10/5/06 Sandakan (Daily Express News)  -  The Sandakan Tourism Committee under the Sandakan Municipal Council (MPS) strongly supports Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman's call to oil palm plantation owners encroaching into riparian areas to immediately vacate these areas or risk being penalised.

Its Chairman, Datuk John Lim, said it is high time that the Government check the onslaught on riverine reserves by oil palm plantation owners.

He said their encroachment activities are endangering the livelihood of elephants and orang-utans along the Kinabatangan River.

"There should be a buffer zone in place stretching from the riverine areas to the plantation. It is very crucial for promotion of eco-tourism to conserve riverside areas and lowland forests as natural habitats for wildlife. Moreover, by planting oil palm right up to the river bank will subject the river to pollution by chemicals used in the plantation," he said, Tuesday.

Lim, a nature resort operator, said it is incumbent upon the oil palm plantation owners concerned to restore riparian reserves "disturbed" by them.

"They should rectify the situation by clearing the areas of oil palm planted by them and replacing with trees to revive the natural environment."

Last week, Musa said in Sandakan that the plantation owners should realise that their actions would jeopardise the water resources and can affect the water catchment.

He said the Government had received reports on the matter and appropriate steps would be taken to prevent riverine reserves being encroached.

Personally, Lim had visited riverine areas along the Kinabatangan River in Bukit Garam and Sukau in his effort to trace the movements of elephants.

"I have witnessed the restricted mobility of elephants in their quest for food in areas where oil palm is planted right to the edge of the river, such as at Kg Bilit and Sungai Teneggan Besar (tributary of the Kinabatangan). The latter is where you can see the proboscis monkey and the elephant as a tourist attraction."

On another note, Lim said by right, private organisations have no business to conduct research on the orang-utan.

"The private sector should not be allowed to do research. We already have a well-equipped orang-utan research centre at Sepilok in Sandakan under the Wildlife Department."

The Sandakan Tourism Committee hopes any orang-utan found anywhere would be returned to the sanctuary at Sepilok.