State palm oil firm among stakeholders boosting conservation efforts in Sabah
24/06/2023 (New Straits Times), Lahad Datu - Senior reporter Jenne Lajiun's elation was evident as she planted a tree seedling at the Bagahak 1 estate here recently.
"I hope that when I revisit it, this tree will have thrived," she said after planting and watering the seedling. Adorned with a purple ribbon, the tree bore her daughter's name, Maya Hejnowska.
Jenne, who was with fellow media members, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia and the Sawit Kinabalu Group have high hopes that the planted seedlings will yield fruitful outcomes for the Bagahak Ecological Corridor Restoration Project.
Spanning 57ha of land at the estate, the ambitious 4km project, funded by Beiersdorf AG, aims to improve riparian function through active restoration, erosion control and enhanced water quality to support sustainable production.
Donna Simon, who leads WWF-Malaysia Sabah Landscapes Programme (SLP) for the Tabin landscape, said the fund's collaboration with Sawit Kinabalu, a state-owned corporation, was to reconnect the Tabin Wildlife Reserve with the isolated Silabukan Forest Reserve through the corridor project.
Established in 1984, the Tabin Wildlife Reserve encompasses a vast area of 123,799ha, surrounded by oil palm plantations.
Donna emphasised the importance of addressing isolation, as approximately 1,200 orang utans reside in Tabin, with about 50 found in the Silabukan Forest Reserve.
"Isolated populations increase the risk of inbreeding, resulting in offspring of lower quality," she said.
The corridor project, initiated in October last year, has made significant progress, with over 10ha already planted with nearly 6,000 fast-growing tree species and figs.
Remarkably, those year-old trees have reached the average height of a human adult.
To date, the corridor has recorded the presence of 40 animal species, including rare and endangered wildlife, such as orang utans, sun bears, pangolins and sambar deer.
The Bagahak Ecological Corridor restoration serves as a vital component of WWF-Malaysia's SLP, which integrates conservation and sustainable development through its three core pillars: "Protect, Produce and Restore".
In addition to Tabin, the WWF-Malaysia SLP extends its efforts to three priority landscapes, including Tawau and Lower Sugut, while future conservation endeavours will continue in the Heart of Borneo Landscape.
Max Donysius, who captains the WWF-Malaysia SLP Produce team, said it needed to work with various stakeholders, including government entities and palm oil plantation companies.
"Through the SLP, we strive to achieve conservation targets by safeguarding natural forests, protecting iconic species, like Bornean elephants and orangutans, and addressing the menace of poaching.
"Our team also provides technical support to growers within the landscapes, assisting them in forming grower groups and guiding them through the certification processes of the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) standard and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)," he said.
Up to June this year, 95.6 per cent, or 1.44 million hectares, of oil plantations in Sabah are MSPO certified, with at least 26 per cent, or 425,882 hectares, certified by RSPO.
The total oil palm plantation area in the state, up to December last year, stood at 1,508,060ha.