Sabah Wetlands Newsletter

Sabah Wetlands Newsletter
November 2010
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Decoding and Realising REDD+ in the Heart of Borneo with a Specific Focus On
Sabah
8-9 November 2010, The Magellan Sutera, Sutera Harbour, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
The Sabah Forestry Department (SFD), in partnership with WWF-Malaysia,
hosted the above event which was attended by participants from
around the globe. The event was officiated by The Right Honorable Chief
Minister of Sabah. The subject matter of the conference is very much relevant to the recent development on Climate Change Convention in
which REDD+ (Reduced Emission from Deforestation and Degradation of
Forest) has been identified as the mechanism to compensate developing
countries that are willing to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. The objective of the conference is to bring awareness
and understanding of the REDD+ development and its process from the
international level to the region. The conference gave an opportunity for
stakeholders to examine the questions and objectives of REDD+, share
information, establish partnerships and propose recommendations to policy makers on moving REDD+ in the country.
At the same occasion on 8/11, an M.o.U was signed between the State
Government of Sabah (through SFD) and SWCS with the overall objective
to replant mangroves in Sulaman Lake Forest Reserve – Class V in an effort to restore and rehabilitate such areas via community outreach.
Broadly about 25,000 mangrove saplings will be planted within 5 years on
7.41 hectares of land. The donor for this replanting project is Mullion Co.
Inc. of Japan.
Sabah Wetlands
Conservation Society (SWCS)
/ Pertubuhan Pemuliharaan Tanah
Lembap Sabah,
was established on
22 August 2005
Our Objectives:
To promote the conservation of
wetlands in Sabah and the variety
of plants, birds and other kinds of
organisms found in them.
~
To raise public awareness and appreciation of wetlands and public
involvement in
protecting wet-
lands.
~
To manage Kota Kinabalu Wetland Centre (KKWC) as a model
wetlands centre for the purpose of
conservation, education, recreation, tourism and research.
Datuk Sam Mannan, Director of Sabah Forestry Department (seated second left), is
seen with Haji Zainie Abdul Aucasa (extreme
right) during the MoU signing ceremony between Sabah Forestry Department and SWCS.
Former Prime Minister, Tun Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi and wife attended the first day of the
conference entirely. Seen here they are making official round to the various booths at the
conference venue.
L ef t : I n t e r n a t i o n al p ar t i c i pa n ts fr o m
T an z a n i a , P a p u a N e w G u i n e a, V i e t n am , T h e Ph i l i p pi n e s , In d o n e s i a a n d
M al ay s i a a t t e n di n g th e “ I n t e gr a te d
B i o d i ve r s i ty an d E c o s y s t e m M an a g e m en t Tr a i n i n g C o u r s e ” u n d e r th e T h i r d
C ou n tr y Tr ai n i n g Pr o gr am m e h e l d i n
K o t a K i n a b al u , S a b ah , u n de r pr o j e c t
by B o r n e an B i o d i ve r s i ty a n d E c o s y s t em s C o n s e r v a ti o n i n S a b ah ( B B E C I I)
m a d e a s t o p -o v e r vi s i t a t K K W C o n
1 1/ 1 1 / 2 0 1 1 fo r a n e d u c a t i o n al t o u r i n
th e m an gr o ve fo r e s t an d t h e r e af t e r a
l e ar n i n g s e s s i o n o n m a n gr o v e s y s te m
an d m an a g e m e n t .
The Girls’ Brigade Malaysia from Basel
Church, K.K., came in hordes to KKWC on
21/11/2010 and were quickly initiated by
Education Officer, Jocelyn Maluda (below
pix, left), around the ropes of environment
education and environment voluntary work
― a great way to add feathers to their young
caps.
If you have any enquiries regarding Sabah Wetlands Conservation Society, please e-mail us at swcs@sabahwetlands.org.
