Dept, WWF to jointly develop transboundary green project

KUCHING: The state Forest Department is collaborating with World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to develop a pilot transboundary green economy programme in Sarawak under the Heart of Borneo (HoB) Initiative.

The programme will be implemented in Kapit and Sri Aman divisions, which are the habitat of orangutans and the source of main rivers such as the Batang Rajang and Batang Lupar.

The divisions are also vital to the state’s economy as there are large forests and oil palm plantations. The project area is estimated to be around 1.5 million hectares between Kapit and Sri Aman,

Two key biodiversity hotspots in Sarawak – Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary ( LEWS) and Batang Ai National Park (BANP) – are also located within the pilot project area. Both hotspots are also located adjacent to the Betung Kerihun National Park – the conservation area in Kapuas Hulu, Kalimantan.

State Forest department director SapuanAhmadsaidtheprogramme, slated to be run between the end of

Through this programme, we can also help fight climate change. We hope that greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced and the biodiversity of Sarawak’s forests will be protected without obstructing the economic development of Kapit and Sri Aman.

this year and 2020, should be able to generate economic, social and environmental benefits to local communities and also enhance environmental protection of the areas.

“Through this programme, we can also help fight climate change. We hope that greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced and the biodiversity of Sarawak’s forests will be protected without obstructing the economic development of Kapit and Sri Aman,” he said during the HoB International Climate Initiative ( IKI) Green Economy meeting with stakeholders from the two divisions here recently.

WWF-Malaysia Sarawak programme leader Dr Jason Hon said WWF would help the department identify gaps in the existing conservation and socioeconomic programmes by the government, and also help advocate logging and oil palm companies in adopting green economy practices in their business operations.

“This collaboration is aimed at developing a green economy management concept comprising land-use and green economy action plans, raising awareness and developing training for businesses to develop environmentallyfriendly business practices, empowering local communities to co-manage natural resources in a sustainable manner and eventually, replicating the green economy management concept across HoB areas.”

WWF HoB programme leader Dr Henry Chan, meanwhile, explained that the green economy management plan derived from the idea of connecting Totally Protected Areas (TPAs) to one another in the island from Sabah to Sarawak, Brunei and Kalimantan.

“This connectivity is important in preventing in-breeding and long– term genetic decline. To realise this connectivity, a healthy patch of forest is needed in between two TPAs to allow the species to travel from one TPA to another. Without the existence of this forest patch, human-wildlife conflict is bound to happen,” he said.

HoB is a conservation and sustainable use of natural resources programme initiated by Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei governments in 2007. It covers a vast area of rainforests on the vast island, which is a 22-million hectare landscape of natural capital with intact forests.

The HoB IKI Green Economy Programme is supported by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety of Germany.

Sapuan Ahmad, Sarawak Forest Department director