Posts
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.
4 comments:
We should appreciate our biodiversity. Start preserving it before it is too late.
A long-term reforestation project will help protect the wealth of biodiversity in the state, hope that everything will go smoothly.
Hope that the forestry restoration work will go smoothly as planned.
Sabah today has shown a lot of improvement and the state government and NGOs still try their best to protect our environment/forest and all endangered species..
Post a Comment