WWF-Msia, Sabah Softwoods to develop wildlife corridor

KOTA KINABALU: WWFMalaysia and Sabah Softwoods Berhad have signed a grant agreement for the co-financing of the restoration work through the wildlife corridor in Brumas, Tawau.

The wildlife corridor provides an area of habitat to connect elephants and other wildlife in Ulu Kalumpang Forest Reserve to the larger Mount Louisa Forest Reserve.

It is understood that the two have had a long-standing working relationship from 1981 when WWF Malaysia had carried out early assessment of wildlife in Sabah Softwood Berhad areas planted with fast-growing trees.

Since 2012, the two bodies have been working together to manage human-elephant coexistence, both to reduce crop damage caused by elephants and to reduce the risk of elephant and human deaths on agricultural landscapes.

This involved tracking elephant herds in the region using satellite-collars, and developing a wildlife corridor to manage elephant movements.

As such, the said contract would formalize the ongoing work, and puts in place co-funding for enrichment planting of native species and wild fruit trees of the wildlife corridor that links Ulu Kalumpang Forest Reserve and Mount Louisa Forest Reserve.

The five-year contract between the two bodies is limited to the plantation’s production areas, and the sum of RM1.25 million (USD 300,000) is agreed as co-funding for tree planting activities in the wildlife corridor area in the Brumas Estate.

Additional activities, funded separately, will involve wildlife monitoring to assess the effectiveness of the ecological connectivity between the forest reserves.