Kota Kinabalu: Three rapid response teams (RRTs) have been fully trained to fight wildlife crime in Sabah – thanks to a RM3.8 million allocation from Yayasan Sime Darby, with an additional RM250,000 grant from the Finance Ministry last year.
The teams, set up under the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) and Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC), comprise 16 rangers and a commander recruited from various districts, including Semporna, Ranau, Lahad Datu, Kinabatangan and Tenom.
The RRTs are trained to quickly respond to alerts, conduct operations and support the development of investigations as part of conservation efforts outlined under the Sabah State Action Plan for the Bornean banteng, Sunda clouded leopard, proboscis monkey and Bornean elephant, among others.
DGFC Director Prof Benoit Goossens said the effort to create RRTs was also in line with commitments put in place for the conservation of wildlife under the state action plan launched in 2019 and 2020.
“We started in 2020 with the creation of an Intelligence Unit and a Forensic Unit for the SWD, funded by the US State Department.
“Now, the idea of the RRT is to increase the capacity and effectiveness of SWD in rapidly responding to wildlife poaching, trafficking and illegal wildlife trade in Sabah,” said Goossens.
“The emphasis will be on tackling (crimes with online components) and in protecting key areas in Sabah such as the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary and Tabin Wildlife Reserve.
“The teams’ responses will be mainly dictated by analytical products developed by SWD’s Intelligence Unit and by other monitoring systems,” he added.
SWD Director Augustine Tuuga said the department hired a commander and an assistant commander and held a two-day selection course in Ranau for 39 Sabahans, 19 of whom were selected for three intensive training sessions in the Tabin Wildlife Reserve late last year.
This included wildlife warden training, first aid and forest rescue, tree climbing, self-defence/hand-to-hand combat and counter-poaching operations.
He said 15 rangers were hired by SWD, with 12 patrolling in and around the Tabin Wildlife Reserve and three based in Kota Kinabalu to support the Intelligence Unit and respond to wildlife crime.
“Six of the rangers based in Tabin will eventually be moved to the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary,” Tuuga said, adding that he hoped the rangers will become civil servants and incorporated within SWD when the three-year programme ends.
Yayasan Sime Darby Chief Executive Officer Dr Yatela Zainal Abidin said they were working with SWD and DGFC to combat wildlife poaching and trafficking.
The RRT teams mean additional boots on the ground for improved intelligence and response to crime, said Yatela.
“With the increase in poaching and wildlife trafficking, our most treasured yet endangered flora and fauna are threatened to the brink of extinction.
“We do not want a repeat of the tragedy that befell our Sumatran rhinoceros, which was driven to extinction due to the demand for its horn.
“Through this important government-led initiative with a renowned wildlife research and conservation centre like DGFC, we hope to eradicate poaching activities and ensure the survival of our national treasures in Sabah,” Yatela said.
