Probe into claims of illegal logging in Lower K'batangan
Published on: Thursday, November 12, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Forestry Department will investigate reports of illegal activities within Lower Kinabatangan. Its Director Datuk Sam Mannan on Wednesday said he was unaware of such activities but vowed to send men to the area to investigate if such claims are true. "I'm not aware of that (logging). This is the first time I have heard such things are happening. The area is mostly swamps, apart from the wildlife sanctuary and about six small forest reserves.
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"But we will look into it. I will get my men to check on this report," he said. Mannan said this following reports received by a conservation and research group Danau Girang Field Centre that activities threatening wildlife are happening near the sanctuary. "Not logging but I have heard of wildlife poaching near the area," he said. On Tuesday, DGFC Director Dr Benoit Goosens said they have found traces of illegal logging activities in the form of tree stumps and poaching from camera trap pictures of hunters were found in the Kinabatangan.
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Sabah Wildlife officers patrolling the area said they saw the same signs within lot 5 and lot 6 of the Lower Kinabatangan, near the field centre. The Heart of Borneo is a conservation agreement initiated by the World Wide Fund for Nature to protect a 220,000 sq km forested region on Borneo island that was known as Asia's last great rainforest.
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It was signed by the governments of Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia in Bali on Feb 12, 2007 to support the initiative.Earlier, the department paid RM12 million to the State government from the sale proceeds of Deramakot log sales auction of Forest Stewardship Council certified timbers. This represents a profit margin of 80 per cent, according to the department, he said, adding that this income will further grow in years to come. Meanwhile, a tree from the family of Myrtaceac has been named after the Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman. A mock cheque was handed to Musa by Mannan during the opening of the International Conference on the Heart of Borneo. Tristaniopsis musa-amanii grows in primary lower mountain forest on ridges of ultramafic soil and is found in Kampung Nalumad in Ranau. The tree measures 10 metres tall and 20cm in diameter, with white bark and produces flowers with yellowish stamens and creamy white petals.Mannan also said forest fires in Sabah are now under control, stating that Sabah only lost around 2,000ha to 3,000ha from the same area of forests each year. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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