Thursday, May 9, 2013

Sabah NGO and Talisman Energy Inc, firm join forces to conserve mangroves

Sabah Wetland Conservation Society (SWCS) has built a partnership with Talisman Energy Inc, an international upstream oil and gas company for its assistance in the society’s movement to conserve mangrove forests in the State.

The Society has signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with the Malaysian arm of the Canada-based company to hand in hand carry out a campaign to promote awareness on mangrove conservation among the younger generation.

SWCS will receive funding from Talisman Malaysia Limited (TML) for two projects, namely Paper Making and Clothes Dying under the MoA to ensure that the projects are fully implemented as planned to meet their objectives.

The projects will engage young pupils and students from schools across the State in a fun, out-of-the-classroom activities where they will create and use products made from mangrove trees.

SWCS president, Zaini Aucasa, said the programmes were aimed to expose and educate the younger generation about the importance of the wetland ecosystem and the increasingly urgent need to conserve them.

Senior Vice-President and Country Manager, Ron Aston has revealed that apart from SWCS, TML has collaborated with the Malaysia Nature Society in the last two years, to monitor changes in marine and coastal ecosystems in Terengganu and Sabah.

He said Talisman had contributed more than RM330,000 for the project, which involved villagers from Kampung Meruntum in Putatan, local district councils, various government agencies as well as experts from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS).

He also added that Talisman will be offering several scholarships to local undergraduates at UMS starting this year as an affirmation of its commitment towards getting young Sabahans into the oil and gas industry.

Talisman has been operating mainly in Peninsular Malaysia for over 12 years and recently expanded its wings to Sabah after acquiring two offshore blocks from PETRONAS in 2009.

In December last year, it successfully took over operatorship and began production operation at the Kinabalu Oil Field, which saw the consequent setting up of its area office in Kota Kinabalu.

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mangrove forests conservation in Sabah is good

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