S AB YA AH MAJU JA

MALAYSIA SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY FOREST MANAGEMENT IN SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY FOREST MANAGEMENT IN SABAH

S AB YA AH MAJU JA Published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Malaysia.

© UNDP. All rights reserved.

First published January 2008.

ISBN 983-3904-06-8

United Nations Development Programme Wisma UN, Block C, Kompleks Pejabat Damansara, Jalan Dungun, Damansara Heights, 50490 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. www.undp.org.my

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The contents may be freely reproduced for non-commercial purposes with attribution to the copyright holders. Pictures and graphics are courtesy of UNDP. Maps are not authoritative on boundaries.

Design: Thumb-Print Studio Sdn Bhd. Foreword

orldwide, marginalized forest communities, mostly lacking the most elementary trappings of modern development, are among the most disadvantaged and underprivileged groups of people. Frequently W comprising indigenous people who are outside the mainstream of national economic and social life, they often live at a subsistence level that would be unacceptable to other rural and urban dwellers alike. For many such groups, the forests are crucial in enabling them to meet some or all of their basic needs through hunting-gathering or shifting cultivation. Although commonly regarded as unproductive, they provide environmental services important in combating climate change and protecting water sources, biodiversity, and the natural landscapes prized by the international community. Yet, despite having an important role in the conservation of natural resources, these groups encounter problems in preserving their lifestyles and maintaining access to the forests because of logging, clearing of forests for tree-crop plantations and other agricultural uses, as well as bureaucratic regulations that inhibit their survival. Assessed in terms of assets or incomes they often live in extreme poverty. The Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve Project was set up to assist one such group of people living in Sabah, the Orang Sungai, to make the most of the resources available to them and to establish cash crops and other activities that would help provide an income to meet the demands of their changing circumstances. The project is being undertaken jointly by UNDP and the Sabah Forestry Department over a period of 18 months. It is located in and adjacent to the Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve in the District of central Sabah. This district includes the western catchment of the Upper River, Sabah’s longest river, and constitutes an area of high ecological significance. The project focuses on four kampungs or villages occupied by Orang Sungai who are amongst the poorest inhabitants in the whole of Malaysia. These villages are extremely isolated, reached by river or unformed and disused logging tracks, and apart from a school, lacking in most community facilities and amenities, such as reticulated electricity, water, and sewage. Farming, including shifting cultivation, constitutes the primary occupation of the households. Most families cultivate upland rice in rotation with a few other crops. Under the project, upland rice is being complemented by the planting of rubber trees that in about five or six years’ time will provide a steady financial return. Finding alternative ways of earning an income is difficult because of the poor roads, lack of other infrastructure and the difficulty of accessing suitable markets. The project is promoting the objectives of the Ninth Malaysia Plan, 2006–2010, which aims to eradicate hardcore poverty and halve overall poverty throughout Malaysia by 2010. Under the Plan, new and improved institutional mechanisms and welfare programmes are being pursued specifically to eliminate rural poverty and to generate projects and economic opportunities in disadvantaged areas, such as central Sabah. This project is setting precedents by its grassroots approach, working directly with the communities especially women, to establish particular needs, determine aspirations, support agricultural enterprises, and promote cottage industries.

iii The UNDP and the Sabah Department of Forestry are cooperating on the Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve Project with the aim of bringing the problems encountered by forest communities to the fore and for them to be addressed in an integrated way as part of the state’s development agenda. The main objective is to help develop an enabling environment at the state and district levels to facilitate the implementation of community- based forestry involving greater participation of local communities in the sustainable forestry programme. Furthermore, concentration on these groups is providing a demonstration project for the development of rural impoverished groups in other parts of Malaysia and elsewhere around the globe. This volume is the fifth in a series of periodic publications that report on UNDP Malaysia’s work in its energy and environment practice area. The large range of projects being undertaken in this portfolio is designed to support Malaysia’s efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals 1 and 7, to eradicate poverty and ensure environmental sustainability. I would like to thank the Sabah Forestry Department and the State government of Sabah, for their support in implementing this project. I would especially like to thank members of the State Project Steering Committee and the stakeholders from Kg. Mangkuwagu, Alitang, Sagoun and Tampasak for their commitment to the project. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to all project participants and members of the Project Team as listed on page viii, led by Ms. Ginny Ng, for their commitment to the success of the project and for putting this publication together. I sincerely hope that it will be widely read and will increase awareness of the critical importance of community forestry and its role in providing alternative livelihoods for reducing extreme poverty.

Richard Leete PhD Resident Representative United Nations Development Programme Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei Darussalam

iv Contents

Foreword iii

Boxes, Tables, Figures and Map vi

Abbreviations and Acronyms vii

Participants viii

Outstanding Economic Success is Distributed 1 Unevenly Across Malaysia Introduction Population Growth 4 A Profile of Sabah The Economy The People The Incidence of Poverty Sabah’s Forests Forestry is a Major Natural Asset Sabah’s Forestry Policy Forest Reserves

Sustainable Forest Management 13 The Deramakot Forest Reserve Project Development of the Sabah government’s sustainable management strategy

Community Forestry in Sabah 16 Programmes of the Sabah Forestry Department The Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve Project What is the Purpose of the Project? Which Communities are Involved? Life in the Villages

Summary of the Key Issues of the Project 27 Progress So Far Complementary Projects

Lessons Learnt 33 Challenges

Sources of Information 34 Publications Internet Boxes, Tables, Figures and Map

Boxes Box 1 Forests in Malaysia

Box 2 Classification of Sabah’s forest reserves

Box 3 Planned key outputs of the project

Box 4 Education and literacy

Box 5 Small Grants Programmes

Tables Table 1 Population of Malaysia by region, 1957–2005

Table 2 Ethnic communities in Sabah

Table 3 Poverty rates in states with the highest rates, Malaysia 2004

Table 4 Poverty among ethnic groups in Sabah, 2004

Table 5 Summary of Sabah’s forest reserve classes by area

Table 6 Populations of the villages in the Mangkuwagu Project, March/May 2007

Figures Figure 1 Mean monthly household income per capita in Malaysia, 1985, 1990, 1999 and 2004

Figure 2 Importance of forest for different groups of people living or near them

Map Map 1 States and state capitals of Malaysia

Map 2 Forest reserves and other forest land in Sabah

Map 3 Tangkulap-Sg Pinangah forest development project FMU no. 17

Map 4 Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve and villages

vi Abbreviations and Acronyms

CBO Community-Based Organization SEARCA SEAMEO Regional Centre for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture DANCED Danish Corporation on Development and Environment SFD Sabah Forestry Department

DFR Deramakot Forest Reserve SFM Sustainable Forest Management

EC European Commission SFMLA Sustainable Forest Management Licence Agreement FAO Food and Agriculture Organization SGP Small Grants Programme FMP Forest Management Plan SGP PTF Small Grants Programme for Operations FMU Forest Management Unit to Promote Tropical Forests

GEF Global Environment Facility SGS Société Générale de Surveillance (global certification company) GRID Gana Resettlement and Integrated Development UNDP United Nations Development Programme

GTZ Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit German Agency for Technical Cooperation

HCVF High Conservation Value Forest

ITTO International Tropical Timber Organization

JFM Joint Forest Management

KFR Kelawat Forest Reserve

LIGS Lembaga Industri Getah Sabah (Sabah Rubber Industry Board)

NFC National Forestry Council

NGO Non-Governmental Organization

NLC National Land Council

PPM Projek Perhutanan Malaysia

SAFODA Sabah Forest Development Authority

vii Participants

Institutional Participants Executing Agency Natural Resource Office, Chief Minister’s Department, Sabah

Implementing Agency Sabah Forestry Department

State Project Steering Natural Resource and Environment Section, Committee Economic Planning Unit

UNDP/SFD Team National Project Director Mr Jeflus Sinajin, Head, Sustainable Forest Management Division, Sabah Forestry Department

Programme Manager Ms Ginny Ng, UNDP

Project Manager Mr Richard Taumas

Report Team Ms Ginny Ng UNDP Programme Manager

Mr Richard Taumas Project Manager

Professor Warwick Neville University of Auckland, Consultant

Stakeholders Sabah Forestry Department

District Office, Tongod

Sub-district of

Partners for Community Organisations (PACOS)

Sabah Rubber Industries Board (LIGS)

WWF-Malaysia

Villagers from: Kampung Mangkuwagu, Kampung Alitang, Kampung Saguon, and Kampung Tampasak

viii Outstanding Economic Success is Distributed Unevenly Across Malaysia

Introduction become a leading global manufacturer of Malaysia celebrated 50 years of electrical and electronic products. Further independence in 2007, by which time it had processing and manufacture of its achieved an enviable growth performance resource-based products had also that has led to rising prosperity, a growing expanded and the services sector has middle class, and high human development continued to expand and diversify. (Leete, 2007). At independence, Malaysia However, the benefits of economic had a number of favourable initial conditions growth are seldom evenly distributed for economic growth, including its physical across a country, particularly one as large geography, natural resources, and strategic as Malaysia. The most industrialized and location in Southeast Asia. Economic urbanized states, especially those with growth has been driven by high levels of well-developed physical infrastructure, domestic savings and investment together have benefited the most. The less with public investment in infrastructure and developed states that have remained the social sectors. largely rural have lagged behind on all In the decades since independence, economic and social indicators. On the Malaysia has experienced a major peninsula, the east coast and northern transformation of its economy. Up until the states, especially the agricultural, relatively 1970s, Malaysia was mainly a primary sparsely populated and predominantly producer of agricultural and mineral Malay states, have experienced limited products – the world’s leading exporter of industrialization and steady out migration. natural rubber, tin, and palm oil, and an Despite their rich and diverse natural important exporter of timber, natural gas, resources, Sabah and have and petroleum. By the late 1980s it had always been among the country’s least

1 MALAYSIA SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY FOREST MANAGEMENT IN SABAH

developed states. It is hardly surprising, then, that it is in the north and east of the peninsula and in the states of Sabah and Sarawak that substantial pockets of severe poverty continue to be found. In the late 1950s, almost three-quarters of the Malay population and the bulk of the indigenous communities in Sabah and Sarawak, earned their living in low-income occupations, through rubber or paddy farming, or through fishing. These activities productivity of rural households. Although were associated with small farms, high poverty has been primarily associated with rents, low yields, and low boat and net and indigenous groups, rural ownership. Rural poverty tended to Chinese and Indians have also been manifest itself in land fragmentation, affected, but because much larger extreme indebtedness, and chronic land proportions of both of these groups have tenancy problems that reinforced the been urban, the scale and severity have low nutrition, low education, and low generally been less.

