Forestry Dept meets Kinabatangan tourism players on EU-REDD+ project

SANDAKAN: The Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) is striving to synergize its forest conservation efforts with the cooperation of Kinabatangan tourism players here.

It held a meeting last month, "another first for SFD" involving a large group of tourism industry players operating in the area that has been regarded as the Kinabatangan Corridor of Life.

In a statement, it said the meeting was a follow-up to the meeting with oil palm plantation industries in Kinabatangan in October last year.

“The main objective of the meeting was to synergize the forest conservation efforts amongst the tourism operators along the Kinabatangan River Corridor, especially in enhancing the collaboration and awareness on forest restoration and conservation, establishment of connectivity between fragmented forests, and enhancing local communities' participation in the tourism industry,” it said.

SFD's forest conservation endeavour through a reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) project entitled 'Tackling Climate Change through Sustainable Forest Management and Community Development' is funded by the European Union.

The EU-REDD+ venture is a sixyear project (2014-2019) with the specific objective of contributing to sustainable and low carbon development for Sabah in the three REDD+ pilot sites in Gana, Kota Marudu; Kinabatangan and Kinabalu Ecolinc area.

The meeting was chaired by deputy chief conservator of forests (Planning and Management), Frederick Kugan, who is also project director.

It was attended by State Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry principal assistant secretary Mary Malangking and representatives from Sabah Tourism Board, Kinabatangan-Corridor of Life Tourism Operators Association (KiTA) and 31 tourism operators.