Nov 12, 2015
TOTAL LAND AREA: Revenue to be a derived in a sustainable manner
By Olivia Miwil
Pictures by Edmund Samunting
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will set aside 30 per cent of its land, or 2.2 million ha, as a total protected areas (TPAs) within a decade, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman.
“We depend on well-functioning ecological systems for our existence and to meet our goals for sustainable economic development.
“It is of utmost importance that our natural resources and biodiversity are safeguarded as natural capital for the benefit of current and future generations,” he said, adding that to date, over 21 per cent of the state’s land had been gazetted as TPAs.
Musa was speaking at the launch of the International Heart of Borneo conference on Bridging Heart of Borneo Landscapes and Beyond Through Healthy Watershed Corridors and the Sabah Ramsar Conference here yesterday.
He added the current TPAs, which was the largest in the country, had exceeded the International Union for Conservation of Nature target of 10 per cent.
Earlier, Sabah Forestry director Datuk Sam Mannan said before year end, TPAs in Sabah would become 1.78 million ha (24 per cent) as compared to 864, 182 ha (11 per cent) in 2007.
“In 10 years, Sabah will be rich in the green capital stored in protected forests.
“The cash flow from a timber industry and the value of environmental services to be generated in the future and translated into real money in a sustainable manner,” he added.
At the launch, Sam presented a mock cheque for RM12 million to Musa, which the Forestry Department had generated at an auction of forest stewardship council-certified timbers from Deramakot forest reserve.
The chief minister also witnessed several signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) to protect and restore riparian reserves of Kinabatangan River, reforestation and establishment of forest and wildlife corridors at Tabin Wildlife Reserve in Lahad Datu, reclassification of Meliau Range in Telupid into a class I Protection Forest Reserve among others.
Land owner Liew Pin Cheong had also donated a 460-ha forests in lower Segama to the government.
The high conservation value land will be used to connect Tabin and Kulamba Wildlife Forest Reserves in Lahad Datu.
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