Map 1 States and state capitals of Malaysia

THAILAND Kangar Kota Bahru PERLIS Alor Setar KEDAH Georgetown Kuala Terengganu PULAU Ipoh KELANTAN PINANG TERENGGANU South China Sea PERAK PAHANG Kuantan SELANGOR Kuala Lumpur LABUAN Putrajaya Seremban SABAH NEGERI SEMBILAN JOHOR MELAKA Miri S tr ai Johor Bahru t o f M ala cc International boundary a SINGAPORE Bintulu State (negeri) boundary State Capital Sibu SARAWAK Major Town North-South Highway N Kuching East-Cost Highway INDONESIA 0100200300KM

2 OUTSTANDING ECONOMIC SUCCESS IS DISTRIBUTED UNEVENLY ACROSS MALAYSIA

Malaysia’s poverty rate has declined Table 1 Population of Malaysia by region, 1957–2005 dramatically over the 50 years since independence, and the country is on the Year Peninsular Sabah Sarawak Malaysia verge of eliminating absolute poverty. In Malaysia 1957, more than half of Malaysia’s Number (000) households were living below the national 1957 6,278.8 410.5 693.2 7,382.5 poverty line, but by 2004, the national 1970 8,809.5 653.6 976.3 10,439.4 poverty rate was below 6 percent. Poverty 1980 11,426.6 1,011.0 1,307.6 13,745.2 among Chinese and Indians has almost 1991 14,797.6 1,863.7 2,071.5 18,379.7 been eradicated. But a degree of poverty, 2000 18,523.2 2,679.4 2,071.5 23,274.7 some of it described as hardcore, remains 2005 20,799.8 3,015.2 2,312.6 26,127.7 among pockets of rural Malays and especially among other indigenous Distribution (percent) groups, persisting in the same states as 1957 85.0 5.6 9.4 100 before, and demanding continuing efforts 1970 84.4 6.3 9.4 100 for its elimination. 1980 83.1 7.4 9.5 100 1991 80.5 10.1 9.3 100 Population Growth 2000 79.6 11.5 8.9 100 Population growth has been very uneven 2005 79.6 11.5 8.9 100 across Malaysia in the 50 years since independence, with a steady shift in the Average annual growth rate (percent) proportional distribution from Peninsular 1957–1970 2.6 4.7 2.6 2.7 Malaysia to East Malaysia. Throughout, 1970–1980 2.2 3.8 2.4 2.3 population growth rate has been highest in 1980–1991 2.4 5.6 2.5 2.6 Sabah, with numbers increasing from just 1991–2000 2.5 4.0 2.1 2.6 410,000 in 1960 to more than 3 million 2000–2005 2.3 2.4 2.2 2.3 in 2005. The share of Malaysia’s population living in Sabah doubled from 5.6 percent Source: Leete, 2007, Table 2.1 in 1957 to 11.5 percent in 2005. No other state in Malaysia has increased its share the declining timber industry, have become by such a magnitude. The relatively high Malaysian citizens. fertility of the indigenous communities has The consequence of these changes, and been augmented by very high levels of of similar trends in neighbouring Sarawak, international labour migration, both legal means that these much lesser developed and illegal, from neighbouring Indonesia East Malaysian states, which comprise 60 and the Philippines. With the passage of percent of the land area of Malaysia, now time, many of these labour migrants who account for just over 20 percent of generally work on the state’s extensive oil the country’s population, compared with palm plantations, and to a lesser extent in 15 percent 50 years ago.

3 A Profile of Sabah

The economy Sabah is sparsely populated, heavily forested over much of its land surface, and was relatively neglected until the later decades of the twentieth century. For the most part, alluvial plains are succeeded inland by undulating hill country and a sharply rising mountainous interior. The river valley flood plains and coastal plains form only a small proportion of the total area, but it is here that most of the state’s limited settlement, road and extensive river transport networks, and are by far the most severe in Sabah, which agriculture are concentrated. has experienced fairly modest growth rates Agricultural production has become in GDP compared to the national average, increasingly based on oil palm plantations and in relation to its rapid population and logging, and to a lesser extent on growth. With the passing of the peak of the rubber and other crops. Significant but timber boom of the 1970s to early 1990s, considerably diminished proportions of the lack of effective economic diversification, state remain under tropical forest, parts of and low investment, unemployment rates which are designated as national parks, and rose to about 6 percent in 2000–2005. the state’s outstanding biodiversity attracts Although Sabah’s oil palm industry is ecotourism and international scientific flourishing, it relies heavily on low-cost attention. Sabah has large oil and gas immigrant labour from Indonesia to reserves that are being utilized, but has maintain its competitive advantage. attracted only modest levels of investment Furthermore, especially because of weak beyond this sector and plantation governance, poverty-reducing programmes agriculture. The manufacturing sector is have been limited in outreach. very small and has tended to concentrate on natural resource-based industries. The people Despite remaining significantly less The people of Sabah are ethnically more developed than Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, diverse than the population of Peninsular like its fellow East Malaysian state, Sarawak, Malaysia. The indigenous people comprise has experienced a modest degree of many distinct groups with differing development progress in recent decades. characteristics and settlement patterns. The proportion of persons engaged in Some groups are similar in appearance agricultural occupations has declined as to Malays, to whom they are related, but urban areas have grown. Urbanization on a they have different dialects/languages and small scale has been concentrated in Kota religions. Although the indigenous groups Kinabalu and Sandakan. are not Malays, they too are classified as Nevertheless, compared with the other , or ‘sons of the soil’. states of Malaysia, poverty and inequality As on the peninsula, the composition of

4 A PROFILE OF SABAH

Table 2 Ethnic communities in Sabah

Community 1960 1970 1980 1991 2000 Malay 0.4 2.8 6.6 12.4 Kadazans/Dusuns 32.0 28.1 18.4 18.1 Bajaus 13.1 11.9 82.91 11.4 13.0 Muruts 4.9 4.7 2.9 3.2 Other Indigenous 20.0 23.0 14.5 14.9 Indonesians 5.5 6.0 7.6 no data Chinese 23.0 21.3 16.2 11.7 10.1 Others2 1.3 2.2 0.9 1.9 4.8 Non-Malaysian no data no data no data 24.9 23.5 citizens Total percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Total numbers 454.4 653.6 1,011.0 1,863.7 2,679.6

1 The 1980 census categorized all indigenous ethnic communities as Pribumi. 2 Before 1991, ‘Others’ included mainly Indians and others, such as Europeans, but from 1991 it also included Filipinos. Source: Leete, 2007, Table 2.4.

Sabah’s population has also been affected by immigration from southern China, from Sulawesi and Kalimantan in Indonesia, and from the islands of the southern Philippines. While some groups, such as the Chinese, are long established, Sabah’s expanding plantation sector is expected to continue to have a continuing demand and attraction for new migrant labour. The largest indigenous community, the Kadazans/Dusuns, are mainly Christians, in southern China, they are a more homo- and are present in significant numbers in genous group than the indigenous the towns as well as in traditional rural population, sharing a common written areas. The Bajaus, a predominantly Muslim language and culture, as well as similar community found on Sabah’s east and customs. Many of the Chinese, particularly the west coast, predominantly in , Hakka, the largest dialect group, were initially Petagas and , are primarily engaged farmers and estate labourers, but with in fishing and smallholding farming. The economic development they have increasingly Chinese mostly arrived during the period of engaged in commerce, industry and British colonial rule and are mainly located the service sector. The Chinese have long in and around the main urban areas. been more educationally and economically Although originating from several provinces advanced than the indigenous peoples.

5 MALAYSIA SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY FOREST MANAGEMENT IN SABAH

Mean monthly gross household income per capita in Malaysia, 1985, 1990, The incidence of poverty Figure 1 1999 and 2004 Malaysia’s poor are predominantly

concentrated in the states of Sabah, 1,400

Terengganu, Kelantan, Sarawak and Kedah 1,200 where 75 percent of Malaysia’s 300,000 1,000 households living below the national 800 poverty line were located in 2004. 600 The poor in the states with the highest 2004 poverty rates are relatively less accessible 400 and more disconnected from markets, 200 1985 0

less politically powerful, and generally do n a l i b

not even enjoy titled land rights. They m e S .

lack adequate human capital: adequate N education, good nutrition and good health, including reproductive health. Child poverty Source: Leete, 2007, Table 2.1. rates are high as a result of relatively Poverty rates in states with the highest high fertility levels among the poor rural Table 3 rates, Malaysia 2004 households, and the poor appear to be locked into an intergenerational State Poverty rate (%) cycle of poverty. Sabah 23 The rural indigenous communities in Terengganu 15 Sabah and Sarawak are the country’s Kelantan 11 most impoverished groups, despite the Sarawak 8 abundance of natural resource wealth, Kedah 7 including oil and gas, in these two states. Malaysia 5.7 These communities have not benefited noticeably from the New Economic Policy’s Source: Leete, 2007, p.147. affirmative action provisions (Leete, 2007). Large public sector investments are decline. This can largely be attributed to its needed, especially in rural electrification more unequal income distribution, its higher and other physical infrastructure. Such incidence of hardcore and rural poverty, and investments, coupled with improved the less developed state of its economy. education and health facilities, would help Poverty levels exceed 20 percent among create decent employment opportunities virtually all of Sabah’s indigenous ethnic and contribute towards eradicating groups, and are commonly above 30-40 extreme poverty in these communities. percent (Table 4). With an incidence of over Few Chinese households are below the 41 percent, the Orang Sungai are among poverty line in Sabah. the poorest in Sabah, and are still The most striking feature of poverty in characterised by a large element (over 10 Sabah is its persistent high level and slow percent) of hardcore poverty.

