CONSERVATION and economic development are not mutually exclusive, and Sabah can achieve both by balancing biodiversity protection with sustainable agricultural production, especially in the palm oil sector, said WWF-Malaysia (Sabah).
Its Head of Conservation, Rebekah Jumin (pic), said WWF-Malaysia sees itself as a bridge between forest conservation and the oil palm industry, working closely with industry players to promote sustainable practices while safeguarding the state’s rich biodiversity.
“We see ourselves as looking at a balanced conservation with sustainable development, where we work hard with the industry to support moving towards sustainability.”
She said speaking during the Forestry and Nature-positive Food Economy session at the Sabah Asia Pacific Impact Investing for Sustainable Development Summit 2026, here, recently.
Rebekah said the organisation fully supports Sabah’s vision of ensuring that by 2030, the State’s biodiversity, ecosystem services and agricultural systems are valued, protected and responsibly managed, while remaining climate-resilient and benefiting both people and nature.
“As a Sabahan, I really subscribe to this vision, that by 2030, Sabah’s biodiversity, ecosystem services and agricultural system are valued, protected and responsibly managed, are climate resilient, and bring benefit to both people and nature,” she said.
Although WWF-Malaysia views the whole of Sabah as one landscape, Rebekah said conservation efforts are prioritised in two key areas – the Tawau-Kunak Landscape and the Tabin Landscape – under its Living Landscape Approach.
She said the organisation is also committed to protecting biodiversity within Sabah’s portion of the Heart of Borneo, while supporting efforts to reconnect fragmented forests through ecological corridors.
“The idea is to reconnect forests so wildlife can continue moving between habitats, ensuring healthy populations and improving their resilience to climate change,” she said.
Rebekah said WWF-Malaysia’s conservation work centres on protecting critical habitats, particularly Sabah’s forests and mangroves, which support the State’s extraordinary biodiversity.
She said that Sabah currently has around 63 per cent forest and tree cover, while accounting for 60 per cent of Malaysia’s mangrove forests, making the State one of the country’s most important natural strongholds.
She said the organisatioon also focuses on conserving flagship wildlife species whose protection would indirectly safeguard entire ecosystems, including the Borneon orangutan, Borneon elephant, banteng (Tembadau) and pangolin.
Rebekah warned that scientists believe the banteng could become “the next rhino” if no intervention is taken, highliting the urgency of conservation efforts.
She also concern over illegal wildlife trade, describing pangolinsas among the world’s most heavily trafficked mammals and noting that Sabah has previously been used as a transit point for large-scale international wildlife smuggling.
The Bornean elephant, meanwhile, continues to face threats from poaching for its tusks, with recent incidents of beheaded elephants raising concerns that they may be linked to the illegal ivory trade.
However, she stressed that conservation ultimately extends beyond protecting wildlife.
“We want all these interventions to benefit not just our wildlife and habitats, but also the people that rely on them critically,” she said.
She said that WWF-Malaysia implements its conservation work through the living Landscape Approach, which is built on three pillars – Protect, Produce and Restore.
Rebekah said the approach complements Sabah’s environmental commitments, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Malaysia’s mandatory Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) certification, the State’s target of maintaining at least 50 per cent forest cover and 30 per cent protected areas, as well as its ambition to achieve 100 per cent Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification by 2030.
She added that WWF-Malaysia’s work in Sabah also forms part of the Asia Sustainable Palm Oil Link, a regional initiative involving Malaysia, Indonesia, China, India, Singapore and the United Kingdom to promote sustainability throughout the global palm oil supply chain.
“We want to bring buyers from China and India to Sabah to see how sustainable production looks at the landscape level.
“We want them to be motivated and inspired by what we are doing here, that we are doing good,” she said.
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