MPOB scheme, projects spell doom

Kota Kinabalu: Elephants falling into abandoned man-made pits and unable to come out alive as happened in Lahad Datu last week resulting in seven deaths may pale in comparison to what is in store for these gentle giants and other iconic Sabah wildlife. More crucial wildlife corridors in Lower Kinabatangan may be destroyed under a new wave of forest clearing being planned for more oil palm planting and plans to build a bridge and highway in their jungle habitat.

Specifically, more deforestation is coming up around Sukau, Lower Kinabatangan, Sabah's world renowned river wildlife eco-tourism destination, an NGO source claims.

"This time MPOB (Malaysian Palm Oil Board) is giving generous grants to villagers to plant oil palm," the source said.

MPOB is allegedly giving RM9,000 per hectre to land owners in Sukau to clear remaining forests for oil palm planting between the Pangi Forest Reserve and Lot 3 of the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, in anticipation of the new Sukau bridge," he claimed.

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In addition, Malbumi, an oil palm company, is reportedly planning to clear forests for oil palm between Lot 1 and the Pangi Forest Reserve in Kinabatangan," the conservationist further claimed.

"This is a crucial corridor although it is located outside the 25,102-hectre Wildlife Sanctuary," he added.

Conservation scientists have raised deep misgivings about the proposed construction of the Sukau bridge and by extension, a sealed highway to Lahad Datu which would cut through Lot 3 of the Wildlife Sanctuary and jeopardise the long term survival of the 350-strong herd of Bornean elephants that are very popular with tourists.

Currently, Lot 3 is intersected by a narrow dirt road with very low lorry traffic which the elephants don't mind crossing to go either downstream to Abai or to go upstreams while Orangutan nests are ubiquitous on the canopy of mature trees on the edges of the gravel road.

Conservationists fear that the bridge and subsequent busy traffic from a new highway will effectively put an end to the Kinabatangan Corridor of Life and prospects of ever restoring an already very severely fragmented wildlife corridor vital for the perpetuation of its world famous biodiversity.

Both the Sabah Orangutan Action Plan and also the Sabah Elephant Plan recommend against major infrastructures such as major bridges and roads across the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary.

A recent survey on 346 international tourists visiting the Kinabatangan by Australia's Murdoch University found that the iconic wildlife in terms of elephants, orang utans, proboscis monkeys, among others, were the main reason they took the trouble to come to the Kinabatangan.

It was carried out on the invitation of Kinabatangan-Corridor of Life Tourism Operation Association (Kita), jointly with University Malaysia Sabah (UMS), BIMP-EAGA Tourism Development Unit and co-sponsored by the Sabah Tourism Board.

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Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Pang Nyuk Ming said various efforts should be done, including ensuring newly opened plantations and existing ones are environment friendly.

Speaking in response to the death of the pygmy elephants near a timber camp in Rinukut, Tawau, who were stuck inside an abandoned quarry pit for over a week, he said: "Elephants move in groups in their habitat and we cannot assume that elephants can read their routes, elephants will search for food in areas which they are used to," he said.

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