6 A PROFILE OF SABAH

Poverty defined

There is a long tradition of measuring and monitoring absolute poverty in Malaysia. This is defined by reference to a threshold poverty line income (PLI) based on the minimum standard of living a household ought to enjoy in terms of an index based on (1) food and (2) non-food components. The proportion of households living below this threshold PLI determines the poverty rate. Households are deemed to be living in hardcore poverty if their total income is Sabah’s Forests below the food component of the PLI. Hardcore poverty is acute in rural Sabah. About 4.45 million hectares or 60 percent of Sabah is currently under forest cover. In recent decades, forests have provided an Table 4 Poverty among ethnic groups in Sabah, 2004 important source of revenue for the state, contributing in excess of 50 percent of the Ethnic group Incidence Share of Poverty Incidence state total from the 1970s through to the of poor severity of hardcore early 1990s. This heavy reliance on forests poverty households index poverty to contribute to the welfare and (%) (%) (%) (%) development of the state has resulted in Rungus 58.2 1.6 8.8 19.3 about 93 percent of the production forest Orang Sungai 41.1 6.5 5.2 10.2 reserves now being cutover or under Sulu/Suluk 35.3 4.8 4.7 9.0 secondary forest. Timber production, the Murut 34.3 3.3 6.7 14.3 main source of revenue from the forest, Bajau 33.7 19.2 4.4 9.7 plummeted from a high of about 12 million Other Bumiputera 31.7 10.7 4.1 7.4 cubic metres (m3) in the early 1980s to Tidong 30.6 1.8 4.0 10.0 about 5.9 million m3 in 2006: 5.3 million m3 Kadazan/Dusun 27.7 24.1 4.0 9.2 from natural forest and 0.6 million m3 from Malay 20.1 13.3 1.5 2.6 plantation forest. In 2006, total forest Other 20.1 0.9 2.7 5.7 revenue was RM505 million, contributing 17.5 0.8 1.0 0 22.3 percent of Sabah’s total revenue, and Chinese 3.1 2.2 0.2 0.3 generating about 47,200 jobs. Continued declines in timber production are Source: Kwok, 2007, Table 2.18. anticipated over the next five years, further reducing the contribution of forest revenue greater profitability through sustainable to the expanding development needs of forest management practices. This is the state. consistent with the national commitment to While the state government is currently achieve the International Tropical Timber undertaking measures to develop Organization’s Objective ‘to implement a alternative sources of revenue, it is also strategy for achieving exports of tropical committed to rectifying this deteriorating timber and timber products from forestry situation, and returning the forest to sustainably managed sources’.

7 MALAYSIA SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY FOREST MANAGEMENT IN SABAH

Forestry is a Major Natural Asset Malaysia, as a federation of states, has three main levels of government: federal, state and local authority, and each of these has specified areas of jurisdiction. Two of the important matters in which the states have a high degree of autonomy are land and forestry. Article 74 (2) of the Federal Constitution confers on each state government the authority to independently enact laws or to formulate forest policy. Federal departments have authority only over such matters as forestry research, training and allocation of technical assistance to the states. To optimize standardization in the formulation and implementation of national policies on forestry, a National Forestry Council (NFC) was established by the National Land Council (NLC). The NLC had been established under Article 91 of the Constitution to formulate national policies each state. However, since 1992, the NLC for the promotion and control of the has taken a more direct, if limited, Defining ‘forests’ utilization of land throughout the country for interventionist interest in forestry matters. The official definition of mining, agriculture, forestry and other A National Forestry Act had been ‘forest’ adopted in Malaysia land uses. gazetted in 1984 and adopted for differs from the Food and The objective of the NFC is to coordinate implementation by the states of Peninsular Agriculture Organization the planning, management and develop- Malaysia, providing for the establishment (FAO) definition which ment of forest resources and to guide and protection of Permanent Forest excludes areas under programmes for management, production, Estates. This Act was amended in 1993, agricultural crops (such as industrial development, utilization and in an effort to curb the rising incidence rubber and oil palm). In conservation of Malaysia’s forests. It also of offences against forestry regulations. Malaysia, however, the serves as a forum for the federal and state However, the states of Sabah and areas under rubber and governments to discuss and resolve Sarawak had their own, independent other tree crops are issues pertaining to forestry policies, legislation, and have followed autonomous frequently regarded as administration and management. Apart paths, differing from each other and ‘plantation forest’. from its policies and administrative role, the from Peninsular Malaysia in many respects. NFC also sets the annual allowable cut for

8 A PROFILE OF SABAH

Sabah’s Forestry Policy Box 1 Forests in Malaysia Forestry policy in Sabah has been formulated to cater for the needs of all Nearly sixty per cent of Malaysia’s land area remains in forest stakeholders in Sabah, and is in conformity with the internationally accepted practices • in 2005, 19.5 million hectares, or 59.5 percent of Malaysia’s land area, was of sustainable forest resource management under forest cover; and development. • of this total, 14.4 million hectares were permanent reserved forest and The goal of this policy is to achieve 3.2 million hectares were totally protected areas; sustainable management of the state’s • of the permanent reserved forest, about three-quarters are production forests forest resources. The strategies, adopted in and one quarter protection forests; 2005 to achieve this aim, are to: • in addition, 310,550 hectares of plantation forest have been established: • declare sufficient land, strategically 75,800 hectares in Peninsular Malaysia, 174,750 hectares in Sabah, and located throughout Sabah, as Permanent 60,000 hectares in Sarawak; Forest Reserve in accordance with the • the forest reserves are managed with the objective of maintaining the forest concept of rational land use; ecosystem in perpetuity while allowing for the use of forest products and • manage the Permanent Forest Reserves services. so as to maximize social, economic and environmental benefits for the state Source of statistics: Ninth Malaysia Plan, 2006-2010. and its people in accordance with the principles of sustainable forest • encourage the development of trade in management; forest products; • pursue forest development programmes • encourage Bumiputera participation in through forest conservation and forest and wood-based industries; rehabilitation operations in accordance • undertake and support intensive research with approved silvicultural practices to programmes in forestry development optimize productivity of the Permanent aimed at achieving optimum yield and Forest Reserves; returns from harvesting and utilisation of • ensure proper utilisation of forest the Permanent Forest Reserves, as well resources from land that is not classified as maximising the return of investment as Permanent Forest Reserves through from forestry development activities; careful planning and in cooperation with • undertake and support comprehensive land development agencies before the training programmes in forestry at all land is alienated, in order to maximize the levels to provide adequate trained returns by means of suitable harvesting personnel to meet the needs of the and processing methods; forestry sector; • promote efficient harvesting and utilisation • encourage private sector participation at of all types of forests and to stimulate the all levels of forestry research and training development of appropriate forest-based with a view to enhancing professionalism industries so as to maximize resource in forestry and forest industries; utilization, create employment opportunities • foster better understanding among the and generate foreign exchange earnings; general public of the multiple values of the

9 MALAYSIA SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY FOREST MANAGEMENT IN SABAH

Map 2 Forest reserves and other forest land in Sabah

PERMANENT FOREST ESTATES Class I – Protection Forest Reserve 342,216 Ha. Class II – Commercial Forest Reserve 2,686,119 Ha. N Class III – Domestic Forest Reserve 7,355 Ha. KARAKIT F.R. Class IV – Amenity Forest Reserve 20,767 Ha. Scale 1:1,270,000 Class V – Mangrove Forest Reserve 316,024 Ha. 1 Class VI – Virgin Jungle Reserve 90,382 Ha. Class VII – Wildlife Reserve 132,653 Ha. 1 Wildlife Parks 30,708 Ha. Parks 245,172 Ha. FMU 17 82,105 Ha. INDUSTRIAL TIMBER PLANTATION Sabah Forest Industries ( Forest Reserve) 118,000 Ha. 2 KTS Plantation Sdn Bhd (Segaliud-Lukan Forest Reserve) 57,240 Ha. SAFODA 61,109 Ha. SSSB 60,700 Ha. PLANTATION TEAK PLANTATION F.R. FELDA 2 3 SLDB ( Samudera) Permanent Forest Boundaries Main Roads Grid Line F.R. 4 7

3 TATAHAN F.R. GUM-GUM F.R. 5 4 5 8 7 8

SOSOPODON F.R. SIBUGA F.R. BALD HILL F.R. 9

QUOIN HILL F.R.

6

6 10

MESAPOL F.R. BARADAYA F.R.

11

9 BABANGA F.R.

10 13 12 12 13 11 KUKUSAN F.R. MILLI NONUM F.R.

Source: Sabah Forestry Department.

forest through education and public Forest Reserves awareness programmes; Following earlier legislation, the Parks • utilise information and communication Environment Enactment (1984) repealed technology for the efficient management the National Parks Enactment (1977) and all of the state’s forest resources; five ‘national parks’ existing at the time were • foster close relationships and cooperation reconstituted as ‘state parks’ to ensure that at the international level to enhance forest they remained under state jurisdiction. Such development and management of the areas are intended for both nature state’s forest resources. conservation and recreation and may

10 A PROFILE OF SABAH

Box 2 Classification of Sabah’s forest reserves

Classification of reserves Class I – Protection Forest: Forest conserved for the protection of watersheds and maintenance of stability of soil, water conservation, and other environmental factors. Logging is not permitted in these areas. There are 342,848 ha of Protection Forest in 44 locations throughout Sabah. Class II –Production Forest: Forest allocated for logging to supply timber and other produce contributing to the state’s economy. Logging is to be carried out according to Sustainable Forest Management principles. Collectively there are 2,683,480 hectares of Production (sometimes known as Commercial) Forest Reserves in 31 locations throughout Sabah. Class III – Domestic Forest: The produce from this forest, including small amounts of timber, is for the consumption of local communities only and commercial use is discouraged. In total there are 7,355 hectares of Domestic Forest Reserve in 10 locations throughout Sabah. Class IV – Amenity Forest: Forest providing amenity and recreational potential for local inhabitants. Recreational facilities may be provided in attractive sites, notably along roadsides, within these reserves. Exotic tree species are sometimes planted to enhance the amenity value of these areas. Small areas are often used for trials and research plots. Many such areas have been logged in the past. Collectively there are 21,092 hectares of amenity Forest Reserves in 14 locations in Sabah. Class V – Mangrove Forest: Forest supplying mangrove timber and other produce to meet general trade demands. There are a number of varieties but the Rhizophora species is the most commonly harvested, and products utilizing mangrove wood range from fishing stakes to firewood and charcoal. Collectively, there are 315,874 hectares of Mangrove Forest Reserves in 17 locations scattered throughout Sabah. Class VI – Virgin Jungle Forest: Forest conserved intact strictly for forestry research purposes including biodiversity and genetic conservation. Logging is strictly prohibited in this type of forest reserve although, in practice, some logging has taken place illegally. The Sepilok Virgin Jungle Reserve in Sandakan covers 4,000 hectares and is one of the largest tracts of undisturbed lowland dipterocarp forest in Sabah. There are 91,914 hectares of Virgin Forest Reserves in 50 locations scattered throughout Sabah. Class VII – Wildlife Reserve: Forest conserved primarily for the protection and research of wildlife. The Sumatran Rhinoceros is one of the endangered wild animals living in the Wildlife Reserves. There are two Wildlife Reserves together totalling 132,653 hectares: the Tabin Wildlife Reserve and the Kulamba Wildlife Reserve, both located on the Dent Peninsula on the east coast of Sabah. Production forest can be selectively logged under licence, but other areas cannot be logged legally without state authority.