Kota Kinabalu Wetland Centre, Off Jln Bukit Bendera Upper, 88400 Likas, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Tel: +60 88 246 955 Fax: +60 88 247 955 Website: www.sabahwetlands.org
ROTARY CLUB’S DISTRICT GOVERNOR’S (DG) VISIT
TO KKWC
DG Dr. Abraham of Singapore made his first official visit
to Rotary Clubs in Group 13, all within Kota Kinabalu. In
conjunction with this, several members of the Group 13
clubs joined him for a visit to KKWC. During this opportune time, Dr. Abraham and some club members took
to the ground and planted mangrove trees, keen to
contribute to a healthier environment. Dr. Abraham
expressed his admiration for the conservation work in
KKWC and hoped it will continue.
The individuals and body who each planted a tree in
KKWC are:
Dr. K. A. Abraham, DG District 3310, 2010-2011
PP Philip Chong, Assistant Governor District 3310,
Group 13, 2010-2011
Rotary Club of Kinabalu Sutera
Preston Fong
Benjamin Fong
Haji Zainie Abdul Aucasa
(hand up), President of
SWCS, took the lead to guide
DG Dr. Abraham (in white
cap) and his entourage on
an educational visit around
the mangrove forest.
(Right top and bottom photos) The Rotary Club members in high spirits during
their tree planting session
with Datuk Verus Aman
Sham (bottom pix, third left)
on hand to guide.
TREE PLANTING ACTIVITY BY STAFF OF
ALL BORNEO CONNECTION TOURS ON 13/11/2010
HSBC INVEST IN THE YOUNG AND THE FUTURE ON 9/11/2010
Jocelyn Maluda (third left) engaged
students on the aspects of conservation and restoration with emphasis on
mangrove.
Students immersed themselves in group
assignment within the natural setting of
a mangrove forest that help set high
retention rate of conservation values.
WORKSHOP FOR ESTABLISHING BASELINE DATA FOR INDICATOR SPECIES AND INCREASING AWARENESS OF MANGROVE
ECOSYSTEM IN SEMPORNA , 24-25 NOVEMBER 2010
WWF-Malaysia’s project, the Semporna Priority Conservation Area (PCA) aims to facilitate collaborative
management of coral reefs and adjacent ecosystems with tourism and fisheries. The objective of this project, through this workshop, is to establish a baseline of mangrove health in the Semporna PCA for future
monitoring. This Project will provide management agencies with the necessary information to establish a
monitoring plan and advocacy material for the protection of mangroves in the Semporna PCA. Speakers
during this workshop are from Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Global Environment Centre and KKWC/SWCS
(Bobby Alex & Lee Ka Han). On the last day of the workshop, KKWC/SWCS led the way as facilitators to
replant mangroves in Kg. Salimbangun. All workshop participants and community members of Kg. Salimbangun worked together to replant 120 mangrove saplings.
Lee Ka Han (Back
row, third right) and
Bobby Alex (Back
row, second right)
of
SWCS/KKWC
lead the way in the
replanting session.
The response and
support
received
was overwhelming.
Community
members of Kg. Salimbangun and workshop
participants
work
together to replant
the saplings. Planters
remarked how gratifying the sense of
giving back to nature
was and eager to do
more in the future.
UP AND COMING EVENTS
IN KKWC — December
6/12
Shell Grant Event
9/12
& 10/12 Kota Kinabalu
Japanese School
Environmental
Education Program
13/12
Sabah Tourist
Guide Association
meeting
31/12
Environmental
Education Program for teacher
trainees
* List is not exhaustive; new
events occur from time to
time.
GUESTS’ COMMENTS
“I couldn’t believe that this
place was so
close to the city,
a natural place.
It is so easy to
get here. I like it.”
Freek Derks, 14/11/2010, U.K.
“This place is beautiful,
beautiful, beautiful. We
saw about 10 egrets and
that, to us, is awesome.”
Mr. & Mrs. Fantone Bonjour, 5/11/2010, Italy
Editor-in-Chief: Bobby Alex of KKWC, Supported by Team at KKWC and SWCS; Images property of SWCS
All donations made to the Society are exempted from tax under Subsection 44(6) of the Income Tax Act 1967.