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THREE Sundays ago, we pushed the 3P idea: People must win; Planet Earth must win and Profit (Business) must win simultaneously from every economic activity, arguing that it would help rid non-stop environmental conflicts between common-folks, NGOs and developers, when development makes every body better off and no body worse off.The reason for less friction is the from a 3P policy makes developers think beyond just a narrow self serving Profit bottom line and put People and Planet Earth into the picture.

The problem is many mainstream environment consultants remain resistant to the concept, argue that the wins for all from a 3P policy is impossible to achieve.

So they still insist on the old 'balanced development' concept, at a recent environment policy workshop here, for instance.

But Nestle International has already put the Triple Win operational practices to work here in Sabah, in its year-old Project RiLeaf, in Lower Kinabatangan, with heart-warming progress so far.

'Ri' doubles up for 'river' and 'riparian'.

'Leaf' stands for 'greening' and 'planting'.

So RiLeaf stands for greening and planting the riparian reserves of Lower Kinabatangan.

Project RiLeaf is founded on a determined resolve to make it come true the Vision of Kinabatangan Corridor of Life (KCOL), which the WWF-Malaysia started years ago.

"The whole thing about Project RiLeaf is to bring relief to the Kinabatangan River from heavy sedimentation, chemical fertilisers, degraded and broken riparian forests," Yong told Malaysian journalists on a site visit early last week.

Project RiLeaf is brand new.

And very refreshing too, because it is multi-purpose.

For decades, WWF-Malaysia has been active in Lower Kinabatangan with Partners for Wetlands.

When they called it a day in 2010, it left behind a brilliant Vision or KCOL aimed at reconnecting fragmented forests and very good infrastructure.

In 2011, Nestle International, the biggest food company in the world, picked up from where WWF had left, and appointed veteran commercial scale planter and agronomist Yong Lee Keng, Manager, Agricultural Services, Nestle Manufacturing (M) Sdn Bhd, to initiate and oversee Project RiLeaf.

Appointing hands-on veterans to ensure success

The entire KCOL covers some 32,000 hectares of riparian reserves, said Kertijah Abdul Kadir, Project RiLeaf co-ordinator who is based in Sukau with an office and Information Centre at the Sukau Greenview Bed & Breakfast lodge.

But to get the mission started and established, Project RiLeaf targets just 2,400 hectares with an eye for success, for exemplary purposes, then get as many acts together as possible to upscale the greening and replanting.

Yong, a hands-on agronomist who once worked in a 32,000-ha estate, assures us the result oriented working style at Nestle International.

"At Nestle, we do first and then talk, we don't talk before we do.

We make sure what we do is real, effective and works, " he stressed.

People win - locals get planting contracts

"As WWF recommended we put in 12 to 15 species - all native trees of Kinabatangan, all fast growing, some fruit tress for wildlife, all pioneer species, no timber dipterocarps so far but it's multi-purpose," Yong explained.

So far, it has already planted 113,000 trees, with an estimated 30 per cent mortality rate but the target is to reduce it to 20%.

Project RiLeaf has quickly benefited a variety of local people, such as members of KAPOK (Kamuniti Anak Pokok Kinabatangan) who got contracts from Nestle to set up nurseries, then a group of local service providers called Habitat Enterprise, Eco Hijau and Mescot contracted to demarcate planting plots, transportation and planting seedlings produced by PAKOK.

All in , Nestle is spending about RM700,000 to RM800,000 on them a year, not forgetting giving Kertijah continued employment after WWF had left.

So, People are already winning.

Beyond that, it gives strong focus to Planet Earth.

Project RiLeaf: People, Earth, Profit all win!

"Project RiLeaf is multi-purpose," Yong said.

"First, you improve and create a good buffer (up to 150m wide), then you try to reduce the contaminants of the river itself and the two main contaminants are sedimentation and the chemical fertiliser runoffs," he explained.

Profit wins also again because it is not antagonistic to oil palm.

It wished them well instead, only that they put into their operational practices that care about natural riparian vegetation.

"We are not saying, you don't grow oil palm, people still need to grow oil palm so that if oil palm people are there, every body sees the need to respect riparian reserves, this way you can reduce and solve a lot of damage," said Yong.

Resolved to put science into observed transformation, Yong said Nestle has actually commissioned UMS to study the use of microbes as an alternative to chemical fertilisers, because small holders in Tawau who have used this natural soil augmentation operational practice for five years reportedly found it improved both yields and biodiversity at also reduced costs!

"If five years down the road, there is an approach that can reduce chemical fertilisers by 80 percent and it's all backed by science, we hope these people may get interested and may start working on riparian and then, bit by bit, start using microbes to replace toxic chemicals so that the day will come when the source of contaminants on the Kinabatangan will come down," Yong sounded his hope.

First objective: Improve, create a good riparian buffer

"Project RiLeaf is a two-pronged thing. First, you create a good buffer to re-establish the natural filters to reduce the sedimentation, then you try to reduce the chemical runoffs," he explained.

Since a five-year test use of microbes in Tawau apparently improved soil fertility and yield, Planet is winning, since soil represents Planet Earth.

Profit or business is apparently winning since the practice of applying microbes is believed to have raised yield and reduced cost.

Since microbes are harmless, People win also because it lessens or spares workers from exposure to hazardous chemicals from the spraying of toxic weedicides.

It will take a long time to clean up the water quality of Kinabatangan but once the riparian reserves are raised back to a functional condition, it will be a big win for Planet Earth, Sabah and all its biodiversity that portrays Earth.