11 MALAYSIA SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY FOREST MANAGEMENT IN SABAH

Summary of Sabah’s forest reserve include marine areas not covered by the Table 5 classes by area federal Fisheries Act (1985). The total area of forests gazetted as Class Type of Reserve Area (hectares) forest reserves in Sabah is about 3.59 I Protection 342,848 million hectares. Under the Forests II Production 2,683,480 (Amendment) Enactment (1984), which III Domestic 7,355 amended the Forest Enactment (1968), IV Amenity 21,092 forest reserves are classified into categories V Mangrove 315,874 on a seven-point scale to facilitate optimal VI Virgin Jungle 91,914 forest management and control. VII Wildlife 132,653 Total 3,595,216

Source: Sabah Forestry Department, 2006.

12 Sustainable Forest Management

Efforts to place Sabah’s forest under Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Sustainable forest management had started in 1986 when an FAO/ The process of managing forests to achieve one or more clearly specified UNDP Forest Sector Planning Project objectives of management with regard to the production of a continuous flow was commissioned. An SFM model of desired forest products and services, without undue reduction of its inherent was developed as an output of the value and future productivity, and without undue undesirable effects on the Malaysian/German Sustainable Forest physical and social environments. Management Project undertaken from International Tropical Timber Organization 1989 to 2000, known as the Deramakot model for sustainable management. The Deramakot Forest Reserve project In 1989, acknowledging the reality of serious forest depletion, the Sabah Forestry Department, with technical support from the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), developed a management system aimed at sustainable production of timber from local forests. The system required substantial investment in forest planning, infrastructure, low-impact harvesting equipment, and training of foresters, managers and forest workers in new techniques. Deramakot Forest Reserve comprises The objective was to begin the 55,083 hectares of mixed Dipterocarp application of ecologically and scientifically forest. The forest has been logged at least acceptable forest management for Sabah’s once with subsequent silvicultural treatment cutover (Class II) Production Forest (namely poison girdling) before the Reserves. The intent was to manage the commencement of the SFM measures. production forest reserves in a way that Past forest management practices had mimics natural processes in order to resulted in a very heterogeneous stand of achieve production of low volume, high tree types and a patchwork of different quality, high value timber products. For this stocking qualities and conditions. Only purpose, sustainability was defined in terms 20 percent of the area was considered well of balanced nutrient cycles, forest structure, stocked and more than 30 percent was biodiversity, forest function and socio- covered by very poor forest with virtually no economic needs. Deramakot Forest mature growing stock left. The forest Reserve was chosen as the experimental was uninhabited apart from a few small site for achieving a model, sustainably human settlements located at the fringes of managed forest. the Reserve.

13 MALAYSIA SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY FOREST MANAGEMENT IN SABAH

These characteristics made the Deramakot complying with the requirements of the Forest Reserve an ideal site for the Malaysian Criteria and Indicators and the development of an SFM model. Under Forestry Stewardship Council’s Standards the Comprehensive Forest Management for Sustainable Forest Management. Plan, about 51,000 hectares were Deramakot Forest Reserve was the first designated for log production and the natural tropical rainforest in Southeast Asia remaining 4,000 hectares for conservation. to be recognized for best management The Deramakot Forest Reserve practice in accordance with sustainable collaborative project continued until 2000 forestry principles. when the applicability of the principles of sustainable management had been Development of the Sabah clearly established and management was government’s sustainable handed over entirely to the Sabah management strategy Forestry Department. The concept that Sustainable forest management (SFM) was developed takes cognisance of the having been successfully implemented in multiple functions and uses of forests, with Deramakot Forest Reserve, the aims and strong emphasis on future productivity, measures undertaken there were adopted environmental impact, and the economics as the basis for the Sabah state of forest operation. A comprehensive government’s SFM strategy announced in planning procedure implementing guide- 1997, as follows: lines and monitoring management at • all measures within the state’s means will various levels was introduced to resolve the be taken to ensure healthy forests are numerous economic, social, environmental passed on to future generations; and technical challenges of sustainable • forests will be managed on an integrated forest management. basis, supporting a full range of uses and In 1997, the scheme was audited by values including timber production, SGS Forestry Malaysia and certified as habitat for wildlife, and wilderness areas;

14 SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT

• a multitude of economic benefits will be generated from various forest products and services; and ecotourism and recreation will be supported within a framework of sound ecological and social principles and practices; • advanced training, skills and education will be provided to those employed in forest-related activities, and stable, fulfilling employment opportunities will add to their quality of life; • through consultation, mutual respect, sharing of information and clear and agreements involving 22 Forest Manage- harmonious relationships among all ment Units and covering about 2.3 million stakeholders of forests, trust and hectares of the state’s production forest agreement will be brought about and the reserves. These private companies, in effectiveness of forest conservation, conjunction with the Sabah Forestry management and industrial development Department, are required to manage the will be improved; and continuous production forest reserves within their research programmes will be carried out respective FMUs in accordance with the to improve SFM techniques. accepted principles of sustainable forest management. These agreements give the Given the appropriate policy framework, SFMLA holders the right to manage their and the success of the Deramakot Forest respective SFMLA areas for a period of Reserve project, the Sabah state 100 years. This was done to ensure that the government extended the model by inviting future development of the state’s forest the private sector to participate. This was would be optimized economically, implemented in 1997 when the state environmentally and socially. government entered into an agreement with Despite the major advances made ten private companies, issuing them with in developing and implementing these long-term sustainable forest licences under sustainable management principles, several the Sustainable Forest Management constraints remain. These include: Licence Agreement (SFMLA) for access to • the high cost of undertaking sustainable the Forest Management Units (FMUs). This forest management; is a unique example of a government/ • lack of trained and skilled human private sector partnership working towards resources; a common goal to practise sustainable • the presence of local communities in the forestry. Such a partnership is also seen as sustainable forest management licence a vehicle for expediting further SFM areas; adaptation and implementation. • continued demand from the wood Currently there are 16 such licence processing industries.

15 Community Forestry in Sabah

Programmes of the Sabah the affected community together with the Forestry Department introduction of agroforestry. Community One of the key challenges to be addressed forestry is in the course of implementing SFM is the Indigenous forest-based communities ‘…any situation which issue of local communities living within and For many indigenous communities, the intimately involves local adjacent to the forest reserves. In Sabah, forests they have traditionally lived in or near people in a forestry there are about 20,000 people living within are still crucial in meeting their basic needs activity. It embraces a forest reserves state wide, and an through hunting and gathering. Significant spectrum of situations undetermined number on the fringes of the numbers still practise traditional swidden ranging from woodlots in forest reserves that also exert pressure on agriculture (shifting cultivation), fishing and areas which are short of the forest resources. Most of these people other subsistence-based activities for wood and other forest are defined as ‘hardcore poor’, having little survival. In addition, where feasible, some products for local needs, or no access to facilities or amenities derive a modest income from forest through the growing of generally regarded as basic and essential to products such as durian, bamboo, rattan trees at the farm level to daily living, and experiencing below average and other flora. The creation of state forest provide cash crops and the health and educational standards. Many are reserves and the consequent non- processing of forest still practising shifting cultivation or recognition of forest rights and legitimacy of products at the household, rudimentary cultivation methods to meet access for everyone has a serious impact artisan or small industry their daily needs. For people in these on the lives of such forest-dependent level to generate income, circumstances, the forests offer an communities, especially their daily liveli- to the activities of forest attractive resource, but this places the hoods, but also on their health, education, dwelling communities.’ forests under threat of encroachment and mobility, security and collective identity. Food and Agriculture degradation. If left unchecked this may lead “Participatory or Joint Forest Manage- Organization (FAO) to further forest damage and reduced ment” is a term used to describe a economic options for the communities collaborative approach in which people concerned. participate in conserving the biodiversity in Government agencies play a crucial role the remaining natural forest and restoring in community forestry programmes by biodiversity in degraded areas, commonly providing technical support, education, through the adoption of an agroforestry regulation and services. The Sabah Forestry system. The local communities are involved Department has undertaken a variety of in planning, establishing, protecting, measures to safeguard the forests from managing and utilising the forest resources further degradation while simultaneously through collective action, with the role of providing opportunities for the affected the Forestry Department being primarily communities to improve their living that of facilitator. Agroforestry involves the conditions and livelihoods. One of these planting of multiple varieties of crops and measures is the introduction of community trees on the same pieces of land in order to forestry projects – a concept being address the basic subsistence needs implemented in several key areas in Sabah. of local communities while concurrently The community forestry project entails the conserving and restoring biodiversity. provision of housing and basic amenities for

