Sabah must realise its full eco-tourism potential...

Rafflessia, Sabah Borneo

by: malaysiakini

This report is a great example of why it is better to leave nature on the ground than uproot it. And the solution to deforestation and the de-settlement of jungle dwellers who have called the rainforests home for thousands of years, is to employ them in tourism and educational projects where they can share their knowledge and protect their traditional homelands.

I made my virgin trip to Kota Kinabalu last month and was amazed at its surrounding hillside scenery along the way to the famous Mount Kinabalu where they were holding the international Climbathon. The drive through the hills and vales of the area reminded me of the journey to Baguio in the Philippines and the beautiful terraced hill slopes of Sapa in Vietnam.

Our native tourist guide drove us to some popular tourist places but it was the natural beauty of the hills that captivated me. Along the way we saw what must be one of the world's longest waterfalls, starting high in the hills, disappearing half-way among the clouds and disappearing into the canopies of the primary rainforests. Unlike in peninsular Malaysia, we hardly saw any roadside Macaque monkeys or any serious wildlife.

From the balcony of our lodge though, I saw only secondary rainforests even into the distance and lamented the loss of the magnificent giant trees that gave the rainforests their awesome character. You could see that many parts of the vegetation near the road were nothing like what you see inside a virgin jungle.

In one place, the forest ranger pointed to the tip of a 'tualang' tree, a rare gem of a giant tree, over some tall trees which obscured it as the area was temporarily inaccessible.

On the drive back to our hotel I lamented the sight of mangroves carelessly destroyed by development along a long stretch of road into the city. Buildings rose above the waters and the water hyacinths weed had usurped the home of the mangroves which are so ecologically vital to the biological and marine life in the area. Turning mangrove country into swampland is not sound ecology. I hope there will be replanting of mangrove trees because they are such useful plants to the environment.

While there, I read a front- page report in the local newspaper about 'Blue Ocean' author Professor Kim Chan's headline-grabbing statement that Sabah could outdo Dubai and noted that concern for the environment was one of the conditions. Good one, Prof Kim!

When you have some of the most impressive scenery, wildlife and natural assets in your backyard, it is hard not to agree. The country has yet to fully appreciate what it can do with its natural assets. There must be a proper strategy for eco-tourism and eco-development in tandem with scientific research.

The current opportunistic ad hoc developments that pop up here and there that inevitably fall into a decrepit state after the initial hype, only offer discouragement and a jaded hope.

In my novel Tiger King of the Golden Jungle. Adam the Malay tycoon, who came to his senses and decided not to destroy the rainforest for gold mining activities, said that 'what is on the ground is more valuable than what is in the ground'. And that is the crux of eco-tourism which has proven to derive more revenue for a country than the careless and myopic exploitation of natural mineral resources or turning pristine rainforests into plantations for quick profits.

About the role of the natives in protecting the Rafflesia we saw many signs by the road indicating sightings. We stopped at one place and paid the native RM20 for the privilege of seeing the rare flower. We were fortunate to see the flower and buds. You can see the different stages of the flowers from a young bud the size of a cricket ball to the four-week old flower the size of a large straw hat, nothing like the giant blooms in the tourism posters.

'The big flowers you can only find deep in the jungle,' said the native woman who led visitors to the site, only a few metres from the bitumen road. It was doing brisk business as more tourists arrived. 'We don't allow people to go near the flowers because they may damage the area where there are other buds,' the woman said, explaining the reason for the barriers around the flowers.

Rafflessia

Sipadan Island, Sabah

The Orang-Utan, Sabah

In my preoccupation with taking photographs, I forgot to ask her more questions but I guess I got my money's worth of photos and if the business remains brisk as it seemed, the future of the Rafflesia in its natural habitat looks safe. We saw several other signs pointing to other sightings but we did not stop to take a look. We were happy with what we had seen...