Study trips to Sabah, Kalimantan show viability of proposed nature zone in Baram
MIRI: Save Sarawak Rivers Network ( SAVE Rivers) is inspired towards realising the implementation of Taman Damai Baram ( Baram Peace Park) – a proposed zone covering 283,500 hectares of land in the northeastern part of the state.
Of the total hectarage, 28 per cent – or 79,000 hectares – is still covered with primary forest. It is this forested area that is suggested to be protected as a ‘core zone’, while 23 per cent (of the total 283,500 hectares) is proposed as an ‘agriculture zone’.
The remaining 49 per cent can be the ‘ buffer zone’ – dedicated to sustainable development, conservation and forest restoration projects that should boost local socio- economic development.
The proposed site for Taman Damai Baram is also close to three national parks – those at Pulung Tau and Batu Lawi in Sarawak, and another at Kayan Mentarang in Kalimantan, Indonesia.
It is learned that the area is home to more than 4,000 people comprising the Kenyah, Kelabits, Penans and Sabans from 32 villages.
According to SAVE Rivers chairman Peter Kallang, a draft on the proposed park was submitted to state Forest Department director Sapuan Ahmad in February this year.
Moreover, he said three groups representing the Baram Conservation Initiative made study tours to Sabah and Kalimantan recently, where they got to see how the communities there depended greatly on the health of their forests and also how community- centric developments could help protect the environment.
The Baram Conservation Initiative is a joint effort by SAVE Rivers and Keruan Organisation that aims to protect the rainforests, establish sustainable livelihood system for the communities in these areas and prevent the expansion of largescale commercial agriculture and extractive industries in Sarawak.
“The reasons behind these visits is because we want to protect the land that we proposed (for Taman Damai Baram) in Baram. We also want to preserve the environment and also to show that we recognise the rights of the people living there so that they could continue their own way of life.
“At the same time, we are looking at sustainable development there – identifying alternative livelihoods for the communities there, which are not only lucrative but are also environmentally-friendly,” Peter told reporters here yesterday.
SAVE Rivers Youth Programme director Caroline Nyurang was among the eight people who went to Klinik Alam Sehat Lestari (ASRI) in Sukadana – about a five-hour speedboat trip from Pontianak, West Kalimantan.
She said ASRI was established to preserve the authenticity of nature while providing healthcare to and conducting livelihood programmes for the communities in Sukadana.
“At ASRI, patients are allowed to pay their medical bills either through barter-trading of their handicraft items or plant seeds, working at the clinic or six-month instalment payment.
“This shows how they can take care of the nature and at the same time, get health benefits,” she said, adding that the programmes by ASRI include reforestation, health and environmental education, entrepreneurial assistance and organic gardening for the Sukadana folk.
“All these are very applicable for the Baram community,” Caroline said.
Meanwhile Dominic Usek, a Kenyah from Lepo’ Gah Tanjung Tepalit who joined the group that visited the Crocker Range Biosphere Reserve in Sabah, said the tour presented some ideas on how Baram could be developed without losing its ‘authenticity’.
He cited eco-tourism products such as homestay, jungle trekking, the rearing of stingless bees to produce ‘ kelulut’ honey like the one at Kivatu Nature Farm in Sabah and also pineapple plantation for the production of jam like the one at Kampong Kiau Nuluh (Sabah), as those that could be undertaken in Baram
“I believe these are some good examples of how communities can live in harmony with nature,” he pointed out.
The third group comprising Penans went to Batu Puteh Community Tourism Cooperative ( Kopel) at Kinabatangan in Sabah, where they witnessed the viability of communitybased tourism operations run in partnership with relevant government agencies.
Sia Ngedau, a Keruan Organisation representative who went to Kopel, remarked: “Our focus is on eco-tourism and I believe what’s being done at Kopel would be very suitable for Taman Damai Baram.”