Malaysian government pledges support for continued conservation of Heart of Borneo

 Minister Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Joseph Kurup, deputy Federal Minister for Natural Resources and Environment, at the closing ceremony of the International Conference on Heart of Borneo.

“The conservation of the Heart of Borneo (HoB) forests is a matter of major local, national, regional and international concern because of the diversity of its unique array of plants and animals.”

So said Minister Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Joseph Kurup, deputy Federal Minister for Natural Resources and Environment, at the closing ceremony of the International Conference on Heart of Borneo +5 and Beyond: “Shaping and nurturing Sabah’s future together on November 7, in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

He said the forests of the HoB were of critical value to the people and countries of Borneo as a prized natural heritage and for the goods and services that they provide.

“The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment views HoB as a significant initiative that will directly contribute towards the betterment in forest management and conservation,” he said.

Kurup added that the whole country recognised the importance of the HoB Initiative and reiterated the importance of this initiative to continue to be placed within the government’s sustainable development framework and policy.

Sabah State government support

Sabah state government support for the HoB was also clearly voiced by its Deputy Chief Minister, Datuk Yee Moh Chai, speaking at the HoB conference.

Presenting a speech which was originally to be given by Sabah’s Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Musa Aman, he said Sabah would continue to strive to excel in the governance of best practices in forest management and conservation.

He said the key focus in driving sustainability was restoration and rebuilding of the productive capacity of forests. This included rationalising forest land use from the ecological and social perspectives and capitalising on the ecosystem services provided by the forest and its biodiversity.

"The state government recognises the need for wide stakeholder participation and for this reason, adopts an open and wide partnership programme at the local and international level as part of our efforts to institutionalise the conservation and management of our forests," he said.

He noted that much had been achieved in Sabah since the inception of HoB in 2007. Sabah Forestry had received funds through the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry for the implementation of HoB programmes carrying out biodiversity documentation on various selected forest reserves and social baseline studies of nearby communities.

To date, 17 forest reserves had been surveyed and results incorporated into the preparation of forest management plans that contribute significantly to the best practices in forest management, he added.

Recommendations from Sabah’s high level meeting on the HoB

As part of the HoB conference, a high level meeting chaired by Sabah’s Minister of Tourism,
Culture and Environment, Datuk Masidi Manjun, was held to make recommendations on a future development agenda for the HoB Initiative. These included:

1. Recognising that financial capital and human capital were core elements to the success of the HoB Initiative. As well as awareness and communication to help spread the news on HOB.
2. The meeting recognised the HoB achievements and applauded the leadership in Sabah for driving this initiative so far, but noted that more was needed. In particular, that intervention on the policy and private sector business engagement was still needed. Partnerships in the HOB were important and institutional support was critical.
3. HoB is an open source platform for sustainability. Options to formalise this partnership to leverage on what we have currently should be explored in a coordinated way to connect to the real global opportunities available.
4. Connectivity from global to local was crucial as was marketing the HOB as an investment package to foreign investors.
5. Collaboration between State and Federal governments on HOB delivery within the Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment and Ministry of Finance needed to improve.
6. A regulatory framework to support the accountability of the private sector was needed including information on how to offset its impact and encourage it to invest in biodiversity.

Source: http://wwf.panda.org

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Funding vital to make HoB happen, says Dr. Lisa King

KOTA KINABALU: To make the Heart of Borneo Initiative happen, funding is vital, says Remote Tourism expert, Dr. Lisa M King.

Speaking to reporters at the closing ceremony of the recently concluded International Conference on Heart of Borneo Initiative in the city, she said that in terms of tourism, they are lots more things to be done but they need adequate funding to timely execution.

“We can find people to do the community works and education, we have the capacity to facilitate infrastructure and things like that but we need the money to see this happen, it’s the bottom line.

“I think there’s political will, there’s certainly desire to move things forward but it can’t happen without expertise, although that (expertise) is donated in large part but some need to be paid for as well, it needs funding, we need funding. That’s the biggest challenge,” she said, responding to a question on the biggest challenge her team is facing so far.

