Donors sought to secure 540ha land for Tabin-Kulamba wildlife corridor

KOTA KINABALU: Rhino and Forest Fund (RFF), non-governmental organisation (NGO), is urgently looking for donors to secure land for the Tabin-Kulamba wildlife corridor initiative at Sabah's east coast.

Founded in Kehl, Germany in 2009, RFF's main purpose is nature conservation. Its activities consists of forest protection, forest restoration and setting up wildlife corridors.

Since 2011, RFF, in collaboration with local authorities, has saved more than 2,300ha of crucial forest land that has been gazetted as totally protected areas in Sabah.

RFF chief executive officer and founder Robert Risch (pic) said they needed to raise at least one million euros (RM4.8mil) by May this year, as the landowner of the relevant plots plans to sell it as soon.

The area covering 540ha is part of an oil palm estate, and is essential to complete the wildlife corridor to significantly decrease the extinction risk of several highly endangered species, such as the Bornean banteng and Bornean pygmy elephant.

Presently under the wildlife corridor, 65ha has been acquired by RFF to link and reconnect to key biodiversity areas but the connectivity is still too narrow, he said.

"Total cost for the 540ha is €5mil (RM24.3mil).

"Should we not succeed in raising enough funds to start buying his estate by May 2023, the owner informed us that he will sell the land to an oil palm company.

"We need at least €1mil by May 2023 to prove that we are serious. Currently we are far from the target.

"RFF has reached out to many foundations, NGOs and companies but as the figure needed to be raised by next month is huge, the most realistic scenario is to find private donors who can quickly decide what to do with their money, without prolonged application procedures," he told The Star.

Asked how much they have collected so far, he did not reveal any amount and said, "There are no solid pledges yet".

Asked what was likely to happen if they were not able to secure the RM4.8mil funding in time, he said there was a high risk of losing the land, depending on how fast the owner can sell to other parties.

The Tabin-Kulamba wildlife corridor connects Malaysia's largest Ramsar site (Lower Kinabatangan and Segama Wetlands) with Malaysia's largest wildlife reserve (Tabin Wildlife Reserve) to preserve Borneo's threatened flora and fauna.

Among the wildlife to benefit from the corridor is the endangered Bornean banteng, where around 100 were estimated in Kulamba and at least 50 in Tabin.

According to the data provided by RFF, once united, both sub-populations could form a viable population and prevent extinction of the species.

Other wildlife in the endangered category (IUCN red list) and threatened by habitat fragmentation within that landscape are the proboscis monkey, eastern grey gibbon, Bornean pygmy elephant and the flat-headed cat, among others.

Risch said potential donors can reach out at the email [e-mail] or make their donation pledge at https://rhinoandforestfund.org/.