Sabah First in Asia to ban Shark Trade

Campaign heats up to save millions of sharks from being killed for food

By Oliver Majaham
Pictures by Ille Tugimin

 

Sharks evolved 400m years ago to keep oceans healthy. As predators, they rule the underwater world. But they are losing a battle against man. The latest score: Sharks have killed 13 people so far this year. Man kills 73m of them every year largely for their fins which are turned into a culinary delicacy in Asia. Now environmentalists are stepping up a worldwide campaign to stop people from eating them. And Sabah may become the first in Asia to ban shark hunting next year.

Shark finning in Taiwain. Picture: Pew Environmental Group

The world trade in shark fins is about 2.5 billion ringgit ($800m) a year. There are no figures for Sabah’s. But divers have complained that they are seeing fewer sharks in Layang Layang, off Labuan Island, home to the badly endangered hammerhead sharks. Other shark haunts are Lankayan Island, Roach Reef and Sipadan Island off Sabah’s east coast.

Hazel Oakley

Hazel Oakley of the Green Connection, an aquarium and science centre in Kota Kinabalu, says 98% of sharks have been killed in South-East Asia.

Masidi Manjun, Sabah’s minister of tourism, environment and culture, now wants laws to ban shark hunting and finning next year to save the north Borneo island state’s diving and tourism industry. The diving business is worth 195m ringgit a year and gives jobs to 2,000 people. The Sabah government has already banned shark fin soup, the most popular and prized delicacy, from its luncheons and dinners.

The government will add sharks to its list of protected endangered animals and mammals under the Wildlife Conservation Enactment of 1997. A wildlife department official says this will mean that sharks cannot be hunted, killed, finned or traded. This law also protects the rare Sumatran rhinoceros and the orang-utans.

But Masidi wants the federal government to place sharks on the list of protected species under the Fisheries Act of 1985 that will outlaw shark hunting and finning in Sabah waters. This is to avoid legal disputes since federal laws override state laws.

Shark fins are dried in the sun. Picture: Pew Environmental Group

“It makes economic sense to us to ban shark hunting and finning to protect our tourism industry,” he said at the launch of a campaign against shark fin soup in Kota Kinabalu last month.

“It is in keeping with sustainable tourism. If we continue to eat sharks, sooner or later they will disappear from this part of the world. Our priority is to save whatever remaining sharks in Sabah waters. The sooner we get it done the better.”

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has placed 233 shark species on its Red List. Twelve are “critically endangered” and 126 of them risk extinction.

Taiwan has just announced that it will ban shark finning next year, starting in September. But it stops short of banning shark catching and a lucrative shark trade. Critics say sharks can still be sold in Taiwan minus the fins. The difficulty is proving who sliced off the fins, they say. About 4m sharks are caught off Taiwan waters yearly, making the island the biggest of the top ten shark hunting countries which include America, Argentina, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan and Spain.

So, Malaysia looks likely to be the first Asian country to ban the shark trade once it protects them by law. 

Insight Sabah

Posted on 02-11-2011 03:21 pm

Source: http://insightsabah.gov.my/article/read/1509 

Green Sabah says: I'm proud to hear that Sabah may be the first to ban shark trade in Asia, sharks have been widely hunted for their fins and flesh throughout the world and they are slowly going towards extinction. If we don't do something about it now, soon Sharks will die out and this will upset the ecosystem balance. Hope that more countries will start banning shark hunting in Asia and maybe whale hunting too.

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Biomass can produce new high value industries: Najib

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak said yesterday the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti), along with BiotechCorp and related agencies will roll out a Bioeconomy roadmap for Malaysia by early next year.

The upcoming initiative will complement the National Biotechnology Policy.

“Some of the focus areas our Bioeconomy roadmap will be looking at are Extracts, BioFeeds, BioControl, BioFertilisers, Genomics, BioSimilars and BioIndustrials,” he said in his keynote at the BioMalaysia 2011 Conference & Exhibition here.

The event was also co-organised with the 6th Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy which was held for the first time outside the US.

During the event, Najib also unveiled the country’s Biomass Strategy, themed “Biomass to Wealth”, which will see the creation of new high value industries and 70,000 jobs of which 40,000 will be high-skilled.

