Sabah Government Extends Condolences Over Elephant Attack

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government today extended its condolences to the family of an Australian tourist who was gored to death by an elephant in Lahad Datu yesterday, and advised all quarters against pointing fingers over the incident.

"It is an unfortunate incident resulting in the loss of a young life. On behalf of the Sabah government, I would like to convey my heartfelt condolences to the parents and family of Jenna Donley," said Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.

Veterinarian Jenna O'Grady Donley, 26, was gored to death by a bull pygmy elephant at the Tabin Wildlife Sanctuary at about 8.30 am as she was taking photographs of the lone animal.

"I have just been informed by the management of the Tabin Wildlife Resort where Jenna was staying that they are doing everything they can to assist the family, and the Australian High Commission is making arrangements to fly Jenna's body for burial in her hometown," Masidi said

Continue reading at: Sabah Government Extends Condolences Over Elephant Attack

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Orangutan habitat restoration efforts in Sabah bear fruit

By Catharine Goh

There is hope yet for Borneo's most iconic animal, the orangutan. Recently several images of orang utans building nests in replanted trees were captured by WWF-Malaysia in the once-degraded but newly restored area at the northern part of Ulu Segama Malua Forest Reserves in Lahad Datu, Sabah.

In fact, such efforts to rehabilitate wildlife habitat which were initiated by the Sabah Forestry Department has given hope that the wildlife population in the forest will increase before long.

Sabah Forestry Department director Datuk Sam Mannan has expressed satisfaction upon seeing that the reforestation efforts are helping the orangutans settle in the forest reserves.

"The best for the survival of the species is to have well-managed forests as a home, with a mixture of native tree species being planted to enhance the quality of wildlife habitat and food sources, especially for the orangutan," he enthused.

He said the declaration of restoration efforts in Ulu Segama Malua Forest Reserves on March 15, 2006 is strategically linked to the largest endangered population of the Bornean orangutan, subspecies Pongo pygmaeus morio, in Sabah.

The Ulu Segama-Malua Sustainable Forest Management programme, covering an area of 241,098 hectares (ha), was initiated by the Sabah state government and is jointly managed by the department and Yayasan Sabah for the conservation and rehabilitation of habitat for endangered wildlife.

The department has partnered WWF-Malaysia in reforestation efforts within 2,400ha of the NUS area since 2008.

Dr Rahimatsah Amat, the Chief Technical Officer (Borneo programme) of WWF-Malaysia, was delighted to see that the orang utan conservation efforts in Ulu Segama Malua were bearing fruit.

"The orangutan is the largest arboreal (tree-living) animal in the world. They spend most of their time in trees - feeding, sheltering and travelling through the forest canopy from one tree to another," he noted.

"Without trees, it would be difficult for orangutans to survive," he said, adding that he hoped to see the orang utans continue utilising the restored forest area, which has more replanted trees for food, shelter and travel.

Dr Rahimatsah said his research and monitoring team was already seeing some exciting results, reporting evidence of much wildlife starting to return to the restored areas of the forest - not just orangutans but also other wildlife such as the Clouded Leopard, Sun Bear and many more endangered species.

"There was a herd of wild Borneo Pygmy Elephants that passed through our reforestation site early this year, but fortunately they didn't cause any major damage towards the replanted trees," he said.

On the other hand, the elephants have left their dung at the replanted site as a tremendous natural fertiliser, Dr Rahimatsah added.

A video clip of an orangutan swinging on replanted trees can be viewed at WWF Malaysia's Youtube site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO-roPfjcP4

Dr Rahimatsah further stated that "we could not have done it without the collaboration from the department and Yayasan Sabah, as well as our generous donors who have always been a part of our conservation effort".

Funding for the reforestation came from WWF-Germany, WWF-United Kingdom, WWF-Netherlands and WWF-Japan, as well as private sector organisations such as Adessium Foundation, Itochu Group, Marks & Spencer, Seng Heng and Aeon Jusco.

To date, 1,096ha of degraded forest in the forested reserves have been replanted out of the total 2,400 ha which was allocated to WWF-Malaysia for reforestation by the department.

The Ulu Segama Malua Forest Reserve was awarded the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certificate by the Scientific Certification System (SCS) at the FSC General Assembly held at Kota Kinabalu in June 2011.

The certification would mean that the home for orang utans is better conserved.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin Sunday
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Rehabilitation of orangutans in Sabah bears fruit

KOTA KINABALU: Several images of orang-utans building nests in replanted trees were captured by WWF-Malaysia in the newly restored degraded area at the northern part of Ulu Segama Malua Forest Reserve (NUS), Lahad Datu, where efforts to rehabilitate wildlife habitat were initiated by Sabah Forestry Department (SFD).

These efforts give hope that the wildlife population in this degraded forest will increase before long.

Datuk Sam Mannan, the director of Sabah Forestry Department, expressed contentment upon seeing that the reforestation efforts are helping the orang-utans in NUS.

He also mentioned that the best for the survival of this species is to have well-managed forests as a home.

A mixture of native tree species were planted in NUS with the aim of enhancing quality of wildlife habitat and food sources, especially for the orang-utans.

“The declaration of restoration efforts in Ulu Segama Malua Forest Reserve on March 15, 2006 is strategically linked to the largest endangered population of the Bornean orang-utan, subspecies Pongo pygmaeus morio, in Sabah,” said Sam.

