The State Government, through Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with World Wide Fund for Nature Malaysia (WWF-Malaysia) to enhance inclusive conservation practices in Sabah focusing on biodiversity conservation and maintaining forest ecosystem integrity through responsible forest governance. Inclusive conservation involves developing and applying inter- and trans-disciplinary processes including the living landscape approach to balance the consequences of different visions and interests on the landscape for how forests and nature should be conserved.

The MoU is expected to improve collaboration between the two parties in enhancing conservation activities of forest protection and quality through the restoration of degraded forest lands, habitats and wildlife corridors, social forestry work, stakeholders and partnerships organisations including Heart of Borneo (HoB) related activities in transboundary effort between Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia.

The MoU was signed by the Chief Conservator of Forests, Datuk Frederick Kugan and WWF-Malaysia’s CEO and Executive Director, Sophia Lim on Monday to seal the collaboration. The signing ceremony held in the Natural Resources Office of the Menara Kinabalu, Teluk Likas was witnessed by WWF-Malaysia’s Head of Conservation Sabah, Dr Robecca Jumin and SFD’s Head of Division Forest Sector and Planning, Rosila Anthony. This MoU will be in effect for five years.

“We have always worked closely with SFD in our conservation works in Sabah. With this latest collaboration, we hope to strengthen our existing ties to work in unity with the State government to achieve lasting conservation solutions,” said Sophia Lim.

Meanwhile, Datuk Frederick conveyed that: “Close collaboration with NGOs and Civil Societies is the norm but must be tempered with pragmatism. WWF-Malaysia has always been an active and valuable partner to the SFD, and we hope to continue this momentum to achieve greater heights in our conservation agenda,” said
Frederick.

To achieve its goals, both SFD and WWF-Malaysia, among others, will jointly restore open and degraded forestlands to enhance connectivity and wildlife habitats, improve ecosystem function and services, and local community empowerment.

This is done through the facilitation of inter-agencies collaboration through forest conservation work (restoration, the anti-poaching tasks-forces and human-elephant conflict) working groups at district and state level, developing action plans. Meanwhile social forestry works will include forest community engagement and
capacity building for sustainable forest and biodiversity use