The Star, Malaysia : Creating safe pathways for wild animals in the Lower Kinabatangan

Monday November 10, 2003

Creating safe pathways for wild animals in the Lower Kinabatangan

BY SUSAN TAM

PETALING JAYA: Special forest “corridors” are being built to allow elephants and other wildlife to move freely in the lower Kinabatangan river to protect them and minimise damage to plantations or villages located there, Worldwide Fund For Nature (Malaysia) Borneo programme director Dr Geoffrey Davison said.

“The Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary is fragmented along the river bank, in between villages and palm oil plantations.

“Animals, such as elephants travelling in straight migratory patterns, will risk walking into ditches or electrical fences set up at these plantations or villages,” he said.

Dr Davison: Sanctuary to cover 26,000ha

A corridor will function as a “feeder road” between one patch of sanctuary and another along the riverbank.

It is basically a patch of jungle with all the natural vegetation.

Dr Davison said the corridors, also known as buffer strips, would provide safe access for the animals to move from one part of the sanctuary to another.

“The corridors will be replanted with trees and other vegetation suited for the river bank. The seedlings are obtained from nurseries set up nearby,” he said.

He added that the sanctuary, which covers an area of about 26,000ha, houses proboscis monkeys, hornbills, orang utan and various bird species.

“The corridors will also create a more secure habitat for animals to move about in case of other dangers like forest fires or drought,” he said in an interview here yesterday.

Dr Davison said several agreements had been signed with three plantation companies since 1999 and discussions were underway with other plantations to build these strips.

“It is also economically viable for these plantations to have these zones as they will act as a buffer area in case of severe floods.

“Corridors have already been built to cover an estimated area of 100km, which covers about 10% of the sanctuary, so more strips are being planned,” he said, adding that the size of each area would depend on how much land was allocated by the plantations.

Dr Davison said WWF Malaysia was working with the plantation companies, the Sabah government, the local community and other related bodies to set up these corridors.