The Ulu Segama-Malua Sustainable Forest Management, covering an area of 241,098 hectares (ha), was initiated by the state government and is jointly managed by SFD and Yayasan Sabah (YS) for the conservation and rehabilitation of habitat for endangered wildlife.

SFD has partnered WWF-Malaysia in reforestation efforts within 2,400 ha of the NUS area since 2008.

WWF-Malaysia chief technical officer (Borneo programme) Dr Rahimatsah Amat was delighted to see that the orang-utan conservation efforts in NUS were bearing fruit.

“The orang-utan is the largest arboreal (tree-living) animal in the world. They spend most of their time in trees; feeding, sheltering and travelling through the forest canopy from one tree to another. Without trees, it would be difficult for orang-utans to survive.”

Thus, his hope is to see orang-utans continue utilising the restored forest area, which has more replanted trees for food, shelter and travel.

“We’re already seeing some really exciting results from our research and monitoring team, reporting evidence of much wildlife starting to return to the restored areas of the degraded forest. Not just orang-utans but also other wildlife such as clouded leopard, sun bear and many more endangered species

There was a herd of wild Borneo pygmy elephants that passed through our reforestation site early this year but fortunately, they didn’t cause any major damage to the replanted trees. On the other hand, the elephants have left their dung at the replanted site as a tremendous natural fertiliser,” added Dr Rahimatsah.

A video clip of an orangutan swinging on replanted trees at WWF Malaysia’s Youtube site can be viewed below:

Continue reading at: Rehabilitation of orangutans in Sabah bears fruit
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Boost to tourism industry in Lahad Datu

The purchase by AMPE Sdn Bhd of one block of a five-storey building comprising 102 rooms and managed by three-star Palm Seasons Hotel Sdn Bhd at the Lahad Datu Commercial and Industrial Centre would definitely boost the tourism industry in Lahad Datu.

At the signing ceremony on Friday, AMPE Sdn Bhd chairman Yap Kok Ming said Lahad Datu Jaya Commercial and Industrial Centre (LDJCIC) was one of the largest projects designed with a modern touch and style.

The project is suitable for any type of businesses such as banking, supermarkets, commercial offices, sundries, restaurants, workshops, warehouses, forwarders and any businesses that are related to the oil palm industry.

It serves as a central hub between Sandakan, Semporna and Tawau.

The project consists of three phases covering an area of 32 acres. It is divided into seven main categories with 100 lots of 1 and half storey light industrial terrace units; 32 lots of 2-storey light industrial semi-detached units; 11 lots of 2-storey light industrial detached units; 44 lots of 2-storey shop-lots; 46 lots of 3-storey shop-lots; a 3-star hotel and a hypermarket.

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Sabah's orang-utan conservation effort receives shot-in-the-arm

Kota Kinabalu: The State's orang-utan conservation effort received a shot-in-the-arm with the signing of a contract agreement between WWF-Malaysia and AEON Co. (M) Berhad here Monday.

The five-year agreement is to provide for reforestation and rehabilitation of the orang-utan's natural habitat in North Ulu Segama, Lahad Datu.

The forest in this area was severely degraded due to several cycles of logging operations in the past and the frequent occurrence of forest fire, but miraculously the orang-utan which inhabit the area survived despite the ordeal they have had to endure.

The reforestation and rehabilitation effort will involve planting saplings of high trees, middle high trees, low trees and shrubs in approximately 80 hectares of the area over the next five years, with a RM500,000 investment by AEON.

The fast growing tree species to be planted will help restore the connectivity of the forest canopy so that the orang-utan will be free to roam in search of food in all the areas within the area and places to build their nests. The wild fruit trees will be source of food for the orang-utan.

Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun witnessed the contract agreement signing and exchanging of documents between AEON Managing Director Nagahisa Oyama and WWF-Malaysia CEO Datuk Dr Dionysius Sharma in a ceremony held at Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu here.

Thanking AEON for choosing Sabah as a place for it to carry out its corporate social responsibility, Masidi said the project is a recognition to WWF-Malaysia's good work in Sabah apart from being a kind of vote of confidence in the State Government's effort through the Forestry Department to rehabilitate and conserve the forest.

"It is my sincere hope that there will be more corporate organisations like AEON to come over to Sabah and assist us in our effort to not only save the orang-utan but also other species which are in danger of extinction like the rhinoceros and sun bear," he said.

He said the reason is simple, that is, because the forest is being fragmented by the opening up of land that affected their reproduction process, which in turn, contributed to the decline of the animal populations.

"Such an assistance from various quarters there is now light at the end of the tunnelÉin Sabah we are doing the right thing, at the right track, to help these animals to continue surviving for the future generations to appreciate," he said.

For AEON, this is not its first because it has actually been involved in tree-planting activities since 1991 at the JUSCO Malacca branch in Ayer Keroh.

It was called "AEON Hometown Forest Programme" where 50,000 saplings were planted.

AEON Co. Ltd in Japan is the pioneer of AEON Environment Foundation that has been contributing towards greening areas in Sudan and several sites surrounding the Great Wall of China.

"It has always been the company's aspiration to preserve the environment and the orang-utan's habitat in North Ulu SegamaÉwe see the growing importance of conservation measures to protect and nurture a green environment," said Oyama. The project will help foster closer ties between AEON and the local residents, not only as a business venture but also in the hope of educating the locals on the importance of preserving the environment, he said.

Continue reading at: Sabah's orang-utan conservation effort receives shot-in-the-arm
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