Exploring the Silam Coast Conservation area (SCCA)
Published on: Tuesday, June 02, 2015
Lahad Datu: SCCA, which is situated in Darvel Bay, Lahad Datu, is one of the world's richest marine areas in terms of biodiversity in this region.Silam Coast, approximately measuring 2,770 ha in size, is the fourth conservation areas manned by Yayasan Sabah Group after Danum Valley, Maliau Basin and Imbak Canyon. It is strategically located within extremely easy access from the major town of Lahad Datu.On 10 May 2015 to 20 May 2015, a group of about 90 participants joined SCCA expedition in Silam Coast. The scientific and socio-economic expedition was organised by Yayasan Sabah Group to acquire more data/information in order to formulate a meaningful Strategic Management Plan for SCCA.
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Funded by Shell Malaysia, the expedition was organised in association with University College Sabah Foundation (UCSF), Sabah Forestry Department, Sabah Wildlife Department, WWF-Malaysia, Sabah Fisheries Department, Sabah Parks, Sabah Biodiversity Centre, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Sabah Museum, Institute for Development Studies (Sabah), Eastern Sabah Security Command, Royal Malaysian Police and the District Office, Lahad Datu.Other than formulating Silam Coast Management Plan, the objectives of the expedition were to assess the potential of the area as a research centre for marine and mangrove ecosystem; to assess the potential of the area to become a Regional Centre for Environmental Education on coastal and marine ecosystem; to assess the area potential for eco-recreation destination; and to assess the conservation area's potential collaboration with the surrounding communities.It was also notable to have the Member of Parliament for Silam, Datuk Datu Nasrun Bin Datu Mansur, who attended a session with the researchers on 16 May 2015. He was briefed on the findings obtained throughout the expedition.Datuk Nasrun was also informed that since Silam Coast's establishment as a conservation area, only one mini expedition was conducted in SCCA merely to obtain baseline information regarding the area in 2003. In this expedition, over 80 species of plant and seven mammal species, including otters and the highly endangered Proboscis monkey were recorded.
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Datuk Nasrun was brought to viewpoint Silam Coast and was impressed to personally witness such a beautiful nice view of the beach and forest. He was also briefed on SCCA by Dr. Waidi Sinun, Group Manager, Conservation and Environmental Management Division of Yayasan Sabah Group. Datuk Nasrun was then brought to the Base Camp at Silam Coast Studies Centre to mingle with the researchers. Expedition life in the field by participants
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Speaking to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Wan Juliana Wan Ahmad, from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, she explained that her team have found three new species which were noteworthy to update namely camptostemon philippinense, aegiceres floridum and osbornia octodonta. All these species were listed under International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).Assoc. Prof. Dr. Wan Juliana research scope was mainly focus on mangrove forest ecology. She shared, "SCCA has a lot of great potential. I am very proud to be in this research team. It is truly a venue to impart knowledge we found while doing our research work to other groups and vice versa obtaining new knowledge from other groups with different research topics at the night sessions conducted here.""I must credit Yayasan Sabah Group via its Conservation and Environmental Management Division for organising this expedition and expand SCCA further. Facilities here are number two for me. Further improvement to SCCA is to have more manpower station here ie. Research Assistant and staffs. It is them who will continue to be here and be in charge of this place and researchers like us will go back and the staff stays here will be responsible to carry on the research work started earlier," added Dr. Wan Juliana when asked what would be room for improvement for SCCA.Another researcher, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Homathevi Rahman from Universiti Malaysia Sabah had her scopes done on termites, soil invertebrates, dragonflies as well as butterflies diversity."The findings I had during this expedition shows that the termites' diversity is relatively lower than any other secondary forest and the species collected are mostly wood feeding termites. Termites are major detritivores and their recycling of wood and other plant matter is of considerable ecological importance to SCCA," explained Prof. Dr. Homathevi Rahman. She mentioned, "SCCA has good potential as a research station and there is a lot of nearby islands which can be used for research purposes. It was really a good effort by Yayasan Sabah Group to preserve and manage this conservation area since it is one of the important conservation areas other than Danum Valley, Maliau Basin and Imbak Canyon.""I am suggesting for some improvements to SCCA mainly for the purpose of conservation and research work, such as to have more research facilities, accommodations, lab setting and access to some of the islands nearby as well as artificial habitats to attract the organisms in here," elaborated Prof. Dr. Homathevi."Thank you to Yayasan Sabah Group for inviting us to contribute in the expedition thus formulating SCCA management plan. It was well organised and all of us were well taken care of. The secretariat provides us with beddings and mosquito net besides we have electricity throughout, nice meals prepared by excellent cooks such as bubur pulut hitam for dessert, sambal mangga kicap and delicious cucur udang for tea almost daily," she explained delightedly.Ms. Jenny Liaw from Institute for Development Studies (Sabah) informed the reason she leapt and participated in this expedition is to experience SCCA and its potentials."We can see that SCCA has the potential because of the accessible location where it can be reached via sea or road. In the east coast, there are very few places for recreations so this place will be an asset for the locals to expose Lahad Datu. Many people said that there are no real reasons to stop at Lahad Datu except