Dr. King added that infrastructure is also another challenge as the tourism industry in the HoB needs transportation infrastructures to be accessed but according to her, it has to be done carefully and sensitively to protect the natural environment.

“The HoB is an adventure, it’s an experience, so from the minute you’re approaching in that car or on that rail road they’re proposing, you want a sense of adventure that you’re going to a place that’s special and unique. We want to build and develop HOB project as something different compared to every place in the world,” she continued.

She however said that they are still in the beginning stages so that plans may change according to new inputs and circumstances.

“When new information comes in, new experts come on board, we’ll learn new things, so we don’t want to have a static plan that can’t change, we want to keep it flexible, of course”, added Dr. King.

An expert in various disciplines including Marine Science, and an enthusiast of nature and community, Dr. King said she participated because she wants to make a difference, and the HoB is a good avenue to contribute in ways she can. In her endeavour to develop the areas, she is however keeping in mind that the native communities’ decisions must be respected. She said, part of the project is to get the communities involved in decision making, on how they want their communities to be, whether they want to participate in the projects or not is their decisions.

“It should be the choice of the locals, we should not be the external energies that say we’ll force this upon you, no. We need to work with the local people, educate them of the value of it (HoB) so they can make their own decisions on how they want to move forward”, explained Dr. King.

Describing the conference as one of the bests in terms of organization, where it brought in people of similar interest from diverse backgrounds from all over the world to exchange knowledge and learn from each other.

On top of that, she is confident that the findings and issues raised during the event will be looked into by relevant parties.

“They brought in a lot of powerful people into this project, I think they’re listening very closely and it’s a nice, safe conducive environment where they can listen, and people can ask questions to increase our knowledge base and things like that. I think this is a very important project, truly”, she said as the interview concluded.

Source: New Sabah Times

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Borneo Taliban declares war to illegal loggers

Director of Sabah Forestry, Datuk Sam Mannan, showed a cool video to 600 local and foreign participants, during his speech in International Conference on Heart of Borneo (HoB) yesterday.



Illegal logging is a problem in Sabah. 59% of Sabah is covered by forest, and our trees look like standing gold bars to those greedy illegal loggers. Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) has been confiscating illegal logging dozers. In most cases, SFD will auction off the dozer, so the illegal loggers abuse the auction system by appointing a proxy to buy back the dozer and back to business again.



Penalty is not good enough. Datuk Sam Mannan got a few confiscated dozers at his office, and he decided to do something about it. So he burnt it. Hahaha, I was “pleasantly shocked” watching his video. Hopefully he will post this video on YouTube.



Conservation is a challenging journey and a never-ending battle. Sometimes we win some, we lose some. Borneo earns a bad reputation on deforestation. We are doing whatever we can to protect our forest. We even plant forest. The process is slow, let’s hope our future generation will reap the fruits of our efforts.



He said this is the “Taliban” way of dealing with forest rat. Well, I don’t think he is a terrorist. He just wants to send a strong message (i.e. F*ck You) to those illegal loggers, and show his determination to protect the forest. I fully support you, Datuk Sam.



He acknowledged that his action may have gone too far in a civilized society, but “So What?!”, he added. LOL, I like you man, you really have the gut and attitude.



Now I understand why woman loves bad boy, as our society, company and government are just full of big-mouth chicken men, who think that they are smart for not taking risk. I have seen so many cowards who only move their lips but not their hands. Sometimes, it is not cool being nice, just go kick some assess.

Source: http://www.mysabah.com/wordpress/a-warning-to-illegal-loggers-from-taliban-of-borneo-rainforest/

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Palm Oil Companies Unite to Protect Malua BioBank's Threatened Wildlife

Representatives from the four Malaysian palm oil companies namely IOI Corporation Berhad, TH Group, Kwantas Corporation Berhad, and Perbadanan Kemajuan Pertanian Selangor signing the Malua Wildlife Conservation Agreement witnessed by Deputy Chief Minister Dr Yee Moh Chai.

