Heart of Borneo Carnival could be made annual event

KUCHING: The state Forest Department is planning to make the Non-Timber Forest Products ( NTFP) Heart of Borneo ( HoB) Carnival an annual event.

Its director Sapuan Ahmad said the carnival could serve as a cornerstone for local NTFP entrepreneurs to showcase, introduce, promote, and market their products.

“We hope this kind of carnival will help promote the various NTFP produced by the community themselves.

“The carnival is also held in line with our community based/rural poverty eradication programme,” he said at the launch of the carnival at Kuching Waterfront yesterday.

Sapuan said the carnival, held for the first time on a big scale, had gathered 80 communities from areas within the HoB in Sarawak namely Lawas, Limbang, Ulu Limbang ( Northern Zone), Bario, Ulu Kubaan, Ulu Baram, Long Seridan, Mulu ( Eastern Zone), Murum, Belaga, Penan Peace Park ( Central Zone), Lubuk Antu and Sri Aman (Southern Zone).

All these areas are under the HoB, a transboundary effort between Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.

The HoB initiative was undertaken to enable conservation and sustainable development that improves the welfare of those living on the island while minimising deforestation, forest degradation and the associated loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Sapuan said HoB was inhabited by 13,000 residents from seven ethnic groups.

He said most of the population within the HoB area still practised shifting agriculture and depended on forest resources as their source of income.

He said this year’s carnival had also attracted participants from Sabah and Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Some 40 booths were erected for the communities, government departments and agencies to exhibit and sell their NTFP products during the carnival.