to arrange a visit to Danum Valley or Borneo Rainforest Lodge. Hence, exposure on SCCA is important to be look at. It will be a win - win situation for both SCCA and Lahad Datu town," said Jenny.According to Jenny also, "This research helps to find the flora and fauna biodiversity and at the same time its richness and uniqueness which will add more on what we already have in Sabah. SCCA is the only 'beach forest' or coastal forest in Lahad Datu. My research scopes focused on eco-tourism potential. Other than for tourism purposes, the area is also vital for environmental education.""If we can find unique flora and fauna here, it will be a good addition to our conservation effort in Sabah. Since east coast particularly known as 'lacking of recreation are', SCCA can be the first focus to be developed in short term so that public can visit and organise activities such as picnics," noted Jenny.She said, "Yayasan Sabah Group had done a noble deed by providing visitors with some facilities despite this place has not been officially open for public yet. "For future improvement, the maintenance for the current facilities here should be improved such as the nature trails and bridges," concluded Jenny. On marine and coral rehabilitation restoration, we talked to Muhammad Ali Bin Syed Hussein from Universiti Malaysia Sabah."My scope of research is looking at the biodiversity of the reefs alongside the whole ecology of the SCCA by observing the reefs' function in terms of biodiversity as well as the health of the ecosystem," Muhammad Ali stated.Sharing on his findings, Muhammad Ali expressed, "The ecosystem here is still relatively intact with a good measure of biodiversity and importantly the corals diversities are still present. However, there are several threats that can be found in this area like high sedimentation load within the coral reefs ecosystem."Adding to his point, Muhammad Ali commented, "This conservation area is helpful because they can improve the situation in terms of sedimentation, for instants, rehabilitation of the whole area will ensure that less sediment will flow into the sea. Under the watch of Yayasan Sabah Group Rangers, the ecosystem of this area will be protected and recovered, thus fulfil the full potential of the conservation area.""The effort by Yayasan Sabah Group to conserve this area is truly remarkable. SCCA is known for its biodiversity. It is hope that with the creation of this conservation area, it would also promote greater awareness on this richest marine area in terms of biodiversity as the coastal forest of SCCA also fringes Darvel Bay," observed Muhammad Ali."As for the improvement towards SCCA, one thing that I noticed was that closer to the coast, the reefs were highly sediment but away from the coast line, the reefs were in better shape plus with higher biodiversity. One of the focus areas which I'm looking at during this expedition is to survey the outer reefs and look at the potential of extending the conservation area to include the outer reef into SCCA. This would ensure more biodiversity being protected under the purview of Yayasan Sabah Group," noted Muhammad Ali again."Just to share, the equipments that been used for my research work in this expedition were mainly limited to dive gear and underwater camera which were needed to record the various biodiversity during my dive. I am very happy to find new list of biodiversity here in Silam Coast. The list of biodiversity found in this area would be used to assess the health of the ecosystem as a whole," declared Muhammad Ali too.Dr. Rahimatsah from Sabah Environmental Trust (SET) who was doing research on eco– tourism potential too credited Yayasan Sabah Group's effort to gather such number of researchers in the expedition. According to him "I personally felt like looking at the little jigsaw together being patch up by the different group of scientists so that Yayasan Sabah Group have a better picture when they formulate the master plan."Partaking in the interview, Dr. Rahimatsah said, "SCCA has a great potential for future conservation which is worthy to be considered. As we can see, the scientist activities here now will create awareness among policy makers in the state. It is also important to the community for schools to run an education and awareness programme that provides a platform for them and also for recreational used.""Significantly, this awareness can also be potentially revenue generating for the state and also agencies managing it because this place can attract recreational visitors from within and outside the state," asserted Dr. Rahimatsah."It was exemplary effort by Yayasan Sabah Group to run their long term vision of protecting and managing SCCA. Yayasan Sabah Group is also very efficient because it has experience managing Danum Valley, Maliau Basin and Imbak Canyon," Dr. Rahimatsah said.Looking at improvement to SCCA, Dr. Rahimatsah spoke on tightening safety issues. "With strong and better security measure or planning, more scientists will come to SCCA to do their research thus developing the possibility of extending SCCA into one of the must visit places under international tourism market," he elaborated.Prof. Dr. Junaenah Sulehan, Director, Institute of Borneo Studies, from University College Sabah Foundation (UCSF), had her social science research team focused on Social Environment Study. According to Prof. Dr. Junaenah, the unit of analysis was based on demographic and socio-economic profiling of the communities living within the vicinities of SCCA boundaries and on communities at the fringes of SCCA.When asked to share on her findings in this expedition, Prof. Dr. Junaenah explained "It is still an initial period to outline the conclusive findings. The raw data is being keyed-in and tabulations shall be completed soon." She added, "The collection of data was done through mix method which encompasses quantitative and qualitative approaches to input the primary data. Secondary data were sourced from materials obtained from the District Office, documents from village heads, books and journals. To share some preliminary ethnographic findings, the social dynamics of the SCCA are quite complex taking into account the influx of never ending migrants from outer islands."Prof. Junaenah also shared her concern by saying, "The implication and impact on conservation endeavours is anticipated to face complicated