this sector would also help improve the income of Sabahans, he said.

“I believe the expo here today would benefit the target group and everyone involved … And I am confident that with the cooperation of all parties in this district, it will propel the growth of the agriculture and agro-based industry not only here locally but in the whole state, and make us a major food producer in the country.

“This is why I must propose that the ministry (of agriculture and food industry) expands this event to other districts so that agricultural potential of each district can be fully developed and utilized,” he said.

Musa stressed that it was the hope of the state government that farmers, breeders and fishermen communities across Sabah continue to improve themselves by incorporating new technologies into their operations.

By doing so, he said they would be able to significantly improve their output and revenues and prove the old perception that agriculture is a low income industry for the poor, is wrong.

“Agriculture could be a lucrative business if done right,” Musa asserted.

Met after the launching, he said many agricultural development projects and programmes had been successfully implemented in Sabah and had greatly benefited farmers and local agro-based businesses.

As such, Musa, who is also State Finance Minister, said he would request the federal government to provide more allocations to fund similar projects in the future.

The state government, he added, would also implement more programmes aimed at encouraging more people to participate and benefit from the sector, and promote awareness that agriculture is a lucrative industry.

“Improving the income of the farmers would translate to improvement of the overall economy of the state … we are on the right track to move forward,” he said.

He also said the promising potential in agriculture, coupled with political stability and vast fertile land in Sabah had attracted major international players to come in and invest in the sector.

Among the latest ones, he noted, was an American company which waslooking to develop a multi-billion fruit planting project in Sabah.

“Apart from the lobster project that I mentioned before this, there is also a US-based company who wants to come in. We are currently looking for a suitable site for the project and in discussions to find out which agency would be best to collaborate with them.

“Many investors are coming to Sabah because they are convinced of the political stability we have. That is why we do not encourage street demonstration that could undermine this stability, this will not benefit anyone,” he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister cum Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Datuk Seri Yahya Hussin in his welcoming remarks said the Integrated Agricultural Complex in Putatan could be developed into an attractive agro-tourism destination.

He said the complex dubbed as the ‘Green Lung of Putatan’ could be packaged as a tourism product to attract both local and foreign visitors.

“I was also made to understand that this five-hectare complex will be developed as a permanent food production park that will lead in intensive high-tech farming. This project represents an opportunity for the local community in Putatan to venture into this field and become agro entrepreneurs,” he added.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/05/10/have-agricultural-expos-in-all-districts-in-sabah-musa/#ixzz1utPaugH3

Photo Source: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/3/26/business/8344213