sabah development corridor _168 CHAPTER 7 Embracing the Future by Conserving Age-Old Natural Endowment sabah development corridor _169 sabah development corridor _170 CHAPTER 7 Conserve and Protect the Environment for Future Generations Protecting the environment is one of the three principles of this Blueprint to enable sustainable growth in industries such as eco-tourism, agriculture and manufacturing, as well as to leverage Sabah’s biodiversity to flourish. In the case of Sabah, biodiversity is a vital asset and major natural endowment of the state. Here in the north of Borneo, the range of flora, fauna and coral life is one of the most extensive in the world. Clearly, maintaining the health of the environment through conservation of land, forests and biodiversity is vital to the SDC. Environmental monitoring, land-use planning, education and awareness, and mitigation measures to address possible environmental impacts are key areas of focus for managing the environment during the implementation of the SDC Blueprint. 7.1 Overview of Sabah’s Forest Reserves and Biodiversity Geographically, Sabah is fortunate to have two-thirds of its borders as coastline - over 1,440 km in length, with the South China Sea to the north-west, the Sulu Sea to the north-east and the Sulawesi Sea to the south-east. Apart from the mainland, Sabah also has over 497 islands36, including Malaysia’s only oceanic island, Sipadan Island. In terms of physical characteristics, Sabah has a rugged topography. It has cultivated coastal plains, while further inland it has forests and mountain ranges. A part of the state also features an enormous swampy, forest-covered flood plain along with the longest river, the Kinabatangan, which is dotted with ox-bow lakes and limestone outcrops, and contains the richest natural freshwater fisheries in Malaysia. 36 Jabatan Pemetaan Malaysia sabah development corridor _171 As of 2005, 59% of Sabah’s land mass was covered with forest. The composition of Sabah’s forest (known as forest estate) is listed in Figure 7.1. The forest of Sabah is classified into seven classes. The Class II Commercial Forest Reserve (or Production Forest) has the largest hectarage (2.7 million hectares), followed by Class I Protection Forest Reserve and Class V Mangrove Forest Reserve. Figure 7.1: Permanent Forest Estate in Sabah (2007*) Permanent Forest Estate in Sabah (2007) 132,653 Hectares 92,401 7,355 21,284 320,522 2,682,636 3,604,867 348,016 Protection Commercial Domestic Amenity Mangrove Virgin Wildlife Total forest forest forest forest forest forest reserve reserve reserve reserve reserve reserve reserve Class I Class II Class III Class IV Class V Class VI Class VII Note: *Includes areas to be gazetted as PFE Source: Forestry Department Sabah In terms of biodiversity, there have been numerous research studies conducted to determine the status of Sabah’s biodiversity in the past three decades. Table 7.1 details some of the works initiated pertaining to this subject matter. sabah development corridor _172 Table 7.1: List of Authors and their Research on Sabah’s Flora and Fauna No. Authors Number of Research Items Species 1. Van Steenis (1950), Kiew (1984), 10,000 – 20,000 Flowering plants (represent Mat Salleh et al., (1992) 5-6% of the world’s total) 2. Payne et al., (1985) 220 Wild land mammals 3. Otsuka (1988) 900 Butterflies 4. Rajaratnam (1997) 449 Birds 5. Inger and Chin (1990) 155 Freshwater fishes 6. Inger and Stuebing (1997) 140 Frogs 7. Inger and Tan (1996) 145 Snakes 8. Thapa (1981) 103 Termites 9. Beaman and Beaman (1990) 4,000 Vascular plants Source: IDS (1998) ”Sustainable Utilisation of Non-Timber Forest Products: Issues and Prospects” Sabah’s rich flora and fauna must be protected for future generations. sabah development corridor _173 7.2 Key Challenges As the state develops, a number of critical challenges will impact the stability of the environment in Sabah. The environment will continue to be strained if economic development is not planned with sustainability in mind. On the outset, the key challenges that need to be tackled include: sustainable harvesting of natural resources (especially timber), lack of integrated approach to conservation, habitat fragmentation, inadequate wastewater treatment systems, pollution from industries and absence of statutory regulation on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). 