(MY) Sabah to gazette park

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Thursday August 4, 2005 - The Star

 

 

Sabah to gazette park by October

 

BY MUGUNTAN VANAR

 

KOTA KINABALU: The gazetting of the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary –

delayed for six years now – is a step closer to becoming a reality with the

state government promising that it will be done by October.

 

Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat said the relevant notices had

been issued and the gazetting process was in the final stages.

 

“As far as we are concerned, everything should be finalised by next month or

the latest by October,” said Chong who is state Tourism, Culture and

Environment Minister.

 

Chong was speaking at a press conference held following a state Cabinet

meeting chaired by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman.

 

He said Musa wanted him to explain the issues raised in an article in The

Star on July 25 concerning delays in gazetting the sanctuary.

 

 

ACTION REPORT: Chong holding up The Star’s July 25 article which prompted

the prime minister to enquire about the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary.

The article prompted Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to call

Musa to enquire about the 100-million-year-old sanctuary that was declared a

Gift to the Earth and Corridor of Life in 1999.

 

Chong, accompanied by senior officials from the forestry, wildlife and

natural resources department, said that the process of re-gazetting the

sanctuary from a bird sanctuary to a wildlife sanctuary would take time.

 

“I can tell you that there are a lot of procedures on de-gazetting and

re-gazetting, involving departments such as land and survey, office of

natural resources, wildlife and the state Attorney-General’s office,” he

said.

 

While admitting that action was taken recently to stop illegal sand dredging

in the Kinabatangan river outside the sanctuary, Chong refuted claims that

20% of the sanctuary was under threat from encroachment and logging.

 

He said an aerial inspection by forestry and wildlife directors on July 27

showed that only 1% of the sanctuary had been encroached on.

 

“It is clear that of the 26,000ha, only 121ha have been cleared, (and this

occurred) a long time ago.

 

“If you talk of 20% being affected, we are talking about 5,400ha, and that

is misleading,” he added.

 

On the illegal logging issue, Chong said a ground inspection by the

officials showed that 31 logs had been removed from the area, of which 16

were recovered by kampung folk who used them for a home-stay project.

 

“Nine logs were old and only five were fresh logs,” he said, adding that

there was no evidence of any “big-, medium- or small-scale logging in the

sanctuary.”

 

Chong said Musa had been clear in his efforts to stop illegal logging and to

safeguard the environment.

 

When the sanctuary is gazetted, he said, the state government would increase

the allocation for more wildlife department staff to carry out enforcement

in the area.

 

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