16 COMMUNITY FORESTRY IN SABAH

Kelawat Forest Reserve A Joint Forest Management Project in forest Community forest enterprises in poor restoration and management. communities worldwide When the Joint Forest Management Project Community forest enterprises engage more than 110 million people worldwide, in the Kelawat Forest Reserve began in the among then indigenous peoples and other forest dwellers. Such enterprises early 1980s, approximately 70 percent of harvest wood and collect bamboo, rattan, fibres, nuts, resins, medicinal herbs, the land was degraded and devoid of forest honey, wood for charcoal and other natural products to increase local wealth. cover, largely as a result of attempts by local Estimates suggest that forest communities are responsible for the communities in the late 1970s to cultivate management of about 370 million hectares of natural forest worldwide. hill paddy. Much of the biodiversity had In so doing, they provide environmental services important in combating been lost, and the illegal presence of the climate change and protecting water sources, biodiversity, and the natural communities within the reserve threatened landscapes prized by the international community. Yet, despite having an the remaining natural forests. Efforts by the important impact on the conservation of natural resources, these enterprises Sabah Forestry Department to evict the must carry on a daily battle against bureaucratic and other barriers. settlers or at least halt their land clearing Inflexible regulations, high taxes, and exceedingly slow approval rates activities failed. are inhibiting survival. In 1992, it was agreed that the SFD Molnar et al., Community-Based Forest Enterprises in Tropical Forest Countries would involve local communities as partners in the management of the reserve through a joint management initiative. The results have been encouraging. The Figure 2 Importance of forest for different groups of people living in or near them biodiversity in the undisturbed natural forest has been successfully protected and conserved by the local communities. The Urban dwellers restoration of biodiversity in the degraded Permanent field farmers areas through natural as well as assisted regeneration has also shown positive Forest in-migrants results. The basic subsistence needs of the Swidden farmers communities have been addressed and the Hunter gatherers project has demonstrated that there is a commitment from the participants to make the project succeed. More than 20,000 trees comprising mixed indigenous species have been Source: Colfer et al., 2006. planted and silvicultural measures have been carried out to encourage the newly patterns, including durian, terap, rambutan, planted Dipterocarps and to protect the cempedak, coconut, langsat, and mango. naturally regenerating trees and medicinal In addition to the woody perennials, other plants that are competing against lianas food crops planted included bananas, and shrubs. Many varieties of fruit tree have pineapples, and vegetables such as sweet also been planted in various cropping potatoes.

17 MALAYSIA SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY FOREST MANAGEMENT IN SABAH

Gana Resettlement and Integrated Development (GRID) A pilot community forestry model project. Infrastructure development Socio-economic development The concept of community forestry, as such, was introduced to Sabah when the ~ Housing project ~ Cattle rearing pioneer model initiative, Gana Resettlement ~ Road construction ~ Chicken/duck rearing and Integrated Development (GRID) ~ School construction ~ Rubber planting project, was introduced in Kampung Gana, ~ Village library ~ Maize planting Kota Marudu, in 1997 to meet the needs ~ Rural clinic ~ Agroforestry and aspirations of the local communities. ~ Water supply ~ Tree nursery The development, while ensuring the ~ Electricity supply ~ Rattan and furniture/craft industry conservation and protection of the ~ Social facilities (especially for ~ Conversion of peat swamps into paddy Lingkabau Forest Reserve, also achieved religious, sports and other and fish ponds physical, economic and social improvements community purposes) ~ Education and training for these communities at a cost of RM8,765,000. The project consisted of two phases. Participation of other agencies in community Phase 1 involved an infrastructure forestry development programme, and Phase 2 A number of forest related agencies are focused on an integrated socio-economic participating to varying degrees in the development programme. These were implementation of some form of supported by socio-economic studies and community-based activities. They include: collaborative planning. Sabah Forest Industries, Sabah Forest The GRID project focused on the Development Authority, and the Sabah following issues: Foundation. Similarly the SFMLA license • promoting organizational empowerment holders, under the SFMLA framework, are at the community level; required to set aside some areas, within • establishing a closer rapport at all levels their licence area, for community use. The through involvement and integration; designation of these areas is indicated in • developing socio-economic activities; their Forest Management Plans. • increasing productivity and ensuring equitable distribution; The Mangkuwagu Forest • achieving environmental protection. Reserve Project The Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve Project The success of the project depended is being undertaken jointly by UNDP and heavily on effective information transfer to the Sabah Forestry Department over a the local community, and capacity-building period of 18 months. The official title of the measures that promoted and enhanced project is: Promoting Sustainable Use and requisite skills. The GRID master plan has Conservation of Forest Resources in been prepared and is currently being Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve through implemented. Capacity Building and Community Forestry.

18 COMMUNITY FORESTRY IN SABAH

The project commenced in mid-2006 and runs until December 2007. The Kelawat and Gana projects The project is located in and around the • These two projects have provided opportunities for the local communities to Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve which is part address their basic subsistence needs. of Forestry Management Unit (FMU) 17 • The significant degree of success achieved by the projects has been possible located in the Tongod District of central Sabah. Unit 17 forms the western catchment because of the improved communication and trust between the Sabah of the Upper , Sabah’s Forestry Department and the local communities whereby the traditional longest river, and constitutes an area of high adversarial relationship has been replaced by partnership and a shared ecological importance. FMU 17 comprises vision that encompasses both conservation and development. three forest reserves: Mangkuwagu Forest • The JFM modality in the Kelawat Forest Reserve has demonstrated that Reserve, Pinangah Forest Reserve, and it is both practical and capable of providing a viable alternative livelihood Tangkulap Forest Reserve, and is currently for the local communities, as well as establishing an avenue for dialogue under the management of the Sabah with the Sabah Forestry Department. Forestry Department. The Mangkuwagu • The GRID modality, while achieving some success in its early goals of Forest Reserve is a relatively small reserve information transfer and capacity building, requires further monitoring located between the townships of Telupid and evaluation to assess the effectiveness of the project in providing an and . It comprises 8,335 hectares alternative system of livelihood for the village. of secondary forest classified as Class II Productive Forest Reserve.

Map 3 Tangkulap-Sg Pinangah forest development project FMU no. 17

Telupid LEGEND Tingkulap Forest Reserve 27,550 Ha. Sg. Pinangah Forest Reserve 36,070 Ha. Gunung Tinkar Forest Reserve 27,550 Ha. Sg. Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve 8,335 Ha. Main Road Rivers Secondary Road Forest Reserve Boundary

PP Tongod

Source: Sabah Forestry Department.

19 MALAYSIA SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY FOREST MANAGEMENT IN SABAH

What is the Purpose of the Project? The Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve Project is utilising the principles identified by the joint management initiatives in the Kelawat Forest Reserve Project in particular, and expanding them to develop a new model covering a larger area and a greater number of local community participants. The expansion of the joint forest management model from Kelawat Forest Reserve to the Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve is providing the Sabah Forestry Department with the knowledge necessary to integrate community forestry practices into the broader development agenda of the state. This project is working towards a model that will allow co-management under the Joint Forest Management modality of the forest area between the local communities, the forest managers from the Sabah Forestry Department, and the SFMLA holders throughout Sabah. Previous community-based projects and initiatives have commonly been regarded as a forestry matter, and there has been relatively little effort to address the broader issues with other relevant sectors and The Sabah Department of Forestry and agencies in an integrated manner. Most UNDP are cooperating on the Mangkuwagu significantly, despite best efforts, the Forest Reserve Project with the aim of projects have failed to address the welfare bringing the problems encountered by of the local communities adequately. For forest communities to the fore and for them the most part, the solutions lie outside to be addressed in an integrated way as the normal area of activity of the Sabah part of the state’s development agenda. Forestry Department. This project aims to The main objective is to help develop a provide the extension and development of fully functional enabling environment at the the forestry staff in understanding the state and district levels to facilitate the communities located within and around the implementation of a community-based forest reserves and to support initiatives forestry programme involving greater that will lead to the empowerment of the participation of local communities in the communities. community forestry programme.

20 COMMUNITY FORESTRY IN SABAH

Box 3 Planned key outputs of the project

The UNDP/SFD Mangkuwagu Project aims to produce six key outputs. 1. Zonation and protection of multiple use areas within FMU 17 in the Forest Management Plan based on a current database of the communities. Three studies are being made to collect and integrate more information on the communities living within and around the Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve into the Forest Management Plan (FMP). The first is a social baseline survey being conducted to collect the necessary baseline information on the villages located in or near the forest reserve. In the second study, SFD is identifying High Conservation Value Forest attributes around the Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve and will incorporate that information in the FMP.The third study is a social impact assessment being conducted to determine the impact of the forestry activities of the local communities in and around the forest reserve, and to recommend mitigation measures for their alleviation. The information obtained from the three studies will incorporate data on each of the communities, including demographic structure and the economic and social character of the village populations. SFD will then be able to delineate differing zones and be able to prescribe the appropriate management approaches for the differing land-use areas within FMU 17 at large, and in Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve in particular. 2. Forest Management and Certification Committee established to ensure community participation. The establishment of the Forest Management and Certification Committee is being led jointly by SFD and WWF-Malaysia through their Forest Management and Certification Awareness Project. The establishment of this Committee provides the mechanism enabling the communities to provide feedback to the SFD especially in relation to the management of Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve. One important activity being conducted in this part of the project is to create awareness among communities regarding forest management and certification, including its impact on their livelihood. This is to ensure that the communities are aware of the importance and benefits of participating in the process. A second activity phase is to establish the Forest Management and Certification Committee and get the villagers involved in order to ensure community participation in the long term. The activities to enhance capacity and skills to encourage continued participation of the community in the Committee are being undertaken as part of the WWF-Malaysia project in collaboration with SFD. 3. Institutional arrangements and the study of the legal framework and options for communities in forest reserves. As noted earlier, there are about 20,000 people living within the forest reserves in Sabah. Under current regulations, communities located within the forest reserves do not have a legal right to land and are, in fact, illegal settlers under the current Sabah Forest Enactment, 1968. However, many of these communities occupied their present locations before the superimposition of forest reserve status.

