Plans afoot to turn Klias Wetlands into third Ramsar site

KOTA KINABALU: Plans are afoot to turn the Klias Wetlands into Sabah’s third Ramsar site.

Sabah Wetlands Conservation Society’s president Datuk Haji Zainie Abdul Aucasa said that the state government has approached SWCS to look into the proposal of making the Klias Wetlands as Sabah’s third Ramsar site.

“We view this positively..it is a good sign..for the protection of our mangrove forests,” he told press members at the International Symposium on Conservation and Management of Wetlands (ISCMW 2018) held at the ShangriLa’s Tanjung Aru Resort and Spa yesterday.

Sabah presently has two Ramsar sites--the Lower Kin a bat an gan Se ga ma wetlands and theKo ta Kinabalu wetlands.

The process of getting the Kota Kinabalu wetlands recognised as a Ramsar site took eight years.

Zainie believed the processing time to get the Klias wetlands recognised as a Ramsar site would be shorter, this time around, as they were already experienced in the processes involved.

SWCS vice president, Dr Rahimatsah Amat said the entire process would include the preparation of paperworks and endorsement from the Sabah government and the submission of the proposal from the Water, Land and Natural Resources Ministry to the Secretariat of the Ramsar convention.

Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, Christina Liew who was represented by her assistant, Assafal Alian, said that the status as a Ramsar site would ensure its continued protection and preservation.