socio-cultural, political and economic challenges meaning, the implementation of affirmative policies by the state agencies are deem essential in particular land issues." Adding to this, she remarked, "Interventions at grassroots levels through community engagement, outreach programmes and conservation awareness have to be in place and actively involving the local population in SCCA."According to her, this multi-disciplinary research is pertinent to understand the existing socio-economic and environmental problems of the areas. "The approach taken by the team is holistic and shall be analysed further from several lenses. The findings shall complement the natural sciences and biodiversity research," she elaborated when enquired to convey her thoughts on the impact this research to the state, country and the world at large.Asserting her views on the importance of SCCA, Prof. Dr. Junaenah remarked that SCCA is very important for future generation considering the areas is rich in resources on land and sea."Future SCCA needs to be inclusive to the local population especially students and the communities. This is important so that locals are able to be part of the conservation programmes and development of the area for eco-tourism without destructing the eco-system," she hoped for the future of SCCA. She added, "Yayasan Sabah Group was excellent and on the right track in its effort preserving SCCA. But it is also important to include community engagement and inclusivity.""Both are very crucial to the eco-system. Scientifically I am not too familiar with the discipline of the forests, but in lay person's point of view, both kinds of forests are important to the sustenance of the livings (fauna, flora and Homo sapiens) and the cultural heritage of the people in these forests," Prof. Dr. Junaenah concluded.Dr. Elia Godoong, from University Malaysia Sabah had her research scope done on flora and forest rehabilitation/restoration. "My team and I were here to survey and document the terrestrial flora. We also estimated the carbon stock of the area other than doing phytososiology study and forest profiling of SCCA," Dr. Elia informed. "The SCCA encompasses marine and terrestrial forest. The terrestrial forest vegetation ranges from island, coastal and hill coastal forest, which also includes mangroves," she said. "We found some species natives to Borneo such as Osbornia octodonta which is uncommon. It is listed in IUCN Red List as least concern while a few other species such as Vatica pauciflora (Resak Rawa) is listed as critically endangered and Shorea guiso (Selangan Batu Merah), listed as endangered. These species are also very rare in SCCA," elaborated Dr. Elia on her findings during the expedition.She added, "While information from this survey may provide reference for ecologically useful species as well as species of special concern, sufficiently large range surveys are still required to gather more comprehensive information to identify conservation efforts toward biodiversity management and sustainability.""The scientific papers will provide us with data that will help us make informed decisions regarding the right course of action that should be taken to conserve the coast terrestrial," she added. According to her, preservation of biodiversity is not only local or national issue, indeed it is a global one. "Our interconnection with the rest of the world means that our contribution matters in the overall preservation of not only biodiversity but of humankind as well," she said."It is a symbiotic relationship which cannot be denied that urges us to preserve the environment. Finding the balance between increasing needs and wants and finite natural resources continues to challenge countries all over the world," remarked Dr. Elia.Having said that Dr. Elia also conveyed, "The arduous task of preservation can only succeed with the combined efforts and participation of government and non-governmental bodies, individuals, mass media and not forgetting the local people in-situ.""SCCA to me is important to generate and transfer the knowledge to support the sustainable use and protection of the marine environment through innovative world-class scientific and technological research. Its marine territory is yet to be fully explored and understood. There are many scientific challenges in SCCA extensive waters and many rewards for pursuing them," she said. "Based on the list, few species are listed in the IUCN Red List viz: Vatica pauciflora from Dipterocarpaceae family, which was reported to be critically endangered which may require a combination of sound research and some conservation attention," asserted Dr. Elia.Dr. Elia credited Yayasan Sabah Group and said, "Kudos and great work by Yayasan Sabah Group in showing interest towards the importance of the conservation management of protected areas in the new millennium. The conservation of SCCA is also important for its surrounding marine life and its forest growth. The trees in SCCA acts a gene bank for some rare tropical timber trees and the waters of SCCA is rich with coral and sea-grass, both important for biodiversity functioning ecosystem. Other than that, SCCA is an extension of the whole Darvel Bay coasts, its value as a vacation spot is high."According to her, SCCA is a very good place to be developed as a tropical marine ecosystems functioning research centre. However, she said for SCCA to be developed as a research centre, its facilities need improvement."Among them are engineering workshops for the development of instrumentation required for research activities. Perhaps a modern chemistry, biology, microbiology, oceanography and remote sensing laboratories, a range of analytical facilities including a sophisticated bio molecular analysis facility, the new high-tech Great Barrier Reef Ocean Observing System, seawater aquaria and controlled environment rooms besides a microbiological and genetic research facility," she explained."Also needed are weather stations deployed at various terrestrial and marine locations, a bio resource library, an aquaculture centre and an X-band satellite receiver," when asked to comments what future improvement she wants to see for SCCA.She also mentioned the importance to have other facilities such as scientist accommodation, communication system, good road condition besides human capacity building. 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