FOCUS ON SABAH
Sabah’s commitment to forest conservation has drawn global interest
of ‘Responsible Conservation Tourism’, a concept that allows tourists to re-discover and experience nature and wildlife. Widely known as ‘the Land Below the Wind’, (because it is below the typhoon belt), Sabah has unique nature-tourism qualities as the state is rich in biodiversity, contributing to
“Illegal logging activities in
Sabah have been greatly reduced, and completely stamping out the problem is a top priority of the government.”
Malaysia being noted as one of the 12 mega-biodiversity hot spots in the world.
As a rapidly developing state, Sabah is aware and concerned about environmental protection and ensures that these aspects are taken into consideration and integrated in development planning and exploitation of natural resources in line with sustainable development principles.
Credit goes to the Chief Minister of Sabah Datuk Seri Musa Aman, who has been the driving force in galvanising an all out effort to protect forests and the natural environment.
Sustainable harvest Switching from conventional logging to sustainable harvesting was perhaps one of the most
difficult decisions the State government had to make. This was due to the fact that Sabah was hugely dependent on timber for revenue, and opting for sustainable forestry management meant making sacrifices such as losing short- term monetary gains, and doing away with old ways of logging. Despite uncertainties when the state embarked on the bold decision to push for a sustainably harvested forest, it has passed the litmus test and has proven the doubters wrong. The leadership of the state government deserves commendation for its political will and action in implementing programmes and initiatives to protect and conserve the environment. To date, Sabah has more
than 840,000 hectares of forest under some form of certification, including recognition from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification scheme. It is also worth noting that, through strict enforcement of the laws, illegal logging activities in Sabah have been greatly reduced. Completely stamping out the problem is a top priority of the government.
The state is also placing great emphasis to the protection of High Conservation Value Forests, which are home to diverse wildlife and plants, and also serve as watersheds. The Sabah Government has gazetted 240,000 hectares in Ulu Segama Malua Forests Reserve specifically for wildlife. The area is noted for its large population of Orang Utan and elephants.
The Parliamentarian | 2015: Issue One - Sabah | V
Sabah Tourism
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