Lower Kinabatangan

Lower Kinabatangan

Scientific Expedition 2002

Autor: eds. Maryati Mohamed, Atsuko Takano, Benoit Goossens and Rajah Indran
Verlag: Natural History Publications

There was a time when forests lined this river, providing ample habitat for wildlife – and people lived harmoniously with them. But times have changed – today, the forests are in isolated patches, barely enough for the wildlife to survive. Instead, oil palm plantations have flourished and expanded, sometimes very near to the riverbanks. Due to sediment and the use of chemicals, the river is now polluted. Indigenous people complain of lower harvests from the river and dead fishes floating in the river during heavy downpours, when chemicals are washed down into the river system. It is time for action. An expedition to the Lower Kinabatangan was organized during 2nd May to 2nd June 2002. About 70 scientists and their assistants participated from several agencies within Sabah, as well as from Peninsular Malaysia. Colleagues from Japan under the Bornean Biodiversity and Ecosystem Conservation (BBEC) programme also participated. In addition collaborators from the United Kingdom, involved in joint research and training on genetic conservation of Orang-utans at Kinabatangan were also present. This joint collaborative research is funded by the Darwin Initiative, United Kingdom. The well known couple from the non-govemmental organisation HUTAN, Isabelle and Marc Ancrenaz, who are organizing the Kinabatangan Orang-Utan Conservation Project (KOCP), and their staff participated and contributed tremendously by providing logistics and the base camp for the one-month expedition. This expedition was organized jointly between Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), KOCP, Sabah Wildlife Department and Darwin Initiative. It was also supported by WWF Malaysia (Partners for Wetlands Programme).

12.08.2013 09:28