KOTA KINABALU – Sabah has received a RM6 million allocation for the implementation of the Heart of Borneo (HoB) initiative under the 12th Malaysia Plan.
The fund is part of the RM11.26 million federal allocation made out to the initiative.
State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin said the funds will be used to sustain protected forest, forest management and sustainable land use.
The HoB initiative involves 6.8 million hectares of land in Borneo states, with 4.2 million hectares, or 61%, of it located in Sabah.
The state government said in a statement that it is committed to increase the protected areas to 30%, or at least 2.1 million hectares, by 2025.
The work involves the rehabilitation of destroyed forest areas.
HoB was initiated in 2008 during the half-term review of the 9th Malaysia Plan.
A total of RM54 million has been channeled to the Sabah Forestry Department from the 9th to 11th Malaysia Plan.
Sabah has achieved 1.1 million hectares as protected area under the HoB initiative to date.
Jafry said 22 field observation posts have been built at hotspots in the protected areas.
He added that 26,000 hectares of forests have been rehabilitated and scientific expeditions have been carried out in 26 forest reserves.
The forestry department has initiated four management plans or forest conservation programmes and held 10 international conferences under the HoB initiative.
The state had also established the Tawai Rainforest Camp and Centre of Sabah for recreational purposes, as well as a study, which is currently underway to identify more forests for the same purpose.
The programme also saw the organising of public awareness programmes, such as environmental education and HoB roadshows. – The Vibes, December 17, 2020
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