Malaysia: Concern over high-rise projects near Kota Kinabalu wetlands

Muguntan Vanar The Star 14 Feb 11;

KOTA KINABALU: Wetlands conservationists are concerned over high-rise development projects along the city’s Signal Hill which may upset plans to turn Kota Kinabalu Wetland Centre (KKWC) into a Ramsar site.

Sabah Wetland Conservation Society president Zainal Abdul Aucusa said the proposed projects close to the city’s wetland conservation area would affect their bid for international recognition for the wetland that sits on the foothills of Signal Hills.

He said the state Government, through City Hall, must ensure that the projects do not affect plans to make KKWC the state’s second Ramsar site.

The wetland areas of Lower Kinabatangan-Segama in east coast Sabah is the first Ramsar site in Sabah.

Currently, six wetland areas have been listed as Ramsar sites in Malaysia.

A Ramsar site is an area marked for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.

It derives its name from the Ramsar convention, an international treaty on wetlands adopted in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971.

Zainal said public support was needed to list KKWC as a Ramsar site.

“Residents, especially in Likas and Signal Hill, must support our effort to turn KKWC into a Ramsar site by rejecting high-rise development,” he said at the launch of the state level World Wetlands Day on Saturday by Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.

Masidi said most of the land adjacent to KKWC were privately owned but City Hall could ensure that the developers strictly followed development guidelines.

He said the society should engage the developers and impress on them the importance of preserving the wetland area and the impact it would have on their property price.