21 MALAYSIA SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY FOREST MANAGEMENT IN SABAH

Box 3 Planned key outputs of the project (cont’d)

A study is being undertaken to analyze the situation and present possible short and long-term solutions that will enable the communities to maintain their livelihood in a sustainable manner. 4. Four demonstration sites on community-related forestry projects established to improve livelihood in the four villages in/adjacent to Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve. As the project progresses the four selected villages will constitute community-related forestry and agroforestry demonstration sites. Each household is being allocated about 1–2 acres of land for planting both short and long-term crops. The short-term crops include maize, peanuts ginger and pumpkins; rubber is the selected long-term crop and, within about five years, the production of latex is expected to contribute significantly to the economic development of the villages. LIGS (Lembaga Industri Getah Sabah: Sabah Rubber Industry Board) is being consulted on soil suitability for rubber in the vicinity of the villages to determine the most suitable sites for planting young rubber trees. Households are being made responsible for the management of the crops planted on their allocated plots of land. Seedlings for planting of food crops and rubber are being obtained from SFD and LIGS. SFD is organizing capacity-building activities and providing training on best agroforestry practice and management to ensure sustainability of production and livelihood for the local communities. 5. Identification of types of cottage industries for women. The women in the villages have shown an interest in developing local cottage industries as an alternative source of income for their families. A feasibility study is being conducted to identify potential types of cottage industries and the market links that would provide the best returns. Activities that have already been identified include honey beekeeping, herbal gardens, and the production of handicrafts. Under the PPM initiative, several of these cottage industries will be developed further. Meantime, the UNDP/SFD project is working on building the capacity of the villagers in skills specifically related to financial and business management.

6. Knowledge product development and dissemination of lessons learnt and best practices. The lessons learnt and the best practices developed in the course of undertaking the UNDP/SFD project will be documented and widely disseminated in order to consolidate the components of the model and enhance the knowledge and understanding of community forestry. The target audience will include the forest management licence holders, other forest managers and the general public, as well as the local communities themselves. A plan for media and public outreach is being implemented through the full duration of the project to create greater awareness, understanding and support.

22 COMMUNITY FORESTRY IN SABAH

Which Communities are Table 6 Population of the villages in the Mangkuwagu Project, March/May 2007 Involved? The project has identified four villages Kampung Families Adults Children Total (kampungs) as demonstration sites in the Present Absent1 Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve for specific Alitang 57 168 56 129 353 and targeted intervention, although there Mangkuwagu 53 166 54 150 370 are a number of others in close proximity Saguan 88 244 38 190 472 with similar characteristics and concerns. Tampasak 67 191 55 169 415 The demonstration sites are Kampung Total 265 769 203 638 1,610 Mangkuwagu, Kampung Alitang, Kampung Tampasak, and Kampung Saguon. 1 Working outside; Source: Gassner and Mohamed, 2007a. Kampung Tampasak occupies two distinct Map 4 Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve and villages localities, referred to as Tampasak Darat N and Tampasak Laut, but in this discussion Pejabat Mukim Mangkuwagu LEGEND the two are combined simply as ‘Kampung id Forest Reserve Boundary p lu e Main Road Secondary Road Tampasak’. About 260 households live in T

-

h Rivers FMU Boundary a

these four villages, all of which lack formed g

n

a Pejabat Mukim Mangkuwagu

n i roads; reticulated water, electricity, and P Kampung

n la VEGETATION BASED ON 5 DATA a sewage; and other basic amenities J Stratum 3 88.00 Ha. Kampung Namakan and services. Kampung Mangkuwagu is Stratum 4 6,400.00 Ha. Local Community Activities 6,400.00 Ha. situated within the Mangkuwagu Forest Kampung Minusah Reserve, while the other three villages are located on the fringe of the reserve. The people of the Upper Kinabatangan, Kampung Tampasak Darat where the Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve is located, are officially known as Orang Sungai. However, based on their Kampung languages, people and villages can be Tampasak Laut separated into more specific sub-groups: Sg.Mangkuwagu the people of Kampung Alitang consider Forest Reserve themselves to be Kalabuan; people from Kampung Saguan and Kampung Kampung Kampung Masaum Tampasak are Makiang; and people from Saguan Kampung Mangkuwagu, are Rumanau. Kampung Sg. Pinangah Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve All four villages claim customary rights to some areas inside the reserve and utilize Kampung the reserve for traditional swidden Alitang Kampung Duwarah agricultural practices, collection of non- Kampung timber products, hunting, and selected Pinangah extraction of timber. For most villages these activities are the only means to sustain their Source: Sabah Forestry Department.

23 MALAYSIA SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY FOREST MANAGEMENT IN SABAH

livelihood. At present neither a forest management plan nor any legal agreement Hardcore poverty eradication exists between the community and SFD is still to be achieved for use of the reserve, so that all such A major thrust of Malaysia’s development planning following the introduction of activities are technically illegal and such NEP in 1970, has been to encroachment is construed as endangering • reduce and eventually eradicate absolute poverty irrespective of race; the ecological integrity of the reserve. • restructure society to remove the identification of race with economic The people of the Tongod District suffer function. from some of the most severe extremes of poverty in Sabah. Swidden agriculture, Despite these objectives and the decades that have elapsed, the indigenous which involves planting of subsistence communities of Sabah have not benefited noticeably from the New Economic crops such as upland rice and tapioca in Policy’s affirmative action provisions. the areas where the open forest canopy allows adequate light, does not provide any cash income. Such income is generally obtainable only from employment on rubber circumstances and past economic and and oil palm plantations or, as in earlier environmental impacts on the land. times, from working for the logging The most daunting feature for people in companies. Combined with isolation, these isolated localities seeking to improve difficulty of access to markets, and lack of their lifestyle and create better opportunities infrastructure, such limited options have for their children, is the tyranny of distance resulted in widespread, hardcore poverty, exacerbated by the poor quality of the and, as Table 4 shows, the Orang Sungai roads: when even the most suitable are among the poorest groups in the state. vehicles can average only 15–20 km an hour, travel is measured in time rather than Life in the Villages distance; accessing distant government Isolation and distance are major issues agencies is too difficult so that people can As the maps show, these villages are deep be seriously disadvantaged because births in the heart of Sabah, in the forested areas are not registered or identity cards that for several decades proved so procured; children are not attending school attractive to the large logging companies. regularly because schools are too far or There are still significant areas of pristine recruitment of teachers too difficult; forest, but large swathes of secondary suppliers or distributors are reluctant to growth and cutover land remain as attempt to deliver goods; and getting monuments to the severe impact of that products to market in a timely fashion large-scale, extractive industry. Local plots becomes all but impossible. of land are now being brought back into production through such measures as Roads are rough but attract settlement agroforestry which is part of this project, The indigenous people in this part of Sabah and significant social changes are occurring are surprisingly mobile, not only day-to-day as people strive to adapt to their changing as they access the forest and work sites and

24 COMMUNITY FORESTRY IN SABAH

purpose of timber extraction, taking little account of terrain or local communities, carving out the most direct routes from lumber sites to timber mills, and largely ignoring forest reserves. So there is a need for properly constructed, surfaced roads that avoid the forestry reserves and are realigned to meet the needs of the villagers and enable them to access markets and make a living that surpasses the temporarily as they look for outside subsistence levels of the past. employment, but also in the medium term, as households or even most of a village Subsistence work is hard and cash income is relocates. It is not uncommon for some difficult to come by people to own two houses in different Farming is the primary occupation in these localities. Historically, these small villages of villages and constitutes the main source of mainly stilted houses were scattered income for the majority of the population. through the forest along or near the rivers, Most families cultivate upland rice, using the main means of transportation and traditional swidden agriculture techniques, communication. The incursion of logging in rotation with sweet potato, tapioca roads substantially modified that pattern. (cassava) and cucumbers, and have a few Clusters of households relocated, fruit trees adjacent to the house. Women sometimes taking the village name with commonly take responsibility for gardens them, sometimes duplicating it. These located near the house, and may trade newer settlements are commonly located surplus vegetables with neighbours. As well along or near the roads that have become as looking after the younger children, they the preferred network for moving around the also take responsibility for firewood district between villages and for accessing collection. But the low population densities cultivated land and forest resources. and ample availability of land and forest that But logging trucks no longer travel these allowed a healthy balance between roads that, for the most part, were never resource utilization and natural regeneration much more than graded earth tracks. The have gone and these communities are no timber companies no longer maintain the longer self sufficient in food. Cash income is roads or the bridges, and even the most becoming increasingly necessary to pay for usable have deteriorated to the point of food and other goods that were previously being virtually impassable much of the self-produced or traded by bartering, and time, especially in wet weather. Where for items such as secondary schooling that bridges have collapsed, rivers must be entails boarding away from home. For most forded, a possibility only if there has been households, the possibilities for cash little recent rainfall. Furthermore, the income are limited to the commercial logging roads were developed solely for the industries already in the district: logging (for

25 MALAYSIA SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY FOREST MANAGEMENT IN SABAH

timber), cultivating oil palm (for fresh fruit Box 4 Education and literacy bunches) or rubber (for latex). Although most households are now part Enrolment rates in sparsely populated low-income rural areas of Sabah of the cash economy, few villagers have lag far behind the improving national rates for Malaysia. Low-income vehicles—which need to be four-wheel parents are often unable to afford the opportunity costs of sending their drive—so that considerable amounts of children to school, and their children often drop out of school to help time are spent walking to their allocated supplement the family income. land holdings or hunting and gathering in The remote areas where indigenous people live, commonly present the forests. Under the project, one favoured special challenges in terms of building schools and hostels, retaining method of planting and cultivation, qualified teachers, and offering courses that maintain their languages especially for the planting of rubber and history. Expanding educational access for the hard-to-reach groups seedlings and upland rice, is gotong royong and improving their attainment pose challenges in relation to both the (mutual help) in which small groups of family strategies required and the costs involved. These strategies may also or neighbours work cooperatively to get the need to overcome household environments that may not place a high job completed. Young and old, men and value on education or provide a conducive setting for learning. women participate, often accompanied by Nevertheless, education of children living in these areas offers the children (who should be in primary school – most effective long-term solution to poverty in general, and to hardcore but distance and other priorities often poverty in particular. As has long been recognized, there is a strong link preclude regular attendance). The work is between literacy and poverty, and this is clearly apparent in Sabah. hard, the tropical temperatures and As literacy levels rise and basic skills increase, income levels tend to humidity very high, and by late morning rise and poverty can be expected to decline. work usually slows or stops. Some resume by mid-afternoon, but in this culture where hunting and gathering are an integral part of life style, fishing or collecting products in dishes – the one possible way, other than the forest are often more attractive options radio, of accessing the outside world from than planting and cultivating. the village, but few have working television sets and the electricity supply is a serious Amenities are few constraint. Water, once drawn from now Other elements of the physical infra- contaminated rivers, is mainly collected structure also constrain the lifestyle of the for drinking and cooking purposes in villagers: there is no reticulated network for polyurethane tanks (supplied by the state electricity, water, sewage or telephone government) as runoff from the roof of each landlines, and mobile phone reception is house. Sewage disposal constitutes a unreliable. Some households can afford, health hazard and is largely reliant on the usually communally, to run a generator for ingenuity of individual households. An up to 12 hours overnight, but this means occasional small shop sells a limited range most equipment, such as school amenities, of household needs, but retail and other must be motor or battery powered; and for services are few, and such simple tasks as some families, kerosene still provides refuelling a vehicle may entail a trip of an lighting. Some houses have Astro satellite hour or more.

