KOTA KINABALU: Sabah's forest guardians are concerned about the plan for the Pan Borneo Highway to cut through biodiversity-rich Tawai Forest Reserve in central Sabah's Telupid area.
State chief conservator of forests Datuk Frederick Kugan said concerns have been raised to those in charge of the project.
However, he said that if it was unavoidable, mitigation measures should be put in place to limit the impact.
"We (feel) it is best to avoid the forest reserve," he said on Monday (Oct 23)when asked about his department's position on the road cutting through Tawai.
The Sabah government is expected to make a decision soon on whether to go ahead with the planned route or adopt an alternative one that avoids the reserve.
Deputy Chief Minister III Datuk Shahelmey Yahya said the decision would be made "very soon",
"There is one new alignment designed and agreed on earlier that goes through the forest reserve.
"Then later, (came a) different alignment proposed with an option to avoid the forest reserve but it would be costlier.
"This is (what) we need to consider and (decide upon)," he had said last Sunday (Oct 22).
Conservationists have been urging the government to use an alternative route for the 30km Telupid stretch of the highway to avoid disrupting the Bornean elephant range as well conserve other iconic wildlife including the orang utan.
Their concerns include fears that a road through the forest would trigger more human-wildlife conflict, while the forest itself was at risk for fires during dry spells due to its geological conditions.
Conservationists have identified two alternative routes for the government to consider, which they say will not be costly.
