Posted on 28 June 2011
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. Orang-utan and
Pygmy Elephant
survival in the Heart of Borneo has received
a major boost with the certification of
nearly 300,000 hectares of important habitat
in the forest reserves of Ulu Segama-Malua
and Tangkulap-Pinangah, in the Malaysian
state of Sabah, Borneo.
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified
sites are considered to have the highest
density in the world of orang-utan sub-species,
Pongo pygmaeus morio, and the Borneo pygmy
elephant. The area also includes the 34,000
hectare Malua Biobank, an innovative public-private
financial partnership pioneered by the Sabah
government and its Forestry Department that
brings business investment into conservation
management.
FSC certification is
considered the most credible global sustainable
forest management standard that harnesses
social and environmental as well as economic
benefits.
The announcement was
made on June 28, as part of the largest
ever tri-annual FSC General Assembly, held
for the first time in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
All Sabah forestry consessions
certified by 2014
Sabah’s Forestry Department (SFD) has been
recognized by WWF as a leader in the pursuit
of sustainable forestry in the Heart of
Borneo and has imposed a deadline of 2014
for certification of all forestry concessions
in the state.
SFD director, Datuk Sam Mannan, said the
announcement quadrupled the area of land
under FSC certification in Sabah and he
hoped it would encourage other concession
holders to pursue certification based on
an internationally recognized standard such
as the FSC, before its 2014 deadline.
WWF Malaysia CEO Dato’ Dr Dionysius Sharma,
congratulated SFD on this remarkable achievement.
“FSC certification is a crucial part of
independent third party verification of
sustainable forest management and its critical
role in sustaining viable populations of
some of the world’s most endangered wildlife
here in the Heart of Borneo, one of the
most biodiverse areas on the planet,” he
said.
The certification process was facilitated
with SFD via WWF’s Global Forest and Trade
Network in Malaysia (GFTN-Malaysia) with
support from USAID’s Responsible Asia Forest
and Trade (RAFT) programme, both of which
create market conditions which help conserve
the world’s forests.
George White, Head of WWF’s GFTN, said there
had been very little certification of Asian
tropical forests to date. “This announcement
represents a significant leap forward for
sustainable management of tropical forests
in Asia and evidences the long lasting relationship
between SFD and WWF,” he added.
WWF’s Heart of Borneo
Leader, Adam Tomasek stressed the importance
of this announcement from a global perspective.
“This is a living example of how government,
business and WWF can work together to make
forests worth more standing than cut down.
It is also one of the key foundations in
the development of a Green Economy for the
HoB – a concept which is gaining increasing
relevance and support internationally,”
he said.
