Source : New Straits Times, Malaysia, 19 Feb 2005
By : NST
  

Institute director Datin Professor Dr Maryati Mohamed said the blueprint would cover wide-ranging topics from ways of educating the public to finding out how to properly manage Maliau Basin.

"It is important for us to know how to manage Maliau Basin and to keep it intact," Maryati said at the institute's Research Day exhibition today.

Maliau Basin is home to pristine natural features and is uninhabitated by man. Visitors are few, save for researchers, due to its rugged and remote nature.

It initially formed part of a large timber concession assigned to Yayasan Sabah, but was in 1981 designated as an area for wildlife conservation, education and research under the foundation's long-term Forest Management Plan.

Several years ago, there was talk that Maliau would be mined for its rich coal deposits, but protests from conservationists and the public put paid to that idea.

The researchers will continue to document plant and animal species in Maliau Basin to add to the list compiled in the first expedition.

On the nine-year-old institute, Maryati said research done has been useful for agencies involved in managing the State's resources.

"We have done studies on forest harvesting, degraded land and impact of natural disasters, to give a few examples.

"These have been useful for managers of natural resources. We believe our research has also benefited the tourism and herbal industries."

Science and Technology Adviser to the Chief Minister, Datuk Tham Nyip Shen, who opened the exhibition, said the results from the institute's research were used to draft, update and improve management of parks and conservation areas in Sabah.