KOTA KINABALU, Sept 21 — The Sabah government remains committed to pursue sustainable development through its plans and policies that factor in the need to protect the state’s vital ecosystem said Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman today.
He said the commitment was to ensure the state’s natural capitals such as mangrove continue to provide with ecosystem services such as protecting coastlines from erosion and waves.
“Any conservation efforts that protect our invaluable natural heritage is viewed as vital and will be given utmost attention. Through our existing development and sustainability policies and regulations, Sabah is seeing growth and is also able to lead and set an example for the country in terms of biodiversity conservation,” he said at the launch of the Kota Kinabalu Wetland Ramsar Site here.
The text of his speech was delivered by Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.
Musa also said the state government via the Sabah Forestry Department was not only committed to protect the remaining mangrove and forest, but also in properly managing and rehabilitating areas that had been degraded for various reasons, including encroachment and fire.
“Through mangrove management, efforts are made to conserve coastal areas, establish buffer zones, restore coastal area habitats and the quality of the environment as well as enhance its esthetical values,” he said.
According to Musa, the management and restoration of mangrove was given priority as Sabah had about 338,000 hectares of mangrove vegetation within its forest reserves.
Meanwhile, Masidi said the Kota Kinabalu Wetlands, which is Sabah’s second Ramsar-certified site after Lower Kinabatangan-Segama Wetlands, was considered the only urban wetland in the world that was Ramsar certified, which was proof of the state government’s commitment to ensure environmental conservation efforts included urban areas.
“A lot of developers must not be sleeping well at night because this 60 acres (24 hectares) of prime land only 10km from the city centre cannot be touched for high rise buildings and such,” he said.
Masidi said the state government was also looking to propose Klias Wetlands, near Beaufort, to become Sabah’s third Ramsar site.
Sabah Wetlands Conservation Society President Datuk Zainie Abdul Aucasa said with the Ramsar certification, Kota Kinabalu Wetlands was looking to upgrade its infrastructure to encourage the community to take part in conservation efforts and awareness programmes.
“Frankly, we want to discourage mass tourism because we have a number of mangrove species and animal species to protect here. We even have the critically endangered mangrove species Bruguiera Hainessi or locally known as Berus Mata Buaya as well as the Horseshoe Crab, a species that has been in existence since the time of the dinosaurs,” he said.
According to Zainie, the Kota Kinabalu Wetlands was home to about 30 mangrove species, nearly 100 bird species including migratory birds and over 20 aquatic species. — Bernama
