India-Malaysia defence and economic cooperation
Kuala Lumpur - India will train Malaysian pilots to fly Russian fighter jets as part of a pact to upgrade defence cooperation, Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony said Monday. In talks with Malaysian Defence Minister Najib Razak, they also agreed to hold joint military exercises and strengthen joint efforts to combat regional terrorism. Antony said the Indian air force and private aircraft manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. would train Malaysian pilots and technicians on the operation and maintenance of Russian Sukhoi 30-MKM fighter jets. "As part of the joint efforts of the two sides to intensify our bilateral defence cooperation, the Indian air force ... (will) undertake the training of Royal Malaysian air force pilots and technicians," he said in a statement. Malaysia signed a deal with Russia in 2003 to purchase 18 Sukhoi 30-MKM aircraft. Six of the jets are currently in service, and the pilots have been trained in Russia, according to the defence ministry. Antony, who is on a three-day visit to Malaysia, said that India and Malaysia had a shared interest in countering terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction, and in protecting maritime traffic. In recent years, India and Malaysia have developed a strong bilateral relationship encompassing trade, education, diplomacy and defence. © 2008 The Associated Press.

Conserving Sabah’s treasure trove by Yong Yen Nie
In February last year, the governments of Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia signed a declaration to conserve the “Heart of Borneo” — an area covering two million hectares of equatorial rainforests that is one of the world’s most important centres of biological diversity. To give an idea of how rich it is, the area in question is home to some 220 species of mammals and 620 species of birds. According to the WWF-Malaysia, 35% of 15,000 plant species there can be found only in the Heart of Borneo. And although Borneo has a long history of research and exploration, such as in the world-renowned Danum Valley, there are still thousands of plants and animal species yet to be discovered. Sabah’s Kinabatangan River floodplain is also the largest floodplain in Malaysia, and home to many endangered species, including the proboscis monkey and the orang utan. The Kinabatangan acts as a water-filtering system for the environment as well as a water catchment area for Sabah’s eastern sub-region. Surrounded by the South China Sea to the northwest, the Sulu Sea to the northeast and the Sulawesi Sea to the southeast, Sabah is also rich in marine life. For instance, Darvel Bay has been described as the “cradle of coral evolution” as scientific studies have proved the location to be the genesis of coral reefs running through to the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. The state has over 497 islands, including Sipadan, Malaysia’s only oceanic island described by the late Jacques Cousteau, the world-renowned oceanographer, as “an untouched piece of art” when he visited it in the Seventies. However, this treasure trove of biodiversity would be put at risk if development were pursued without putting in place strategies to conserve and protect the environment. For instance, in 2006, it was reported that a barge, laden with construction equipment used to build amenities in Sipadan Island, had scraped off 372sq m of corals at the famous Drop-off Point. Sabah’s key conservation challenges under the Sabah Development blueprint are the sustainable harvesting of natural resources (especially timber); the lack of an integrated approach to conservation; habitat fragmentation; inadequate wastewater treatment systems; pollution from industries; and the absence of statutory regulation on good agricultural practices. Over the last three decades, the volume of logs extracted from the state’s natural forests has been far greater than the natural timber regeneration rate. There are also concerns that oil palm plantations located too close to river systems and road sides, without proper provision for riparian and buffer zones, may cause riverbank erosion and water pollution from fertilisers and herbicides. Apart from logging and conversion of former forest to alternative land uses like agriculture, the fragmentation of forest habitat into small patches threatens biodiversity and the survival of large animals. The larger the forest, the more species it holds and if large areas of forest are given over to other land uses, it is a matter of time before large animals, rare species and those sensitive to change will drift towards eventual extinction. Supporting ongoingconservation projects: While Sabah has various conservation programmes anchored by government agencies such as the Forestry Department and Sabah Parks, local district councils and NGOs, it needs to bring these efforts together and turn them into an integrated approach towards environmental monitoring, conservation