In a landmark initiaive, four Malaysian palm oil companies namely IOI Corporation Berhad, TH Group, Kwantas Corporation Berhad, and Perbadanan Kemajuan Pertanian Selangor today announced the Malua Wildlife Conservation Agreement. This agreement is a unique partnership with the Malua BioBank that aims to improve the protection of threatened wildlife in the Heart of Borneo.

According to Foest Department sources the Malua BioBank was established to protect and restore the Malua Forest Reserve. The project started in 2008 and covers an area of 34,000 hectares of mostly threatened lowland dipterocarp forest in Sabah and lies within the Malaysian part of the Heart of Borneo.

Improving protection of endangered wildlife such as the orang-utan in the Heart Of Borneo is one of the main aim of the agreement.

The area supports a number of threatened species including Orang-utans, Asian pygmy elephant, clouded leopard, sun bear and benteng.

The project has 13 Sabah Forestry Department staff permanently based in the reserve and purpose-built work stations and guard posts manned 24 hours. In addition to putting an end to the high level of poaching taking place in Malua prior to the start of the project, a wide range of restoration and protection works have been completed, including construction of orang-utan bridges.

Malua BioBank, Sabah Government and the four companies are pioneering a new approach to protect wildlife from illegal hunting in Sabah as this remains a significant threat in the state. The Malua Wildlife Conservation Agreement recognises the importance of the palm oil industry working among key stakeholders as partners in a joint effort to ensure that Sabah's significant biodiversity is protected.

The Malua Wildlife Conservation Agreement is the first step in implementing the findings of a study funded by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council that saw the need for a co-operative effort to prevent illegal hunting and poaching occurring in the Malua Forest Reserve.

The joint effort will focus on improving boundary security within the plantations, recruiting and training oil palm workers as "Honorary Wildlife Wardens", managing human-wildlife conflicts, and improving environmental awareness of workers and their children living in the oil palm plantations.

Sabah Forestry Department Director Datuk Sam Mannan said, “This agreement is a positive step forward and demonstrates how the palm oil industry can play its part and work with partners to better protect Sabah’s globally significant biodiversity”.

Companies and individuals can contribute directly to the project through the purchase of Malua’s Biodiversity Conservation Certificates (BCCs). This provides a unique opportunity for companies and individuals to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability and protection of a 100 square-kilometers of Malua rainforest.

Source: Insight Sabah

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Sabah looks forward to stronger cooperation with HoB partners

 KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is looking forward to building stronger cooperation with its partners in the Heart of Borneo (HoB) programme, an agreement signed in 2007 by the three countries in Borneo to protect a 220,000 sq. km. swathe of forest on the island.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said the government was committed to continuing in the governance of best practices in forest management and conservation.

“I am pleased to note that the HoB initiative has fostered good ties among various government agencies and partners such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Malaysia, Sime Darby Bhd, Malaysian Palm Oil Council, HSBC, New Forests Asia (Singapore) Pte Ltd and non-government organisation Land Environment Animal People (LEAP), just to name a few.

“The key focus in driving sustainability is restoration and rebuilding of the productive capacity of forests, rationalising forest landuse from the ecological and social perspectives, and further developing as well as capitalising ecosystem services provided by the forest and its biodiversity in search of sustainable financing,” he said when opening the International Conference on the HoB Initiative here yesterday.

His speech was read by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Dr Yee Moh Chai. Also present were former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his wife Tun Jeanne Abdullah, who is also chairwoman of Lanskap Malaysia.

Musa said much had been achieved in Sabah since the inception of the initiative in 2007.

He said under the Ninth and 10th Malaysia Plans, the Sabah Forestry Department received funds through the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry to carry out biodiversity documentation on various selected forest reserves and social baseline studies of nearby communities.

“To date, 17 forest reserves have been surveyed and results incorporated into the preparation of forest management plans that contribute significantly to best practices in forest management.

Source: Bernama

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Exploring the benefits of a green economy in the Heart of Borneo

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. More than 500 hundred representatives of business, government, civil society and multilateral development organizations gathered in Kota Kinabalu, Nov 15-16, for one of the largest conferences on the Green Economy ever held in the Asian region.

