Malaysia: Policy needed on rare wildlife

August 17, 2002

c=nation

Friday, August 16, 2002

Policy needed on rare wildlife

KUCHING: Sarawak needs to quickly initiate a regulatory policy to conserve

the state’s rare wildlife, the Sarawak Tourism Federation said.

Its pro tem president Philip Yong said species such as the rare Irrawaddy

dolphins and exclusive proboscis monkeys which had tourism potential would

be lost if there was no such policy to ensure their survival.

“A very urgent and committed policy of conservation should be put in place

to ensure the sustainability of these valuable tourism products,’’ he said

in a paper at a conference themed “Sarawak in the Eighth Malaysia Plan:

Striving Towards Excellence and Competitiveness.’’

Yong, who spoke on “Tourism Industry: The Way Ahead for the Future,” said

the state’s national parks would have an additional attraction if they were

properly managed with a viable population of indigent wildlife, especially

the endangered species.

“Game parks in Africa generate a lot of tourism revenue from their wildlife,

’’ he added.

Yong, who is Borneo Adventure Sdn Bhd’s managing director, said a proper

system of zoning and upgrading of park trails would attract more visitors to

nature tourism.

He said a team of highly motivated, educated and competent park rangers who

knew the parks well would be needed to cater to demand.

He said the state’s 15 national parks had many unique and rare species of

plants and wildlife, and they could accommodate more visitors if properly

managed.

Statistics showed that more than 190,000 people visited nine of the more

accessible national parks last year.

The Matang National Park near here, the most popular park among them, drew

over 58,000 visitors, followed by Lambir National Park, Miri (34,609) and

Similajau National Park in Bintulu (26,201).

There were 13,852 visitors to the Mulu National Park.

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