The Star 7 Dec 10;
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is facing a heavy responsibility in balancing its thrust for economic growth and sustainable preservation of its natural heritage.
State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said economic considerations alone could not be used to exploit its rich natural resources.
He said Sabah was blessed with natural beauty and rich wildlife, dense forests and world class marine life and coral reef.
“We have a responsibility to ensure any decision on any exploitation of the state’s natural resources cannot be taken on economic grounds only,” he said when launching the Shell Malaysia sustainable development grants for NGOs here yesterday.
Masidi said the state must evaluate the environmental risks and ensure that the principle of balance was maintained to ensure environmental and social damage was prevented.
Masidi said the government was working to address the environmental and social issues arising from the rapid and fast development of the state.
“We believe that only by working with NGOs and corporate organisations will we be able to minimise the negative environmental and social impact and create economic opportunities for our locals,” he said.
Shell Malaysia chairman Anuar Taib announced that the company had increased its annual commitment of grants for sustainable development to RM500,000 from RM300,000.
He said the grants would be used to assist 13 non-governmental organisations for environmental conservation and sustainable livelihood projects in Malaysia.
Of the 13, seven were environmental conservation projects, five sustainable livelihood projects and the last a combination of both.
Three of the NGOs were carrying out projects in Sabah, four in Sarawak and another six in the peninsula.