7.2.1 Sustainable Utilisation and Harvesting of Natural Resources Forest Activities For the last three decades, the volume of logs extracted from the natural forest has been far greater than the natural timber regeneration rate. This conventional practice has over time reduced the raw material supplies to feed downstream industries, resulting in the substantial closure of various timber processing mills throughout the state. Mindful of the issue, the Sabah Government has taken a positive step by embarking on a sustainable forest management policy where only the tree growth volume is extracted from the forest. Following a lengthy effort and substantial amount of investment, Deramakot Forest Reserve was certified and internationally recognised as the first natural forest managed in a sustainable manner. Moving forward, more forests would be harvested based on the Deramakot model to encourage sustainability. Fishery Activities Related to the excessive harvesting of natural resources is the need to contain the risks of excessive fishing which impacts the sustainable development of the aquaculture industry. This has a direct impact on the fishery industry resulting in the need for the Sabah State to import fish, with an associated loss in foreign exchange and reduction in food security. The use of destructive fishing methods such as small-sized nets, illegal pump boats, fishing using electricity and poison, encroachment of medium-sized trawlers on inshore waters and incidental catching of endangered marine species such as dugong and turtles are urgent issues confronting Sabah’s fishing industry. Environmental protection efforts will continue to focus on prevention against incidental catching of endangered marine species and illegal, destructive fishing methods such as fish bombing which destroys precious coral reefs. sabah development corridor _174 Agriculture Activities The development of industrial crop plantations such as oil palm, if unregulated in the absence of systematic management, will have significant bearing on the environment. Oil palm plantations located too close to a river system and road side, without proper provision for riparian and buffer zones, would result in environmental impact such as riverbank erosion, surface water run-off with fertilisers and herbicides flowing into the river system, water pollution and loss of riverine biodiversity. In some cases, fragmented development of agriculture activities without proper planning and management could result in habitat fragmentation which is a threat to wildlife movement and survival. The absence of a riparian reserve or buffer zone along river systems is a threat to wildlife communities inhabiting the river ecosystem. Irresponsible agricultural development has in the past extended up to the riverbanks. In addition, open burning activity on private land adjacent to forest reserves and land clearance adds to biodiversity loss. Swamp and Mangrove Areas The biggest threat to swamp and mangrove areas is the complete clear felling of tracts of the swamp especially along the coastline and along the river banks. Activities resulting in such clearing include (a) property development by reclamation of swamps; (b) aquaculture in earthen ponds; (c) bunding and draining of swamps for the planting of oil palm; and (d) resort development where construction is extended to the edge of the river bank. During the SDC implementation period, there will be systematic planning against future loss of biodiversity in terms of terrestrial (including forest and peat swamp) and marine (including mangroves) biodiversity. Biodiversity on land in Sabah is contained in the forest37. Thus, every hectare of forest converted to alternative land-use may result in loss of biodiversity from that hectare. In the past, repeated logging has resulted in the loss of biodiversity, in favour of weedy “pioneer” plants. It is fortunate that no species has yet become extinct in Sabah, but there have been historical losses of intra-species genetic diversity. Some plants and invertebrate animal species most sensitive to disturbances are likely to drift to extinction in the absence of active forest restoration efforts. This is an area that will be mitigated through the SDC plan. 37 Several different types including (lowland dipterocarp forests, hill dipterocarp forests, conifer forests, lower montane forests, upper montane forests, peat swamp forests, freshwater swamp forests, kerangas forests, kerapah forests, transitional forests, mangrove forests and forests on ultrabasic soils). sabah development corridor _175 7.2.2 Industrial Pollutants (‘Brown’ Environmental Issues) Aside from the ‘green’ environmental issues highlighted in the previous section, there are several key risks in terms of the ‘brown’ environment which are associated with industrial development. Programmes will be designed to mitigate these risks which include inter alia: • Enhancing the treatment of palm oil mill effluent (POME) by providing incentives for companies to adopt cleaner technologies • Enforcing requirements for buffer zones on rivers near plantation estates • Strengthening DOE monitoring stations along major rivers in Sabah