The Role Of The Malaysian Oil Palm Industry In Wildlife Conservation in Sabah: The Wildlife Rescue Unit As A Case Study

BY

DR PAKEEYARAJ, DR SEN NATHAN AND MR WILLIAM BAYA SABAH WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT

KOTA KINABALU SABAH

• MAP OF SABAH

Malaysia and Palm Oil

ONE OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST PALM OIL EXPORTER

• Malaysia currently accounts for 39 % of world palm oil production and 44% of world exports. If taken into account of other oils & fats produced in the country, Malaysia accounts for 12% and 27% of the world's total production and exports of oils and fats. Being one of the biggest producers and exporters of palm oil and palm oil products, Malaysia has an important role to play in fulfilling the

growing global need for oils and fats - Sabah produces 30% of the Malaysian PO Output having 1.4 million hectares of plantation land. Yet 49% of Sabah is still under permanent Forest Cover

Key pressures on biodiversity

• Habitat loss

• Habitat fragmentation

• Habitat degradation

• Climate change

Habitat fragmentation

• Reduction of available habitat area;

• Increase distances between remaining habitat patches (loss of connectivity);

• Difficulty for species to colonize new areas and maintain viable populations.

Climate change

• Changing patterns of precipitation;

• Rises in global average

temperatures;

• Will force species to adapt to new climatic conditions (i.e. through altered timing of biological events or by shifting their distributions into areas with suitable conditions, altitudinal shift in tropical areas);

And let’s not forget population growth

Climate change, habitat fragmentation & population growth: a deadly anthropogenic cocktail

Habitat fragmentation + climate change

will lead to local extinctions

unless

CONNECTIVITY

is reestablished

(especially to respond to altitudinal shift)

THE SABAH CONTEXT

WHAT DO WE DO NOW TO ADDRESS CURRENT WILDLIFE HUMAN CONFLICTS , WHILE WE WAIT FOR

LONG TERM SOLUTIONS TO COME ?

Sabah Wildlife Department’s Wildlife Rescue Unit

INTRODUCTION • The Wildlife Rescue Unit, was established due to an

urgent need to address pertinent wildlife conservation issues that Sabah is facing till today.

• Fully funded by MPOC’s Wildlife Conservation Fund.

RESPONSIBILITIES • To undertake wildlife rescue and translocation operation and other

conservation activities as directed by the Director of SWD throughout the State of Sabah.

• To assist in wildlife research programmes and other conservation activities initiated by SWD and its partners (Eco Health Alliance, WWF-Malaysia, Plantation Sectors, Borneo Rhino

Alliance, Borneo Conservation Trust, Danau Girang Field Centre and etc).

• To emphasise the importance of wildlife conservation and promote public awareness among the people of Sabah through its activities.

• To reduce incidents of human-wildlife conflicts throughout the state of Sabah.

• To assist SWD to carry out wildlife enforcement and monitoring operations.

WRU STAFF

WRU has created a fantastic and challenging employment opportunity for eager young local Sabahans interested in conservation work. Besides that, this unit further enhances capacity of the SWD in its various responsibilities. Currently there are 20 local boys employed as Wildlife Rescue Rangers and 4 Veterinarians

RESCUE AND TRANSLOCATION Overall picture

• In cases where animals are confined in pocketed areas and habitat is no longer suitable and source of food is limited or no longer available, there is a serious need to move these animals to safer areas (forest reserves).

• Translocation is a necessity to ensure that the animals are rescued and saved thus guarantees the survival of the population in the wild.

• The WRU has rescued and/or translocated more than 175 Bornean elephants adults and calves, 35 orangutans, 33 proboscis monkeys, 1,785 macaques between long and pig-tailed macaques, 20 sun bears, 4 clouded leopards, 26 sambar-deers, 60 estuarine crocodiles, 25 monitor lizards, 16 sea turtles, 14 marine mammals and other wildlife such as snakes, birds, small carnivores, slowlorises, gibbons, porcupines, wild boars, sunda stink badger, pangolins, western tarsier and etc.

RESCUE AND TRANSLOCATION

RESCUE AND TRANSLOCATION Bornean Elephants (Elephas maximus borneensis)

• WRU has rescued 16 baby elephants which were found wondering alone and abandoned.

RESCUE AND TRANSLOCATION Bornean Elephants (Elephas maximus borneensis)

Tiring, challenging and risky

Lahad Datu (Kg Sri Putatan, Kg. Layung, Kg. Binuang, Jalan Sin Wah, Ladang Tai Chong, Ladang Layung), 24 elephants translocated to Tabin Wildlife reserve.

December 2015.

Telupid (Kg. Bauto, Kg. Maliau, Kg. Gambaron, Ladan Mayvin),

27 elephants translocated to Deramakot & KTS, through out 2015

• Reports of injured or sick elephants have been received from several areas throughout Sabah. Sometimes treatment can be given in situ and the team can then release the elephant, but in severe cases the team has to transfer the individuals to a proper facility for further treatment and monitoring. Since 2013, WRU has been mainly using the Borneo Elephant Sanctuary (BES) to give therapy to these sick elephants.

RESCUE AND TRANSLOCATION Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis)

• WRU have assisted SWD on its efforts on the conservation of Borneo rhino together with Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA). WRU assisted during the last rhino capture and translocation in December 2011 and in 2012, WRU assisted to build and maintain a rhino surface trap (Perangkap Boma) at Kulamba Forest Reserve.