Entitled, “Sabah Heart of Borneo (HoB) Green Economic Development - Engaging Business for Environment”, the opening session highlighted the strong Malaysian government and institutional support for green economic development in the HoB.

The conference was opened by the Right Honourable Chief Minister of Sabah, Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Hj. Aman, who emphasized the importance of the green economic approach for meeting both development needs, as well as protecting bio-diversity and achieving sustainable use of Sabah’s forest reserves.

“This year we celebrate the international year of the forest with a focus on sustainable forest management under the impetus of a green economic approach,” he said.

“For Sabah this is not just talk we have many success stories of forests that are certified and have allowed us to continue to create jobs. Sabah is also involved in the Malua Biobank, a public/private partnership which shows some of the benefits that a green economic approach can provide in the Heart of Borneo,” he said.

Datuk Sam Mannan, Director of Sabah Forestry Department (SFD), underscored the State government’s support for the development of green economic thinking in Sabah, as well as the role of WWF and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in stimulating the debate around green economy issue.

“The green economy is all about development with social and economic links – for people, planet and profits,” he said. But green economy ideas must be economically feasible and bring returns above Business as Usual. “What is the use of having ideas if you do not have the money to carry those ideas out?” He asked the audience.

A direct response to this challenge was met with the announcement at the conference of two new initiatives to support Sabah’s development of a green economy. A new cooperation agreement signed with the Agency for Remote Sensing Malaysia, to support Sabah’s REDD+ program and a cheque from Cymao Plywood SDN BHD for RM200,000 to SFD for its Forest Conservation Fund.

Datuk Sam Mannan ended his address with a note to the future, highlighting the work of WWF and its plans to showcase the development of a Green Economy in the Heart of Borneo, at the Rio+20 Summit in Brazil next year.

Source: http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/indonesia/news/?uNewsID=202378

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A green economy in the Heart of Borneo on the world stage

UN Resident Coordinator for Malaysia & UNDP Resident Representative for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam, Mr Kamal Malhotra, commended the SFD on its focus on a green economy, particularly in the lead up to the Rio 20+ conference in June 2012, which would elevate these issues to the world stage.

He said whatever the definition you choose for a green economy, there is no doubt that applying green economy concepts such as improved energy efficiency and renewable energy production could provide employment and economic growth, while reducing pressures on natural resources.

“It can drive technological improvements and also provide mechanisms to help prevent the destruction of nature by highlighting the benefits we obtain from environmental services,” he said

Mr Malhotra concluded by highlighting the need for a roadmap for the development of a green economy to be prepared - not just for Sabah and the Heart of Borneo - but for all regions wishing to build a green economic future.

Adam Tomasek, Leader of WWF’s Heart of Borneo Initiative, said he was encouraged by the leadership of the Malaysian government to advance the understanding and the implementation of a green economy in the Heart of Borneo.

“Bringing scientific, business and investment leaders into the same room with policy makers is an example that must be replicated if the Rio+20 Summit is to be successful next year. WWF will continue to support the multi-stakeholder process to develop green growth initiatives that deliver lasting conservation and sustainable development in the Heart of Borneo,” he said.

The two day conference convened by the Sabah Forest Department and co-hosted by WWF and UNDP will attempt to demystify the green economy concept by:
• Gaining a common understanding of the real meaning of Green economy as against Business as Usual.
• Understanding the economic contribution of HoB’s natural capital to the State Development Agenda
• Sharing knowledge on green economy incentives and the policy mechanisms needed to encourage these activities.
• Map out a strategy, or road map, for a consolidated approach to realizing a green economy in the HoB landscape.
Source: http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/indonesia/news/?uNewsID=202378

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REDD-plus action in Sabah

PARTICIPANTS at the two-day Heart of Borneo (H0B) international conference on green economy in Kota Kinabalu (Nov 15-16) witnessed the signing of a Note of Cooperation between the Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) and the Malaysian Remote Sensing Agency (ARSM) to map Sabah’s forest cover for the purpose of implementing REDD-plus programmes in the state.

