SAVING BORNEO, ONE LAND AT A TIME

Sabah Deputy Chief Minister cum Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Christina Liew (seated centre) with VIP guests and Sukau Resort Lodge staff

SUKAU: Covering over 30,000 hectares of pristine floodplains and rainforest, the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary is renowned for its rich biodiversity.

Yet as more lands surrounding the sanctuary are taken over by uncontrolled logging and palm oil plantations, problems have begun to surface.

Loss of habitat is driving the critically endangered Bornean Pygmy Elephants to extinction, while simultaneously pushing them towards local communities, who bear the brunt of the resulting conflict as their crops are raided.

The destruction leaves many of the rural villagers helpless. The fate of Kinabatangan’s inhabitants human and animal alike hangs in the balance.

But not all hope is lost. For the past two years, local tour company Borneo Eco Tours (BET), through their non-profit arm Borneo Ecotourism Solutions and Technologies (BEST) Society, have been campaigning to conserve the  wildlife sanctuary through the acquisition of land.

The project, dubbed ‘Borneo Land Conservancy’, started with an idea.

After visiting Borneo and witnessing first-hand the destruction of habitat in the area, Belinda Roach of Trailblazers Travel Australia realized that a change was needed.

She approached BET and BEST Society founder Albert Teo to start a campaign to buy the corridors of land within Kinabatangan that would allow wildlife to transit safely between the palm oil plantations and farmlands to the pockets of forest that they call home.

It was a sound plan – and one that Albert himself had been considering for some time.

“It was only a matter of time that we took matters into our hands. The email (from Belinda) started a chain reaction and after much research and constant communication with our networks in 2016, we were able to identify a piece of land for such an initiative,” he said.

The 7.7 acres of land, located just five minutes upriver from the famous Sukau Rainforest Lodge, had been purchased by BEST Society.

According to Albert, the decision to buy the land that was up for sale at RM220,000 was made quick.

“The land has a full-grown forest with various fruit trees, and is frequented by wildlife such as monkeys, orangutans and elephants. Together with our supporting networks, the Borneo Land Conservancy will be the first of many more land conservation efforts around Borneo.”

“Of course, the acquisition of this land has more purpose than just habitat protection. We can’t just go on thinking that if we set aside a bit more land and leave the forested areas untouched, nature will take care of itself. We are already in our 21st century and we need to rethink our approach (to conservation),” affirmed Albert, adding that improving the lives of both wildlife and local communities in the area is key to achieving a balance in the ecosystem.

In line with this belief, BEST Society took another step further with the establishment of Sukau Ecotourism Research Centre (SERC) on the plot of land.

It is designed to be a physical platform to engage local and international academic institutions to conduct joint research – all to ensure that ecotourism will remain a key provider of sustainable employment and economic stability to the local communities.

Additionally, it will serve as a hub to facilitate research on the impact of ecotourism activities on wildlife. Construction work on SERC started in November 2017, and launched today.

There have been other success stories in Kinabatangan as well.

Another conservation effort in the area, the Kinabatangan – Rasig Project, is a collaboration between Indie Travellers, Caroline Pang Photography and Fatimah Homestay.

The project site is a land area of 5.6 acres situated next to the Kinabatangan wildlife sanctuary belonging to Mursalin Abdullah, a fisherman who has voluntarily agreed to protect his land, pledging no development that may adversely affect the wildlife corridor.

“This project is possibly the first pragmatic move by a local villager in making such commitment. Most villagers, whose income are affected by depletion of fisheries, would have sold their land to agriculture companies for huge profit.

This project hopes to serve as a platform to attain conservation results through ecotourism with participation and support from the local community,” said Indie Travellers founder Caroline Pang.

Even as the Borneo Land Conservancy and Rasig projects gain traction both locally and internationally, Albert acknowledges that current efforts are only a small step towards protecting what’s left of the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, one of the most important corridors of life in Southeast Asia.

“We can’t do this alone. We are calling out to like-minded people who share the same values to come aboard and join us on our journey. Together we can do what none of us can do alone.”

Those interested in making a sustainable and significant impact may visit https://www.bestsociety.org and learn about BEST Society’s cause.

Borneo Ecotourism Solutions and Technologies (BEST) Society, registered in 2007 under the Registry of Societies is the NGO arm of BET dedicated to empowering communities.

Whether we are introducing innovative agricultural methods, finding new approaches to mitigate human-elephant conflict, fostering development through collaboration and providing basic necessities, BEST Society engages, empowers and elevates rural communities in Sabah by implementing sustainable development initiatives to improve livelihood and quality of life and to conserve nature for the next generation.

Borneo Eco Tours (BET), established in 1991 as an ecotourism specialist on Borneo by Albert Teo.

BET is committed to triple bottom line of sustainable concept (economic-environment-social) in its operations.