Malaysia, Maliau Basin: Long-term plan for 'lost world'

Kristy Inus The New Straits Times 9 Jul 13;

CONSERVATION: Yayasan Sabah and Danish body to review management of Maliau Basin

KOTA KINABALU: A REVIEW is on the cards for the management of Sabah's "lost world", the 588sq km Maliau Basin Conservation Area.

Its caretaker, Yayasan Sabah, will sign aN agreement with a Danish non-profit organisation tomorrow to draw up a new long-term conservation plan.

Yayasan Sabah director Datuk Sapawi Ahmad said in a statement that under the agreement, Nature, Ecology and People Consult (NEPCon) of Denmark would be assigned to update the management plan from next year to 2023.

He said with the end of the Maliau Basin Strategic Area Management Plan 2003-2012 last year, the foundation approached NEPCon for assistance to review the plan.

"For this purpose, NEPCon was successful in securing funds amounting to E294,875 (RM1.2 million) from Aage V. Jansen Foundation of Denmark.

"With the assistance of NEPCon, the foundation hopes to put in more efforts in protecting Maliau Basin."

NEPCon, with offices throughout Europe and Russia, strives to ensure responsible use of natural resources and sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use, business practices and consumer behaviour.

Sapawi said in 1999, a four-year collaborative project was initiated between Yayasan Sabah and Danced (Danish Cooperation for Environment and Development) and Danida (Danish International Development Assistance), which resulted in the formulation of the first Strategic Management Plan for Maliau Basin.

The Maliau Basin Conservation Area is located in southcentral Sabah, adjacent to the Yayasan Sabah Forest Management Area.

It is dubbed the "lost world" because of the rich biodiversity found within the crater-like structure that surrounds it.

Second plan to conserve Lost World inked
Muguntan Vanar The Star 10 Jul 13;

KOTA KINABALU: A second conservation plan for the Sabah Maliau Basin has been inked in a bid to further protect and conserve the area known internationally as the Lost World.

State-owned Yayasan Sabah and Nature, Ecology and People Consult (NEPCon) of Denmark signed a memorandum of understanding on the revision of the Maliau Basin Conservation Area Management Plan here yesterday.

Both parties had collaborated in the first Maliau Basin Conservation Area Strategic Management Plan (2003-2012).

The objective of the MoU was to review and update the plan for the period of 2014-2023, said Yayasan Sabah director Datuk Sapawi Ahmad.

“Since the first Strategic Management Plan was written, numerous development and changes have taken place in relation to the Maliau Basin Conservation Area, such as the completion of the Maliau Basin Studies Centre and related infrastructure and facilities,” he said.

Sapawi said NEPCon had been successful in securing funds amounting to 294,875 (RM1.2mil) from Aage V Foundation of Denmark for the funding of the conservation project.

“It is hoped that through this MoU, NEPCon and Yayasan Sabah will be able to construct a more effective forest management plan for the Maliau Basin Conservation Area in the years to come,” he added.