Under this cooperation, ARSM would help to assess the forest cover in Sabah using satellite images captured in 1990, 2000 and 2010 which would be based on four classes of forest areas – dry inland, peat swamp, mangrove and plantation.

REDD stands for reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation and REDD-Plus also covers carbon enhancement activities such as sustainable forest management (SFM), reduced impact logging (RIL), and forest restoration.

The SFD was represented at the signing ceremony by its director Datuk Sam Mannan while ARSM director Datuk Darus Ahmad signed on behalf of the agency.

Speaking at the opening of the conference, Mannan said the HoB series of conference started in 2009 with the topic on “Connectivity and Corridors,” building up to the second one in 2010 focusing on ‘REDD-plus”, and  one this year is entitled, “Sabah Heart of Borneo (HoB) Green Economy & Development: Engaging Business for Environment’.

The HoB international conference last year, also held in Kota Kinabalu, paid particular attention to,‘Forests and Climate Change: Decoding and Realizing REDD-plus in the Heart of Borneo, with Specific Focus on Sabah’.

“We hold these conferences for good reason and one such important advance made arising from them are the realization of the Sabah REDD-plus and Road Map,” said Mannan.

In March 2010 Vincent Piket, the ambassador and head of the European Union’s Delegation to Malaysia confirmed that member states of the EU would finance a three-year programme in Sabah related to reducing of emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD), starting this year.

Piket (left), who is on the panel of speakers at this year’s conference, said the project, costing four million Euros (about RM17m) would also cover carbon enhancement activities like sustainable forest management, reduced impact logging (RIL), and forest restoration etc, often referred to as REDD+.

This year’s HoB conference also saw the launching by the Malaysian Chapter of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) its Heart of Borneo Green Business Network, a new initiative for rallying the private sector towards conserving and protecting the environment.

WWF-Malaysia Executive Director and CEO, Datuk Dr Dionysius Sharma, said the Green Business Network (GBN) was part of their effort to encourage business entities to assume the leading role towards creating greener economic growth.

“We know that we cannot save the valuable Heart of Borneo forests without the support of the private sector. We’re reconfirming our commitment to work together with business towards green growth,” he said.

The GBN is aimed at raising awareness and to act as a catalyst in sustainability within the private sector in the context of a green economy in the HoB, providing tools and support to those companies willing to lead towards a future in which people and nature thrive.

Speaking at the launch at the close of the conference on Nov 16, Sabah forestry director Datuk Sam Mannan said it was fitting to close two days of intense conference discussion on green economy with an equally intense and more importantly practical initiative, which aims to support the participation of businesses.

A report entitled ‘Green Business Solutions – Delivering the Heart of Borneo Declaration’, is the result of six months of intensive research and interviews of nearly 200 businesses.The report found that only 54 per-cent of the respondents had heard of the trilateral government-led Heart of Borneo Declaration, many were willing to be involved and felt that business would have an important role to play once they had more information on the HoB and the opportunities offered by a green economic approach.

 

Over 40 per cent of the Heart of Borneo’s area is currently managed by the forestry, palm oil and mining sectors.

According to WWF’s HoB Initiative team leader, Adam Tomasek, it was necessary to create practical economic arguments for conservation and develop solutions that show how the biodiversity, forests and ecosystems of the HoB can become the engines for green growth and sustainability into the future.

The HoB Declaration was signed by the governments of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia in February 2007 to protect an area of more than 220,000 square kilometres in the centre of the island of Borneo and bordering all three of the countries.

These tropical rainforests have strategic, global, national and local functions, not only for citizens of the three countries but for the human race throughout the world.

It is supported under important regional and international agreements such as Association of East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines-East Asia Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC), and the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD).

Source: http://borneopedia.com/2011/11/19/redd-plus-action-in-sabah/ 

Green Sabah says: The HoB bio-diversities, ecosystem and forestry can be the driving point of green growth and sustainability in Sabah's future, if only there is cooperation and support from all.

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