RESCUE AND TRANSLOCATION

Orang-utans (Pongo pygmaeus) 35 Orangutans rescued

Orang-utans (Pongo pygmaeus) adult orang-utans have been rescued from pocketed areas and translocated to different forest reserves through Sabah.

RESCUE AND TRANSLOCATION

RESCUE AND TRANSLOCATION Proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus)

• 33 proboscis monkey were rescued throughout Sabah . The proboscis monkeys where found living in small patches of forest not suitable for the species and soon to be cleared

• WRU, receives reports of Macaques-Human Conflicts, from various areas: Kota Kinabalu and from its surroundings suburbs such as Putatan, Likas, Kingfisher, Papar, Benoni and Beaufort. The team responds to the reports immediately as the animals are a danger to the residents/villagers.

• 1,785 macaques has been rescued for the past 5 years, (824 in 2015) .

• One of the biggest macaque operations for WRU West Coast Division was in Beaufort . In 2015, WRU and SWD west coast division had to conduct the capture operations in 16 villages that were disturbed by long tailed macaques. A total of 350 macaques rescued and translocated from Beaufort in 2 weeks.

RESCUE AND TRANSLOCATION Pig & Long Tailed Macaque

RESCUE AND TRANSLOCATION Estuarine crocodiles (Cocodylus porosus)

• WRU receives several reports of crocodiles in nearby small villages and capital of Sabah. The team managed to set traps to capture and translocate them.

• WRU received phone call from people keeping gibbons as pets, once the team explain to them the dangers of keep a gibbon and the Wildlife enactment the villagers decided to send the gibbons to SWD.

• Currently the Wildlife Holding Area and Rescue Centre, Potuki held 14 bornean gibbons).

RESCUE AND TRANSLOCATION Bornean Gibbon (Hylobates muelleri)

RESCUE AND TRANSLOCATION Malayan sun bears (Helarctos malayanus)

• During the last three years WRU has rescued 20 Malayan sun bears from areas where all of them were kept by villager as pets. The rescued bears were brought to the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) at Sepilok, Sandakan.

RESCUE AND TRANSLOCATION

ENFORCEMENT

Poached Sun Bear in Bukit Kertam

Plantation, August 2015

Clouded Leopard operation, July 2015

Pangolin operation, July 2015

Civet, July 2015

WRU undercover in

social media

Undercover in Markets Elephant killed, Tungku, October 2015

• WRU is also assisting the SPCA KK in their stray dog management program. They respond to reports of dogs that need to be darted and they also give veterinary assistance and advice to the SPCA.

WILDLIFE RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION PROGRAM • WRU has the responsibility to assist in wildlife research programs and other

conservation activities initiated by the Department and its stakeholders.

Bornean Elephant Satellite Tagging Research and Conservation Program

Proboscis Monkey Conservation Program

Estuarine Crocodile Research and Conservation Programs

Banteng Satellite Tagging Research and Conservation Program

WILDLIFE RESCUE CENTRE Due to the diverse duties carried out by WRU, the Sabah Wildlife Department has

set up a Wildlife Animal Holding and Rescue Centre (WRC) at Kg Potuki, Lok Kawi.

WILDLIFE HEALTH UNIT • SWD is collaborating with EcoHealth Alliance (EHA) on wildlife and zoonotic diseases research in Sabah.

• November 2012 SWD & EHA set up the Sabah Wildlife Health Unit under WRU.

• WRU is assisting on the International Emerging Pandemic Threats Program (EPT) which is managed by USAID.

• ETP program emphasizes the early identification and response to dangerous and pathogens in high-risk wildlife such as bats, rodents and non-human primates, before they can become significant threats to human health.

WILDLIFE HEALTH UNIT

WILDLIFE GENETIC FORENSIC AND HEALTH LABORATORY

• To increase local capacities, strengthen laboratory diagnostic capacity to enable rapid responses to emerging zoonotic diseases in Sabah.

• Collaboration among SWD, DGFC, EHA, PREDIC/USAID, MPOC and Shangri-la’s Rasa Ria Resort.

WILDLIFE GENETIC FORENSIC AND HEALTH LABORATORY

PUBLIC AWARENSS • To give emphasis of the importance of wildlife conservation and promote the

awareness among the people of Sabah.

PUBLIC AWARENSS

FUTURE OF WRU

• Other plans to further improve the efficiency and increase the job scope of WRU is as follows:

• Capacity building and training of our staff (WRU/WHU) will be a short-term goal; with the ever-increasing job scope, responsibility and load, there is a concrete plan to further increase the staff number to 30 WRU Rangers and five veterinarians.

• Increase logistical support to improve the efficiency of the team on each operation. The goal for WRU is to be competent enough to cover every report received. Equipment include more 4WD Vehicles, Personal Protective equipment , anaesthetics, emergency drugs, Tell-inject darts and guns, crates, chains, translocation cages, walkie-talkie, GPS, spot lights for vehicles and etc, all which are vital for WRU operations.

• To create a Wildlife Enforcement Unit for better support and coverage of Wildlife enforcement cases.

FUTURE OF WRU • Most of WRU rangers are young Sabahan Malaysians, willing to learn more

about Bornean wildlife management and conservation. Because of this, WRU could become to be a very successful unit for strengthening the Sabah Wildlife Department.

THANK YOU