(MY) condo project affecting Cameron Highlands, pangolins seized and partnerships to conserve Kinabatangan

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New Straits Times » National

 

Condo project may disturb Cameron's fragile ecosystem

 

TANAH RATA, Aug 20:

 

Aug 21: Residents here are worried that a condominium project which has been

given the go-ahead will threaten the highland's fragile ecosystem and their

quality of life.

 

Their nightmare began in March this year following a Cabinet decision to allow

five apartment projects to proceed after the developers amended their building

plans to avoid any construction on Class IV slopes.

 

The five were part of the eight projects frozen over a year ago pending a

study. They were given the green light after meeting the guidelines on

highlands development.

 

Under the guidelines, development is completely banned on Class IV slopes,

categorised as having a gradient of 35 degrees or more.

 

However, the residents are determined to get the Government to reconsider

future developments in the highlands and stop further degradation.

 

Towards this end, the Society of Regional Environmental Awareness of Cameron

Highlands (Reach) has started a campaign to collect about 2,000 signatures for a

petition to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

 

" At present we have collected about 1,500 signatures and the move to get more

is on-going, " a Reach member, Jay Gomathi Richards said yesterday.

 

The petition aims to bring to the attention of the Prime Minister, Minister of

Science, Technology and Environment Datuk Law Hieng Ding and district officer

Haron Abdul Kader the residents' concern over the deplorable state and continued

degradation of Cameron Highlands. Jay said while residents were overwhelmingly

campaigning against the development, one of the developers had started clearing

the jungle near the Heritage Hotel in Tanah Rata to build an access route to the

project site.

 

" It seems the developer is in a hurry to start the project. We are not sure why

the rush, " another Reach member, Jason Chin said.

 

Chin used to work with the Malaysian Nature Society and was involved with a

study on ecosystem of the surrounding hills in Cameron Highlands.

 

He said the residential projects would damage some of the unique flora and

fauna found here. " The forest used to be part of the Mentigi Forest Reserve,

but has been degazetted for development, " he said, adding that if projects were

allowed to resume streams flowing through the forest would be badly affected.

 

" These streams are a source of water for areas such as Ringlet, Lembah Bertam

and Habu, " Chin said.

 

Meanwhile, when contacted this morning, Tanah Rata Assemblyman, who is State

Unity and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman, Datuk Law Kee Long said he was

unsure whether the project had been given the green light to resume.

 

 

 

New Straits Times » NewsBreak

 

Three days jail, RM2k fine for pangolin smugglers - Azura Abas

 

KUALA SELANGOR, Aug 26: Two men were each sentenced to three days' jail and

RM2,000 fine or two months' jail by the magistrate's court today for possession

of 46 pangolins, an endangered and highly protected animal.

 

Both Yeow Kong Hong, 30, and Eyu Joo Poh, 32, pleaded guilty to being jointly in

unlawful possession of 46 pangolins or scientifically known as " Manis Javanica "

at Batu 2, Jalan Kuala Selangor, Tanjung Karang about 5.30pm on Aug 7.

 

The offence under Section 64 (2)(a) of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972

carries a maximum RM3,000 fine or three years jail.

 

Before magistrate Rofiah Mohamad passed the sentence, Yeow of Sungai Pelek and

Eyu of Jenjarum asked for leniency.

 

In mitigation, Eyu said he worked as a lorry driver and earned about RM1,000

per month.

 

" I have two small children and a wife to take care of. Furthermore, this is my

first offence, " he said.

 

Yeow mitigated in a written form to Rofiah, who read the contents to herself.

 

The Wildlife and National Parks Department prosecuting officer Ismail Mahmod,

however, asked for a heave sentence so that it would be a deterrent to others

since pangolins are protected species under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.

 

Yeow and Eyu were stopped at a roadblock by seven officers of the Wildlife and

National Parks Department on Aug 7.

 

The pangolins were found inside their lorry with registration number NBC 8748.

The pangolins were reported to have been collected from Perak, Negri Sembilan

and Selangor.

 

 

 

New Straits Times » Columns

 

Comment: Developing partnerships to conserve Sungai Kinabatangan - Jaswinder

Kaur

 

Aug 26: AT DAWN, the Kinabatangan river comes to life with children taking a

bath before heading off to school, housewives washing clothes and the men

checking on fish traps.

 

The tranquillity is broken only by the occasional laugh, or a passing boat.

 

But, looking closer, it is clear that all is not well. The river, once used by

the Chinese in the 15th century to trade forest products, is now referred to by

many as teh susu (milk tea).

 

Apart from floods, sedimentation from land clearing for logging and oil palm

plantations led to the river declining in terms of water quality.

 

Ironic as it may seem, locals now depend on rainwater for drinking and cooking.

When a long drought sets in, some consume water from the river after waiting for

the sediment to settle in water tanks.

 

" About 30 years ago, we used the Kinabatangan for drinking. Today, we use

rainwater. The river is now only good for washing clothes.

 

" Freshwater fish and prawns are on the decline ... just 20 years ago, I could

catch two kilogrammes of fish in minutes, now it takes hours, " Kampung Sukau

headman Shaharon Ahmad says.

 

His only hope is to see the Kinabatangan, which at 560km is the longest river

in Sabah, return to its pristine state.

 

Villagers need to stop throwing garbage into it, tour operators must regulate

the number of boats, oil palm plantations have to leave a buffer zone at river

banks to prevent toxins from flowing into the Kinabatangan, and logging

activities should adhere to the Sustainable Forest Management concept.

 

On its part, the Sabah Government has established a 27,000-hectare conservation

area in the Lower Kinabatangan and declared it as " A Gift to Earth " in November

1999.

 

The World Wide Fund for Nature Malaysia subsequently launched a vision for the

Kinabatangan, implemented by the Partners for Wetlands Programme.

 

The vision includes creating a floodplain that supports a thriving and diverse

economy to offer opportunities to local people and businesses, and a landscape

in which agriculture, people and nature conservation is united by a common

source of vitality - water.

 

" There will be a loss of wildlife and declining productivity in terms of fish

resources if nothing is done to conserve the Lower Kinabatangan. " Solutions to

present problems will depend on partnerships, " Partners for Wetlands programme

project manager Rajah Indran explains.

 

The local community, on its part, is turning to eco-tourism to conserve the

environment.

 

A fine example is the village of Batu Puteh, which launched a homestay

programme two years ago with funding from WWF Norway.

 

Today, young people at the village are bringing tourists on forest walks,

river cruises to watch wildlife, canoeing through wetlands and giving talks on

the rich culture and folklore of the Orang Sungai people.

 

The home-stay initiative and related projects in Batu Puteh gener-ated

RM108,000 for the local community last year. Villagers who have picked up the

English language are now keen to learn Japanese.

 

At Kampung Sukau further downstream, the home-stay programme has started on a

smaller scale and several youths have constructed bed and breakfast style

accommodation.

 

At the Earth Summit this week in Johannesburg, sustainable development in

places like the Kinabatangan will be one of the issues discussed.

 

Many recommendations will come out of the meeting, some of which will address

how groups such as indigenous people, non-governmental organisations, scientific

communities and the authorities can work together to conserve the environment

and subsequently reduce poverty.

 

In the case of the Kinabatangan, sustainable development will continue to be

an issue of concern in years to come.