(MY) Sabah forest plundered

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Sunday July 16, 2006- The Star

 

Biodiversity gift to the world may be plundered

 

*Exclusive by SYED AZHAR and RUBEN SARIO*

 

*KUALA LUMPUR:* Two Sabah forest reserves, to be bequeathed as Malaysia's

biodiversity gift to the world by the end of 2007, are set to be logged in a

month or two – endangering countless species of plants and wildlife.

 

A race against time is underway to log the Malua and Ulu Segama forest

reserves, covering a total of 236,825ha, which is three times the size of

Singapore, before the deadline.

 

The state-owned Yayasan Sabah holds logging rights in the forest reserves

and recently appointed at least three companies to log in the area.

 

Environmentalists and state officials fear that logging operations –

expected to begin in a month or two – will have an impact on the wildlife

there, especially sun bears, gibbons, *tambadau *or wild buffalo, Borneo

pygmy elephants, Sumatran rhinos and orang utans.

 

When Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman announced on March 15 that logging would

cease in the forest reserves by the end of 2007, local and foreign

non-governmental organisations hailed the move as the most important action

ever taken to secure the future of Borneo's endangered wildlife.

 

However, before that, the state government faced pressure to convert the two

areas into oil palm plantations similar to what had been done for Benta

Wawasan in neighbouring Kalabakan, another Yayasan Sabah concession.

 

Environmental groups are now aghast when they heard that Yayasan Sabah was

proceeding with logging at Malua in Kinabatangan district and Ulu Segama in

Lahad Datu district.

 

According to them, demarcation of the boundaries meant for the logging

contractors had been concluded.

 

One official said: " There is no time for Yayasan Sabah to adopt the Reduced

Impact Logging (RIL) methods in Malua and Ulu Segama.

 

" To carry out the RIL methods, a detailed inventory of the area and a forest

management plan of both reserves, among others, must be carried out, " said

the official, who felt that conventional logging methods were for logs to be

extracted fast within the deadline.

 

Environmentalists noted that about half of Malua was logged as recently as

four years ago.

 

The other half of the forest reserve had been left untouched for more than

10 years, resulting in a dense canopy of trees, with clear water in the

rivers.

 

" Any logging activity is bound to impact the flora and fauna, " said another

official.

 

It is uncertain if the Sabah Government would impose a condition requiring

only trees with a diameter of 60cm and above to be extracted, to enable the

forest to regenerate at a faster pace, he said.

 

The officials said one contractor was appointed to log in Ulu Segama and two

others in Malua, although it was smaller in size, as the areas earmarked for

logging at the latter area were dense.

 

The environmentalists felt that sun bears and gibbons would be the most

threatened due to their restrictive diets and the destruction of their food

source by logging.

 

Considered to be the more hardy creatures, the orang utans would have a

better chance of survival in logged forests if the activity was not done too

rapidly, they said.

 

A 2003 state government report stated that Malua and Ulu Segama with the

forest reserves of Kuamut, Gunung Rara, Kalabakan and Danum Valley managed

by Yayasan Sabah were the last strongholds for about 5,000 orang utans in

Borneo.

 

Malua has the highest number of orang utans within the Yayasan Sabah forest

concessions, having more than 800 primates while Ulu Segama is home to about

3,000 orang utans.

 

Both Malua and Ulu Segama reserves encircle the Danum Valley conservation

area that together with Kinabalu Park and the Maliu Basin, will eventually

become part of a one million hectare conservation zone in Sabah.

 

The zone was also seen by environmentalists as being in line with their

efforts in setting up a 220,000sq km Heart of Borneo conservation area twice

the size of Germany, involving Sabah, Sarawak, Kalimantan and Brunei.

 

 

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Monday July 17, 2006

 

EIA sought over logging plan

 

*KOTA KINABALU:* Show us the EIA report. This is the call by

environmentalists concerned over the proposed logging in the Malua and Ulu

Segama forest reserves covering 236,825ha in east Sabah.

 

An environmental impact assessment (EIA) report, they said, was necessary

for such a massive project and should be put to public scrutiny if it

existed.

 

Dr Edwin Bossi, a former Sabah Wildlife Department veterinarian based at the

Sepilok Orang Utan rehabilitation centre, said strict measures should be

taken to minimise the impact on wildlife and also ensure that logging did

not take place close to rivers.

 

*The Star* yesterday reported that state-owned Yayasan Sabah had appointed

at least three contractors to log the reserves estimated to be three times

the size of Singapore. The logging is expected to begin in a month or two.

 

Dr Edwin was worried that the logging might have an impact on the wildlife,

especially sun bears, gibbons, Borneo pygmy elephants and orang utans.

 

The Malua reserve has over 800 orang utans while Ulu Segama is home to about

3,000 of the primates.

 

" If any wildlife is affected by the logging, certain mitigating measures

should be taken such as creating forest corridors or even relocating the

animals, " said Dr Edwin.

 

Former state Tourism, Culture and Environment permanent secretary Datuk

Wilfred Lingham said that although the Government had the right to allow the

logging, there must be strict supervision.

 

" There should be no logging along steep slopes and riverbanks, " he said.

 

Malaysian Nature Society executive director Dr Loh Chi Leong said the forest

reserves had been logged before and were not considered pristine areas.

 

However, since the forest reserves were bordering the Danum Valley and the

Maliu Basin, they served as an important buffer zone and a link between the

two.

 

" The state should clarify what logging rights they have agreed to and the

reduced impact logging regiment carried out.

 

" If half of Malua had been logged as recently as four years ago while the

other half more than 10 years ago, the logging cycle would be too short and

not sustainable, " he said.

 

Those in the timber industry said that EIA reports were required for all

logging operations. However, they believe the EIA could be circumvented by

dividing the concession area into small blocks of less than 20ha.

 

Meanwhile, a Chief Minister's Department spokesperson said Yayasan Sabah

director Tan Sri Khalil Jamalul and Forestry Department director Sam Mannan

would hold a press conference on the planned logging today.