26 Summary of the Key Issues of the Project

In the process of project development, a Development of cottage-industry skills Workshop was jointly organised by several by village women that will allow them Millennium stakeholders including UNDP and SFD. to supplement their family incomes. Development About 70 participants – leaders, adult men, The women are involved in subsistence Goals (MDGs) adult women, youths, school teachers and farming and childcare, and there are some The Mangkuwagu Forest local agencies, were invited from the four single mother households. Development Reserve Project will help villages to discuss potential activities for the of viable cottage industries specifically for achieve several of the project. The Workshop identified key issues the women could permit additional forms MDGs in this part of affecting all four villages and identified of economic activity. Sabah, notably: measures that would be advantageous ~ eradicate extreme when implemented. Infrastructure that will permit successful poverty and hunger; implementation of development projects ~ achieve universal Agricultural land for cultivation as a and help raise the standard of living. primary education; primary economic activity; agroforestry in The fundamental infrastructure issues are ~ promote gender equality areas adjacent to the villages would readily identifiable from the preceding and empower women; enhance family incomes. discussion: ~ ensure environmental Based on this feedback, SFD agreed, for • Accessibility: all four villages were sustainability. the purposes of the project, to allocate previously accessible by logging roads. Less directly, it will also each household at least 1–2 hectares of When the logging operations ceased, the help improve people’s land for cultivation of short-term and long- roads and bridges were not maintained, health, especially that term crops. resulting in bad road surfaces and broken of young children and bridges. These difficult conditions are mothers. Land status in relation to the villages. compounded during the rainy season As previously noted, Kampung when roads become impassable even Mangkuwagu is entirely within the with the use of four-wheel drive vehicles. boundaries of the forest reserve, and the This severely restricts the villagers’ other villages have schools and some access to essential supplies including houses within the reserve. This situation petrol and diesel to power generators is not an isolated example in Sabah, and boats. Difficult access also restricts and the project aims to study and the ability of the villagers to engage in any produce recommendations on legislative sustained economic activity. arrangements that, in appropriate circum- • Potable water supply: the villages also face stances, will accommodate the presence the problem of accessing clean water for of villages within the forest reserves. This drinking, cooking and other essential recognizes the concern that some villages uses. Previously, water was drawn from on reserves pre-date the creation of the the river, but the quality of river water has reserves. deteriorated over the years because of upstream activities. This also has serious health implications, cholera occurring frequently and going untreated because of the difficulty of accessing medication or health officers.

27 MALAYSIA SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY FOREST MANAGEMENT IN SABAH

High Conservation Value Forest

High Conservation Value Forests are those that possess one or more of the following attributes: • globally, regionally or nationally significant concentrations of biodiversity value (e.g., endemism, endangered species, refugia) and/or large landscape-level forests contained within or containing a management unit where viable populations of most if not all naturally occurring species exist in natural patterns of distribution and abundance; • forest areas that are in or contain rare, threatened or endangered ecosystems; • forest areas that provide basic services of nature in critical situations (e.g., watershed protection, erosion control); • forest areas fundamental to meeting basic needs of local communities (e.g., subsistence, health) and/or critical to local communities’ traditional cultural identity (areas of cultural, ecological, economic or religious • Reticulated electricity supply: generators significance, identified in cooperation with local communities). provide the only electricity available, but this is costly and limited, and its use confined to lighting. However, many families continue to use kerosene lamps to be granted remain fixed reducing the for lighting. land area available for cultivation and other economic activities. Pressure by large-scale Land issues: livelihoods of the villagers are developers on surrounding land areas also compromised by uncertainty over land outside the forest reserve are also resulting rights, land titles and access to land, an in the villages becoming increasingly essential consideration for subsistence as isolated. well as any economic development. This is particularly problematic for Kampung Related access problems that are central Mangkuwagu because of its location inside to the well-being of the village communities the Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve. This include: severely constrains land use and collection • lack of access to medical and health care of forest products. services; Residents of all four villages are yet to • lack of access to educational services, receive their long-term land tenure titles that including lack of teaching staff and proper would allocate larger areas of land around school buildings; the villages for development projects. • lack of access to markets that would However, even when this occurs there will support economic activity; still be a problem because the village • lack of requisite identification documents populations are growing but the village because of remoteness from registration boundaries within which the land titles are offices.

28 SUMMARY OF THE KEY ISSUES OF THE PROJECT

Box 5 Small grants programmes

The Small Grants Programme for Operations to Promote Tropical Forests (EC-UNDP SGP PTF) 2004 – 2007 SGP PTF is an eight-country regional initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), financed by the European Commission (EC) and executed through the SEAMEO Regional Centre for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). The SGP PTF envisages contributing to overall sustainable development, thereby enabling individuals and communities dealing with forests and forestry, and society at large, to benefit in an equitable way from forest-related products and services that are produced on a socially acceptable, economically viable, and environmentally sound basis. SGP PTF has been operating in Malaysia since 2004. It supports initiatives that fall under the broad category of community-led sustainable forest management. There are 20 SGP PTF sponsored community projects in Malaysia mainly focused on indigenous communities: eight are located in Sarawak; seven in Sabah; and five in Peninsular Malaysia. The 20 communities receiving SGP PTF grants are planning, designing, and implementing activities to improve their socio-economic conditions, while conserving the surrounding forest areas that provide valuable resources. The mission of the SGP PTF is to utilize existing indigenous knowledge, systems and practices combined with forest technologies to empower and build capacities of local communities, NGOs and CBOs as PTF partners in preventing, arresting and ultimately reversing forest degradation and consequently promoting sustainable forest use and management. The long-term development objective of SGP PTF Malaysia is to alleviate the hardships of the livelihoods of the poor communities dependent on the forests, by strengthening the link between economic enterprise and sustainable forest use and management.

The Small Grants Programme of the Global Environment Facility (GEF SGP) The Global Environment Facility’s Small Grants Programme supports efforts to conserve biodiversity, reduce the risks of climate change, stop land degradation and reduce water pollution. In conjunction with other partners, GEF commits substantial funding to national NGOs and CBOs, supporting them in addressing global environmental problems. By raising public awareness, building partnerships and promoting policy dialogue, SGP seeks to promote an enabling environment within countries for achieving sustainable development and addressing global environmental issues. The principal objectives of SGP are to develop community-level strategies and implement technologies that can reduce threats to the global environment if they are implemented in time; to gather lessons from community level experience and initiate the sharing of community-level strategies and innovations among NGOs and CBOs, host governments, development aid agencies, and others working on a regional or global scale; to build partnerships and networks of stakeholders to support and strengthen community, NGO and national capacities to address global environmental problems and promote sustainable development; and to ensure that conservation and sustainable development strategies and projects that protect the global environment are understood and practised by communities and other key stakeholders. The programme is administered by UNDP and has disbursed a large number of grants, up to US$50,000 each, for projects that reconcile global environmental benefits with sustainable livelihoods for local people. In this way, SGP recognizes and supports the essential role that households and communities, applying locally appropriate solutions, can play in protecting the global environment.

29 MALAYSIA SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY FOREST MANAGEMENT IN SABAH

Progress So Far Land allocation Plots of 2.5 hectares have been designated for families in the villages, but in the first phase, a smaller area of one hectare has been allocated for rubber planting. As there are about 85 participants in each kampung, a total area of about 340 hectares has been allocated for this first phase. Security of land tenure is an ongoing issue that influences people’s attitudes to developing and working blocks of land that they may be forced to forfeit at some time in the future. Greater access to state land is an issue that concerns many of the seek employment and ensure an income participants. during the period that they are planting rubber seedlings. There has been a Planting proposal that they should receive payment The three planned small-scale plant that could be recovered when latex nurseries have been constructed, but the production begins in about five years time, third, to be shared by Kampungs as practised on some other project sites. Mangkuwagu and Alitang, was seriously delayed by difficulty in transporting the Food security construction materials because the supplier Currently, upland rice, a staple for the refused delivery due to the poor quality of villagers, has been planted on the land the road, a problem that also increases cleared for rubber. This is a good alternative costs. Similar issues arose over supplying to producing rice by practising shifting the rubber seedlings but, after considerable cultivation, but in three or four years time, as delay and inconvenience, these have the rubber-tree canopy shades the ground, eventually been overcome. there is unlikely to be sufficient light for Site preparation has been proceeding, ground crops such as rice. This is another using parangs to clear the underbrush, reason for seeking additional land in areas employing chainsaws to fell the small trees owned by the state. To date, there has been that were left by the loggers, and applying some success with growing yams, and this weed killers and herbicides to get rid of is being considered as a crop that might be unwanted grasses and small shrubs. The grown under the shade of the rubber trees. tools and other materials had to be purchased together with tools such as Cottage industry augurs for planting the rubber seedlings. Some progress has been made in Some of the householders have discussing the potential for expanding expressed concern that they are unable to present production of vegetables but

30 SUMMARY OF THE KEY ISSUES OF THE PROJECT

training is needed to improve productivity and improvement of market access. Although the people are farmers, their knowledge of sedentary agriculture and soil and fertility maintenance is very limited as their experience is based on shifting cultivation in the forest. Some women have already visited other localities to see examples of potential cottage industries such as handicrafts, beekeeping, gong making and other types of gardening or farming. Another study tour that is being proposed would teach them about organic farming options especially in the growing of vegetables for dried or 1. Projek Perhutanan Malaysia – Sabah pickled food production. This would not Forestry Department only save on the cost of herbicides but also The Projek Perhutanan Malaysia (PPM) is reduce exposure of the villagers to toxic being carried out under the state chemicals. government’s jurisdiction for the purpose of developing the required forest development Improvement of roads plan for FMU 17. Part of the funds allocated Virtually every effort at improving the by the federal and state governments to the economic and social well-being of the four Sabah Forestry Department (an amount of village communities is seriously constrained about RM6 million) is specifically to address by the inadequacy of the roads. While road the three major development issues of the construction is not part of the project, it may local communities in the Mangkuwagu be noted that contractors are currently Forest Reserve Project, namely: working on roads that will eventually provide infrastructure, economic and social access to the Mangkuwagu area, but development. construction sites are far away, deployment The UNDP/SFD Mangkuwagu Forest of road-building equipment very limited, and Reserve Project is providing the initial step at present rates of construction significant towards the larger PPM Project. Some of improvement in this specific locality is the PPM activities have commenced during unlikely to be experienced for several years. the UNDP project period and will continue after the UNDP project phases out. The Complementary Projects PPM activities running concurrently relate to The Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve Project is the infrastructural development of the being undertaken concurrently with two villages. This component is vital in order other projects managed by the Sabah to provide the villagers with the access state government and WWF-Malaysia that is needed to ensure the success of respectively. all three projects.

