Kalabakan’s free-roaming elephants can be tourism draw: Liew
Published on: Saturday, September 16, 2023
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World Elephant Day falls on August 12 every year. It was founded and started by the late Patricia Sims (a Canadian filmmaker who produced documentaries on nature and conservation, and the interrelationships between humans and animals), together with the King and Queen of Thailand.
KALABAKAN: The Kalabakan District has huge potential to be a tourism destination capable of attracting foreign tourists, says State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew.
She said this is especially so, with the relocation of the Indonesian capital to Kalimantan.
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“Notably, Bornean elephants are the main attraction in the tourism industry in Sabah through various tourism products that focus on wildlife.
There are several tourist spots that offer unique experiences in Sabah such as the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, the Tabin Wildlife Reserve, the Danum Valley Conservation Area and the Maliau Basin.
“However, I was informed that in Kalabakan, we can also see elephants roaming freely.
If we are all united in our desire to care for and protect Borneo elephants in this area, it is not impossible that Kalabakan will become one of the attractive tourist destinations where visitors can see this species and thus boost eco-tourism here.
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This is a valuable legacy that we can pass on to our future generations,” Liew said in her address in conjunction with the 2023 State-level World Elephant Day celebration at Dewan Terbuka, Kalabakan District Office, here, Friday.
It was jointly organised by the Sabah Wildlife Department (JHL) and Kalabakan District Office.
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The text of her speech was read by the Ministry’s Principal Senior Assistant Secretary Murad Abdul Rashid.
World Elephant Day falls on August 12 every year. It was founded and started by the late Patricia Sims (a Canadian filmmaker who produced documentaries on nature and conservation, and the interrelationships between humans and animals), together with the King and Queen of Thailand.
The 2023 World Elephant Day Awareness Tour Programme kicked off last July 24 with focus on school students and teachers in the Tawau District; a meeting with the community in Tongod; and Elephant Day Festival in the Beluran District.
It is estimated that more than 2,640 participants have attended and followed the programme.
This large participation, Liew said, fulfils the objective of this year’s celebration, which is to spread the message of public awareness regarding the protection of elephants against critical threats, and to accord appreciation to all conservation partners active in the conservation of Bornean elephants.
In Sabah, the Bornean elephant (scientific name is Elephas maximus borneensis) is a mammal that is categorised as endangered wildlife in the Red List, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
To show the State Government’s commitment to the protection of this species, the Minister said the protection status of the Bornean elephant was raised from a Protected Animal to a Fully Protected Animal in 2013 under the Wildlife Conservation Enactment, 1997.
Quoting statistics, she said, in Sabah, it is estimated that there are approximately 1500 elephants, which are found in forest habitat areas in the Central and East Coast of Sabah.
“The Borneo elephant population is highly threatened by extinction due to several factors. One of the main factors is the shrinking of suitable habitat areas for elephants due to land use changes in Sabah.”
It was pointed out that many cases of elephant death that occur in Sabah are closely related to the problem of conflict between elephants and humans, especially in areas of plantations and human settlements.
At this juncture, the Minister said the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment (KePKAS) through the Sabah Wildlife Department (JHL) has implemented a short-term and long-term management plan in line with the Bornean Elephant Action Plan (2020-2029) to safeguard the sustainability of the Bornean elephant population and the well-being of the people.
“This is because elephants are animals that need a wide area in their movements to find food and live their ecological lives,” she added.
Liew noted that this year, various efforts and programmes have been implemented in tandem with the Borneo Elephant Action Plan.
Among those efforts are: Identifying suitable areas for elephant wildness and elephant corridors; Improvement of the standard operating procedure (SOP) for human-elephant conflict mitigation activities; Comprehensive training to local communities to deal with elephant-human conflict; Establishment of volunteer groups among local communities to help escort elephants out of areas facing such conflict; Improvement of the elephant enclosure facility in the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park; Technical training of elephant keepers for elephants in captivity, in Indonesia; and Elephant conservation education programme.
In line with the 2023 World Elephant Day theme “Safeguarding Elephant Habitats for a Sustainable Tomorrow,” Liew stressed that it is appropriate to take into account the importance of these elephant
movement routes to reduce threats to agricultural crops and plantations by creating wildlife corridors and effective conflict mitigation methods.
According to her, various efforts have been made to reduce the effects of elephant disturbance and prevent elephants from entering plantations and agricultural areas.
These include creating an elephant corridor, building and maintaining electric fences, and planting food sources for elephants in suitable areas.
Director of JHL, Augustine Tuuga, was represented by his deputy, Roland Oliver Niun.
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