Source : Daily Express, Sabah, 25 Nov '04
By : Daily Express
  

"The foresight with which the Government gazetted 26,000 hectares of the Lower Kinabatangan area as a sanctuary under the Land Ordinance should be respected," said WWF-Malaysia Chairman, Tengku Datuk Zainal Adlin.

He said the decision reflected the seriousness of the State Government to invest in looking after the natural habitat and the precious wildlife remaining within the sanctuary.

The Government's offer of the Lower Kinabatangan as a "Gift to the Earth" and later declaring it as the Corridor of Life has made the sanctuary a model conservation site to the world.

The global importance of the Lower Kinabatangan was recently broadcast around the world with the announcement that the Pygmy elephants are unique to Borneo.

WWF-Malaysia, he said, supported development to enhance the welfare and economic opportunities of residents in Abai village, but it also viewed seriously any development that would further fragment the remaining forests in the Lower Kinabatangan area.

"As it would be detrimental to wildlife habitat, a less damaging alternative route would definitely be preferred," he said.

In this respect, WWF-Malaysia proposed that the problems could be overcome by gazetting the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary under the provisions of the Wildlife Conservation Enactment, while retaining the existing secure land status under the Land Ordinance.

"Thus, the sanctuary would enjoy double gazettement under both the land and the wildlife laws," he said.

Towards this end, he said WWF-Malaysia urged the government to finalise the status of the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary soon, and to grant the Sabah Wildlife Department full management authority.