By 2020 the Biomass Strategy will generate RM30 billion in new income for Malaysia, he said.

As the world’s largest exporter of palm oil, he added, Malaysia generates a lot of biomass, which holds tremendous potential for high value added applications ranging from biofuels to bioplastics from cellulosic feed stock.

With an estimated value of US$11.14 billion in 2015, biomass is targeted to be a vital contributor to the agricultural and industrial biotechnology sectors.

The strategy is developed by Agensi Inovasi Malaysia (AIM) in close collaboration with related government agencies, universities and business leaders.

Source: http://www.sabahtoday.com/?p=8034

Green Sabah says: Biomass industries will generate more job opportunities in the future. Those who are interested working in this industry should equip themselves with biomass knowledge and industry skills. In terms of environmental, biomass can help mitigate climate change; reduce acid rain; prevent soil erosion and water pollution; minimize pressure on landfills; provide wildlife habitat; and, help maintain forest health through better management. Sabah, which produces about one third or 5.4 million tonnes of the total country’s crude palm oil of 17.5 million tonnes annually, has a lot of raw materials readily available to be used for the biomass industry.

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Sabah developers interested on green buildings

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah developers are keen to participate in green building development after getting a clearer picture of the costs involved.

Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association president Datuk Susan Wong said it was ready to promote and en-courage green building development which would save on energy and other costs in the long run.

“Green building involves all sorts of technology. For example, heat can be reduced considerably with the orientation of a building to avoid facing the sun and with large windows,” said Wong.

At the recent opening of the International Property Exhibition, Wong had called for a reduction in Green Building Index (GBI) certification fees.

Yesterday, however, she said the fees were fair, adding that she was initially misguided on the GBI certification fee formula and that the RM5,000 and above charge were for bungalows.

Wong said the fee for a typical 172 sq meters double-storey terrace house was as low as RM100.

“For development of 1,000 units of double-storey terrace houses, the fee would be as low as RM65 per unit. For a 500-unit housing development, the GBI certification fee is RM90 per unit while the fee is RM200 each for those between 50 to 100 units,” she said.

She said developers in the state were keen to have their projects certified as green buildings due to the growing demand. 

 

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/15/nation/20110515093346&sec=nation

 

Green Sabah says: Developers must be well-informed with the advantages of green building in order to promote green building development. Besides imposing the GBI certification fee, there should be an approach for green roof as well.

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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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WWF launches green business network

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has launched the Malaysian chapter of 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. Tonight, we’re reconfirming our commitment to work together with business towards green growth,” he said.

The launch was held here last night in conjunction with the International Conference on ‘Sabah Heart of Borneo Green Economy and Development: Engaging Business for Environment’, one of the largest green economy conferences ever held in the region.

The GBN was 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 Heart of Borneo (HoB), providing tools and support to those companies willing to lead towards a future in which people and nature thrive.

Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) director Datuk Sam Mannan when speaking at the launch, 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’, the result of six months of intensive research and interviews of nearly 200 businesses, was also released during the launch.

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.

“This is why we are launching the Green Business Network this evening, to support businesses that want to be on the leading edge of an emerging new green economy in the HoB,” said Dr Sharma.

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 Business Solutions report outlines a number of sector specific opportunities which can lead to low carbon and sustainable practices, developed together with businesses operating in the HoB,” he said.

The report is complemented by the Green Business Network and website, which is dedicated to collaborating and communicating the information that companies need to build green businesses in the HoB.

Mr Sanjeev Chadha, CEO of Sabah Forest Industries and speaker at the Green Economy conference, said the setting up of the GBN was highly welcomed; it would help the private sector learn from each other’s experience and assist in the development of cost effective solutions to green economy business challenges.

An 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 countries.

The declaration emphasized that these tropical rainforests have strategic, global, national and local functions, not only for citizens of the three countries but for the global human race.

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://kepkas.sabah.gov.my/index.php/archived-news-2011/37887-wwf-launches-green-business-network-to-protect-environment 

Green Sabah says: The private sectors, the Non-governmental Organizations and the government all played an important role in going green. This is a good initiative to encourage more private sectors to be involved in Green Business. Hopefully with the cooperation with all walks of life, we are able to take steps to achieve a greener and cleaner Sabah.

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