Blue carbon initiative to fight poverty

LocalEnvironment
3 May 2025 • 9:08 AM MYT
Daily Express
Daily Express

Daily Express Online (Malaysia) is Sabah's top-ranked & most viewed English news site. It is also Sabah's leading & most circulated daily English newspaper.

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By: Nikko Fabian

Kota Kinabalu: A groundbreaking initiative spearheaded by the Bimp-Eaga Business Council (Sabah) aims to tackle poverty and environmental degradation in northern Sabah’s Kota Marudu and Pitas districts.

BEBC chairman Dr Raymond Alfred unveiled a comprehensive blue carbon programme designed to integrate mangrove conservation, sustainable fishing practices, and solar energy deployment, creating a climate-smart model for economic development.

He highlighted the critical need for collaboration between large-scale plantation companies and local communities, emphasizing that the current economic situation, with households earning only RM500-RM700 monthly, constitutes a structural crisis demanding systemic solutions.

window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.defineSlot('/22826383987/dailyexpress_inline', [1, 1], 'gpt-passback').addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.enableServices();googletag.display('gpt-passback');});Raymond sharply criticized the ineffectiveness of current government cash handout programmes, arguing they fail to address root causes and create dependency rather than empowerment.