Firm builds habitat links for wildlife

Borneo Post
July 10, 2010

KOTA KINABALU: Wildlife footprints were recently spotted on soil covered culvert crossings that were built by an oil palm plantation at Kinabatangan, an ecologically sensitive area.Malbumi Group of Companies constructed nine concrete culvert crossings to connect drains and rivers within Lot 1 of the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary to enable wildlife to cross from one side of the sanctuary to another.

“We felt sorry for disturbing their natural habitat when we proceeded with our plantations. Thus, to clear our conscience and to make it positive, we now hope to do our best in taking good care of them,” said Edward Ang, the managing director of Malbumi Group of Companies.

He said when Malbumi first started clearing land in 1995 he noticed that there were wildlife like orang-utans, proboscis monkeys and Borneo pygmy elephants on its land.

According to him, the company has helped in freeing a herd of 15 to 20 elephants trapped in a pool.

“With supervision from the wildlife authority, we managed to free the elephants using heavy machinery like bulldozers and excavators,” he said.

“Malaysia has been a major palm oil producer over the years and this is because we are situated in an environment that permits us to do so. We must continuously do our best to protect the environment so that we can continue to produce the best palm oil efficiently,” Ang said.

Malbumi has been studying the WWF-Malaysia “Kinabatangan–Corridor of Life” project to learn how to best manage wildlife found within and close to its estates.

The estates that cover about 5,200 hectares (13,000 acres) is situated near Sukau and Sungai Tenegang which are adjacent to Lot 1 of the wildlife sanctuary, and is also close to Lokan that lies next to the Segaliud Lokan forest reserve.

Ang said the palm oil industry has reaped good harvest in recent years, and that it would be good if the planters along the Kinabatangan River to donate a small portion of their revenue to help the Sabah Wildlife Department and NGOs like WWF-Malaysia to sustain the viability of wildlife populations in the country.

“Malbumi is also considering becoming a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) once it ventures into palm oil mills with its partners,” said Ang.

A workshop on RSPO organised recently in Sandakan by WWF-Malaysia and the Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA) was informative.

Ang said that the workshop gave him and his team better insight on how to best set higher standards in tackling environmental issues and ways to improve protection of wildlife.

When asked what advice he had for other palm oil companies in Kinabatangan, he said, “Only humans have the power and ability to ensure the future of wildlife, so we need to start making that difference.”

Malbumi is also supporting a reforestation programme adjacent to its plantation, and has to date supplied and planted 2,000 native forest tree seedlings at the riparian areas. The company has spent RM200,000 on its wildlife conservation programme, including funds used to purchase machinery and materials to help the Sabah Wildlife Department and non-governmental organisations create a more sustainable environment for the wildlife located in these areas.

Ang concluded by saying, “In today’s business world, it’s important to take care of the environment. Businesses and the environment are very similar to the story of the goose laying the golden egg. The “goose” is the environment, and if it is not cared for, we will one day lose our businesses, or “golden eggs”.

Kinta Nature Park to be gazetted as wildlife sanctuary

Sept 25, 2009
Star
By FOONG THIM LENG

IPOH: The Perak government will gazette the Kinta Nature Park as a wildlife sanctuary to prevent it from being destroyed by encroachment and illegal activities.

State Tourism Committee chairman Datuk Hamidah Osman said gazetting the park would not take much time as the groundwork for it had been prepared when Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali was Perak mentri besar, and there was a file on the proposal in the state Land and Mines office.

“We will have to decide on which agency would manage the park and look into upgrading its facilities before promoting the park for tourism,” she told reporters during an inspection of the park in Batu Gajah after receiving complaints from the Perak branch of the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS).

Accompanying her were MNS Perak branch vice-chairman Lee Ping Kong, council member Tan Chin Tong and ornithologist Lim Kim Chye, who is the MNS Perak Branch Bird Group Coordinator.

“It will be a waste if such a potential tourist attraction like the park is neglected. It is said to be the best place for bird-watching in Malaysia. It is the home to more than 130 species of birds and has the largest heronry in the country on one of its islands,” she said.

It was reported in The Star on Tuesday that the park would will lose the heronry if illegal activities continued there.

Almost 60% of the birds in the park are listed as totally protected or protected under the Protection of Wild Life Act 1976.

A recent check by the MNS revealed that someone had fenced up the whole lake where the heronry, with five breeding species of 2,000 waterbirds, is located, with the intention of starting commercial fish farming.

The MNS had complained that pristine mining pools at the southern end of the park have been taken over by duck farms and that incursions by sand extraction activities have increased.

The lack of a management body had resulted in damage and disrepair to the infrastructure.

The only watchman in the park said he was only there to guard the amenities and was powerless to prevent any form of encroachment.

Hamidah said the park was managed by the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan). She expressed disappointment at the amenities in the park having been vandalised and the grass not having been cut for months.

“We will like to park to be managed by the Kampar district office with Perhilitan playing a monitoring role,” she said.

Hamidah also agreed to look into a suggestion by the MNS to let the park be placed under the jurisdiction of the Perak State Parks Corporation.

She said the duck farms operating without permit would have to stop.

Hamidah added that she would talk with the Kampar District Office to stop renewing the permits for sand mining in the park.

On whether the park should be named the Royal Perak Wetlands, as proposed after the it was set up in 2001, Hamidah said the name would need consent from the Perak royal family.