THE rare Bornean sun bear, wild birds such as hornbills, and other jungle wildlife are vanishing from areas where they once thrived, such as the Belaga district in central Sarawak.
Decades of logging, followed by the establishment of vast commercial plantations and rampant hunting and capturing, have pushed these animals to the brink of extinction in Belaga.
Harry Wing, a well-travelled social and environmental activist in Belaga, blames humans for this decline.
"There was a time when we natives in Belaga could find bears roaming the forests," he said. "Hornbills could be seen flying from the tops of tall trees, and wildlife on the ground like wildcats were plentiful in the forests. Nowadays in Belaga, we cannot see them anymore. We need to go very deep into the mountain terrain to find these wildlife nowadays. We are paying the price of overhunting, uncontrolled capturing of wildlife and birds, and large-scale logging and plantations that have occurred over the decades," he told The Vibes.
His comments come after the Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) announced it is intensifying efforts to preserve and hopefully increase the population of the critically endangered Sarawak Red Langur, a primate found only in Sarawak.
Wing praised SFC's commitment to protecting critically endangered wildlife but stressed the need to update the list of near-extinct wildlife in Sarawak, as many species are depleting rapidly each year.
The SFC has partnered with Yayasan Sime Darby to fund the conservation of the rare Red Langur primate, now found only in Maludam National Park, located about 130km from Kuching. The collaboration aims to organise educational awareness programmes and engage local communities in conserving the national park and its surroundings while promoting sustainable ecotourism.
SFC general manager Abang Arabi Amran welcomed efforts from all sectors to help conserve the Red Langur. "As is already known, the Sarawak Red Langur is found only here, and the species is listed as critically endangered. We are hopeful that we can preserve the species through greater collaboration efforts from the communities. Our aim is always to ensure that our wildlife is protected as much as we can," he said.
The Sarawak Red Langur is a totally protected animal, with no hunting or capturing allowed. Other endangered primates in Sarawak include the orangutan. Primates and other wildlife in Sarawak have depleted due to decades of logging and forest clearing for large-scale economic developments. – July 22, 2024.
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