Special unit to protect tracts along Lower Kinabatangan area

KOTA KINABALU: A special patrol unit will be protecting tracts of riverbank forests along the wildlife-rich Lower Kinabatangan region which are in danger.

The Kinabatangan Corridor of the Life Riparian Patrol Unit will focus on ensuring the strips of forests along the river remain intact so wildlife such as elephants and orang utan are able to move about.

The patrol unit, to be launched today, is a collaboration between the Sabah Forestry Department and the Kinabatangan-Corridor of Life Tourism Association (KiTA).

Department director Datuk Sam Mannan said the unit was necessary to ensure that plantations did not encroach into the strips of riverine forests.

“We don’t want a repeat of encroachments into these riparian reserves that are crucial for the survival of wildlife,” said Mannan, who is scheduled to launch the patrol unit.

He said the unit would start with two personnel and a boat provided by the department, adding that operational costs would be shared with KiTA.

For a start, Mannan said the patrol would focus on the forested riverbanks between Kampung Batu Putih and Kampung Abai.

Should the patrol spot any encroachment, he said, they would then alert the Kinabatangan District Forest Office that would in turn contact other relevant authorities, which include the Land and Survey, Wildlife, Environment Protection, Drainage and Irrigation and the federal Environment departments.

The 560km-long Kinabatangan River is home to endangered species such as the Borneo pygmy elephants, proboscis monkeys, orang utan, hornbills, clouded leopards, sun bears and Sumatran rhinoceros.

The 26,103ha Lower Kinabatan­gan Wildlife Sanctuary in the east is said to be home to an estimated 13,000 orang utan and 1,100 Borneo pygmy elephants.

In July, authorities were alerted to an encroachment at the protected riverine forests in Kinabatangan covering an area of some 3.24ha.