31 MALAYSIA SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY FOREST MANAGEMENT IN SABAH

The PPM is upgrading and repairing roads to the villages in order to improve local mobility and to make it easier for villagers to travel to other towns. In addition, bridges, culverts and drains are being repaired or constructed where necessary. The allocation under infrastructure development is also providing for the maintenance and repair of houses, construction of kindergartens, and a gravity-feed water system for Kampung Mangkuwagu. The second part of the PPM funding allocation, which will be activated after the completion of the UNDP/SFD project, aims operation of this Committee is providing at promoting the economic and social additional feedback to both UNDP and SFD development of the four villages. The larger on matters relating to the UNDP/SFD part of this allocation will be dedicated to project. In addition, WWF-Malaysia is continuing and expanding the initiatives of intervening to educate and inform the the UNDP project in such activities as forest communities on the elements of sustainable restoration and agroforestry practices. A forest management and forest certification. smaller proportion will be allocated to establishing activities that are outside the Coordinated contribution of the three projects UNDP mandate, such as a honey The PPM and the WWF-Malaysia projects, beekeeping project and the implementation running concurrently with the UNDP/ of cottage-industry ambitions identified SFD project on the Mangkuwagu Forest by stakeholders attending the project Reserve, are providing additional support development Workshop. for community and infrastructure development. The UNDP/SFD project is 2. Forest Management and Certification attempting to assist SFD to integrate Committee Project – WWF-Malaysia information from all three of the projects into The UNDP/SFD project will also be running its planning process to improve sustainable concurrently with this WWF-Malaysia management, to build the capacity of project which aims to establish a Forest SFD staff in managing community-based Management and Certification Committee forestry, and to develop alternative sources for the four villages. Forest Management of livelihood for isolated forest communities. and Certification Committees function The four villages in the project will serve as feedback mechanisms to the SFD as demonstration sites in developing on matters relating to the management community-based forestry in the context of reserves—in this instance, the of sustainable forest management and Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve. The poverty alleviation.

32 Lessons Learnt

In the short period that the Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve to engage in projects that will achieve economic benefits Project has been running, difficulties are still being for them; confronted and obstacles overcome. Some major lessons • construct the physical infrastructure needed to permit to be learnt are still likely to emerge. The lessons learnt so profitable, income-earning economic activities to be far indicate that the success of community-based projects undertaken and commodities traded; and initiatives depends on: • resolve the issue of illegal burning to clear undergrowth • carrying out a full-scale Social Impact Assessment (SIA) and avoid stacking branches and other light timber, so on the ground before beginning the project. Secondary that the benefits of sterilizing the soil surface and materials and reports prepared for other purposes may minimizing use of pesticides and herbicides can still not identify critical elements or may be too abbreviated be achieved; in their coverage of the area and the issues needing to • bridge the income gap by planting crops that will be addressed to provide the requisite contextual or produce a return until the rubber trees can be tapped in baseline information; 5–6 years time; • addressing social issues and determining a people- • resolve land issues relating to ownership in order to based budget requires detailed information of a type that provide security of tenure for the villages and for the is not routinely collected by government agencies villagers’ allotted landholdings; dealing with such matters as forestry and agriculture; • persuade households to cultivate their landholdings at a • ensuring the availability of a practical and viable level approaching capacity, not just a limited proportion alternative livelihood for the communities concerned; of them; • achieving the acceptance and active involvement of the • realign logging tracks so that the permanent network of members of the participant community; roads connecting villages to each other and the region • securing the commitment, capacity and resources of no longer passes through forest reserves; the various relevant local agencies to support • identify potential markets that match the land and implementation; production capability of the villagers and their land; • establishing a formal committee to facilitate cooperation, • build capacity for an independent monitoring agency to coordination and monitoring; determine the scale and quality of progress, and the • mainstreaming the projects or activities into the authority to ensure action; development agenda of the state and its relevant • motivate parents to send their children to primary school agencies. on a regular basis, and encourage retention through secondary school in order to create career options for Challenges the next generation of villagers; Among the challenges that have emerged in the • develop sufficient momentum during the period of the implementation of the project, have been the need to: project that achievements are consolidated and • establish baseline information against which progress continued once it concludes; achievements can be measured; • encourage a spirit of engagement and enterprise among • deploy people and resources to ensure the efficient and the participating households that avoids, or overcomes, effective implementation of the project recommendations; ongoing expectations of handouts or the creation of • provide the necessary catalyst to persuade the villagers long-term dependency on official or other agencies.

33 SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Publications

Colfer, CJP, D Sheil, D Kaimowitz and M Kishi (2006) Forests and human health in the tropics: some important connections, unasylva, FAO, 224, pp.3–10.

EC-UNDP (2007) Guidelines for Facilitators of Community Forestry Projects in Malaysia, Small Grants Programme for Operations to Promote Tropical Forests, Malaysia.

Gassner, A. and Mohamed Faisal Mohd Noor (2007a) Agroforestry Based Management Plan for the Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve, Tongod, Consultancy Report to the Sabah Forestry Department, October.

Gassner, A. and Mohamed Faisal Mohd Noor (2007b) Framework for an Agroforestry Based Management Plan for the Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve, Report to the Sabah Forestry Department, April.

Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (n.d.) Hands-on Action for Sustainable Development, 1992-2002.

Jones, T and P Maundu (2006) Forest Biodiversity, nutrition and population health in market-oriented food systems, unasylva, FAO, 224, pp.34–40.

Kwok Kwan Kit (2007) Poverty, Inequality and Welfare in Sabah, Study to Identify Strategies and Programmes to Eradicate Poverty and Improve Employment and Equity Restructuring in Sabah and Sarawak, UNDP Malaysia, unpublished.

Leete, R (2007) Malaysia: from Kampung to Twin Towers: 50 Years of Economic and Social Development, Oxford Fajar, Shah Alam, Malaysia.

Malaysia Economic Planning Unit (2001) Eighth Malaysia Plan 2001–2005, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Malaysia Economic Planning Unit (2006) Ninth Malaysia Plan 2006–2010, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Ng Siew Ling, G (2000) The Certification Process in Malaysia: A Case Study, WWF, unpublished.

UNDP (2005) Malaysia: Achieving the Millennium Development Goals: Successes and Challenges, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

UNDP (2006) Promoting Sustainable Use and Conservation of Forest Resources in Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve through Capacity Building and Community Forestry, Project Document, unpublished.

34 SOURCES OF INFORMATION

UNDP (2006-2007) Promoting Sustainable Use and Conservation of Forest Resources in Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve through Capacity Building and Community Forestry, Progress Reports, unpublished.

WWF, IWGIA, KULU, Nepenthes and DIIS (2005) Integrating Indigenous and Gender Aspects in Natural Resource Management - Guidelines for Practitioners.

Internet

Delegation of the European Commission to Malaysia (2007) The Small Grants Programme for Operations to Promote Tropical Forests (SGP PTF) – Malaysia. http://www.delmys.cec.eu.int/en/eu_malaysia_relations/eu_malaysia_cooperation/ InformationSGPPTF1.htm

Government of Sabah (2007) Forestry Industry in Sabah. http://www.forest.sabah.gov.my

International Tropical Timber Organization Website. http://www.itto.or.jp/live/index.jsp

JOANGOHutan (2006) Forest Governance in Malaysia: An NGO Perspective, FERN. http://www.fern.org

Malaysian Timber Council Website. http://www.mtc.co.my.publication/library/formal/content.html

Molnar, A, M Liddle, C Bracer, A Khare, A White and J Bull (2007) Community-Based Forest Enterprises in Tropical Forest Countries: Status and Potential, ITTO, RRI and Forest Trends Conference in Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil. http://www.itto.or.jp

Sabah Forestry Department Official Website. http://www.forest.sabah.gov.my

World Conservation Monitoring Centre in collaboration with the IUCN Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas (1992), Protected Areas of the World: A Review of National Systems, for the IVth World Congress on National Parks and Protected Areas, Volume I, book preview. http://books.google.com

35 PREVIOUS REPORTS IN THIS UNDP SERIES

Earlier Reports in Series 1 Malaysia’s Peat Swamp Forests: Conservation and Sustainable Use, Kuala Lumpur, 2006.

2 Achieving Industrial Energy Efficiency in Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 2006.

3 Protecting the Ozone Layer: Malaysia Implementing the Montreal Protocol, Kuala Lumpur, 2007.

4 Malaysia Generating Renewable Energy from Palm Oil Wastes, Kuala Lumpur, 2007.

Copies of this current report, as well as earlier reports in this series, can be obtained by writing to:

Ginny Ng Programme Manager (Energy & Environment) Wisma UN, Block C, Kompleks Pejabat Damansara, Jalan Dungun, Damansara Heights, 50490 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Email: [email protected]

36 M A L A Y S I A S U S T A I N A B L E C O M M U N I T Y F O R E S T M A N A G E M E N T I N S A B A H

United Nations Development Programme Wisma UN, Block C, Kompleks Pejabat Damansara Jalan Dungun, Damansara Heights, 50490 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03 2095 9122 Fax: 03 2095 2870 www.undp.org.my