KOTA KINABALU: Engagement with communities, awareness creation, as well as mitigation and preventive measures are among the mechanisms aimed at reducing human-wildlife conflict in Sabah, the state assembly heard.
State Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Dr Andi Md Shamsureezal Mohd Saina said a range of plans is in the pipeline to address the issue.
"For example, to handle conflicts with elephants, a ranger escort team has been set up at hotspot areas, involving local communities," he said during the question-and-answer session on Tuesday (July 21).
"This team is trained to understand animal behaviour, safe conflict management, and techniques to herd elephants out of an area without hurting or causing distress to them."
ALSO READ: Sabah reps urged to take part in human-wildlife conflict mitigation efforts
Andi Shamsureezal said this is one way to quickly respond to cases without escalating the situation.
"For the record, the ministry and the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) have always taken steps to address animal-human conflict and the long-term measure is to sustainably handle these incidents," he said.
Arunarnsin Taib (Warisan-Gum-Gum) asked if there were immediate or long-term measures to address cases of animal attacks such as by elephants, wild boars, monkeys and other wildlife that destroyed crops.
Andi Shamsureezal replied that the approach had to be tailored to each species, by understanding the animals' behaviour, ecology and root causes of conflict.
He added that the trap-and-relocate method might not be the most feasible solution as it was just moving a problem from one place to another.
He said specific measures for different species include population control to manage risks of zoonotic diseases and public safety.
ALSO READ: Grazing grassland plan aims to reduce human-elephant conflict in Lahad Datu
For elephants, the steps taken include collar-tagging individual animals to monitor their movements and habitat patterns by catellite.
"Data taken from the collars helps rescuers and officials understand their movements while planning suitable and more efficient mitigation measures, including early warnings to locals," Andi Shamsureezal added.
As for wild boars, he said SWD acted according to risk assessments and complaints from local communities.
He said the state would continue to strengthen science-based approaches through monitoring, research, technology, community involvement and strategic cooperation to balance conservation and wildlife protection with sustainable agricultural activities and development.
Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal (Warisan-Senallang) said serious attention to be given to instances of wildlife forced out of their habitat by encroaching development.
He suggested establishing sanctuaries or dedicated wildlife spaces for identified animals not only to provide them with a safe habitat but possibly earn revenue for the state through eco-tourism ventures.
ALSO READ: Sabah launches 2-year plan to curb crocodile-human conflict
"The state is committed to controlling human-animal conflicts. And yes, there (are plans for this), for example, an elephant sanctuary in Tawau," Andi Shamsureezal replied.
"This is the first step and if is a success, we will use the same method in other districts to reduce human-animal conflict," he added.
On a sustainable tourism question by Alias Sani (Warisan-Sekong), the Assistant Minister replied that existing eco-tourism products include community-based ventures in Kampung Bambangan (CBT), the Sepilok Orangutan protection centre, Borneo Sunbear rehabilitation centre, Labuk Bay proboscis sanctuary, and the Rainforest Discovery Centre.
"To boost tourism development in Sekong, the Sabah Tourism Board, Sabah Forestry Department, SWD and district tourism action council, local authorities and communities will strive to identify more potential areas and products," he added.