and enforcement. This would ensure better co-ordination, systematic planning and better utilisation of conservation resources. The SDC master plan will support these efforts by incorporating them into its implementation over the next 18 years. Among the conservation projects in place is the “Heart of Borneo” initiative, which seeks to manage and conserve the second largest contiguous forest landscape in the world. The efforts include leveraging on trans-boundary collaboration of Bornean governments, engaging local interests in short-and long-term planning and securing sustainable and long-term finance. In 2003, Yayasan Sabah voluntarily designated the Imbak Canyon as a Conservation Area for research purposes, education and training, besides the Maliau Basin and Danum Valley Conservation Area. Additionally, the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (Sabah) is developing an Integrated River Basin Management Plan for the Kinabatangan River Basin with the assistance of WWF, which seeks to resolve land use and water-related issues in a sustainable manner. Sabah is also one of the leading states in the country in carbon sequestration, with a number of international collaboration efforts for carbon trading and sequestration projects which have been carried out to date. The state is also aggressively tapping biotechnology under the Sabah Bio-X Programme that will open new possibilities in conserving its biodiversity, through new developments in water treatment, renewable energy and tissue culture. Corporate sector involvement: The corporate sector plays an important role in cooperating with the Sabah government and various NGOs to protect and conserve the state’s natural resources. According to WWF-Malaysia “Corridor of Life” project manager Darrel Webber, there are hundreds of oil palm plantations in the Kinabatangan floodplain, making it one of the densest areas of palm oil production. The sustainably developed corridor is a WWF-Malaysia initiative along the Kinabatangan that connects the Heart of Borneo with the Sulu-Sulawesi marine eco-region. Because of the concentration of oil palm cultivation in the Kinabatangan, Webber says “it is an opportunity for corporations to be involved in sustainable development and conservation projects to ensure that such development is not only good for profits, but also to the people and planet”. One corporation that is stepping up to play its role in conservation is oil palm company Asiatic Development Bhd, which has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with WWF to help conserve the Corridor of Life through reforestation in the floodplain. “We want to do our bit, (as) we view our plantation as a long-term investment,” says its chief operating officer Yong Chee Kong. The company has dedicated 86ha of land to rehabilitate forests and restore degraded riverbanks. Asiatic Development also has two sanctuaries spanning 175ha which serve as a reserve for wildlife, including orang utans and various species of birds. Yong says the sanctuaries have existed for the past 10 years, providing the wildlife more space to roam. For Asiatic Development, getting involved in conservation projects is nothing new. In 1999, it collaborated with WWF-Malaysia and Sabah Wildlife Department in the “Partners for Wetlands” programme, in which it helped rehabilitate riparian reserves along the Kinabatangan River and Tenangang Besar River. Conglomerate Sime Darby Bhd is also heeding the call to support Sabah’s conservation efforts, and is expected to sign two MoUs this week to sponsor the rehabilitation of orang utans in the Ulu Segama-Malua forests region. It was earlier reported that at least RM200 million would be needed to fully restore the heavily logged forests in Sabah’s east coast, especially in rehabilitating the region’s orang utan population numbering some 3,000. Sabah’s delicate ecological systems and the need to conserve them have not only garnered the support of local corporations, but attracted the attention of foreign multinational corporations. Furniture retailer Ikea Group’s Sow-A-Seed Foundation has partnered the Sabah Foundation in restoring 18,500ha of forests depleted by logging. Under the initiative, Ikea provides US$750,000 annually to rehabilitate trees in the Kalabakan Forest Reserve near Tawau district, besides supporting research work and providing facilities in the Maliau Basin. The heart of Ikea’s activities is in Luasong, located in the Kalabakan Forest Reserve, where seeds are germinated from some 300,000 tree specimens at the project’s nursery and seedlings, to nurture self-regenerating forests. Through Ikea’s joint efforts with Sabah Foundation, some 7,000ha of burnt forest — an area the size of 11,000 football pitches — have been replanted with over a million trees. It is hoped that these efforts will encourage more corporations to come forward and participate in bringing sustainable development to Sabah, while preserving its natural heritage. © The Edge Communications Sdn Bhd.