Wildlife culvert crossings built by Malaysian palm oil company yields positive results

The Star 21 Jul 10

The move to build culvert crossings to enable the animals to roam freely by a plantation company operating in the wildlife rich lower Kinabatangan region near the Sabah east coast district of Sandakan is beginning to pay off.

Wildlife footprints were recently spotted on soil covered culvert crossings that were built at Kinabatangan, an ecologically sensitive area.

Malbumi Group of Companies constructed nine concrete culvert crossings to connect drains and rivers within Lot 1 of the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary to enable wildlife to cross from one side of the sanctuary to another.

“We felt sorry for disturbing their natural habitat when we proceeded with our plantations.

“To clear our conscience, we now hope to do our best in taking good care of them,” said Malbumi Group of Companies managing director Edward Ang.

He said when Malbumi first started clearing land in 1995, he noticed there was wildlife like orang-utans, proboscis monkeys and Borneo pygmy elephants on its land.

According to Ang, his company has helped to free a herd of 15 to 20 elephants trapped in a pool.

“With supervision from the wildlife authority, we managed to free the elephants using heavy machinery like bulldozers and excavators.

“Malaysia has been a major palm oil producer over the years and this is because we are situated in an environment that permits us to do so.

“We must continuously do our best to protect the environment so that we can continue to produce the best palm oil efficiently,” Ang said.

Malbumi has been studying the WWF-Malaysia ‘Kinabatangan–Corridor of Life’ project to learn how to best manage wildlife found within and close to its estates.

The estates cover about 5,200 hectares (13,000 acres) and is situated near Sukau and Sungai Tenegang which are adjacent to Lot 1 of the wildlife sanctuary, and is also close to Lokan that lies next to the Segaliud Lokan forest reserve.

Mr Ang said the palm oil industry has reaped good harvest in recent years, and it would be good for the planters along the Kinabatangan River to donate a small portion of their revenue to help the Sabah Wildlife Department and NGOs like WWF-Malaysia to sustain the viability of wildlife populations in the country.

“Malbumi is also considering becoming a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) once it ventures into palm oil mills with its partners,” said Ang said adding that a workshop on RSPO organised recently in Sandakan by WWF-Malaysia and the Malaysian Palm Oil Association (MPOA) was informative.

Ang said the workshop gave him and his team better insight on how to set higher standards in tackling environmental issues and ways to improve protection of wildlife.

When asked what advice he had for other palm oil companies in Kinabatangan, he said, “Only humans have the power and ability to ensure the future of wildlife, so we need to start making that difference.”