Kota Kinabalu: Sabah’s good forest conservation governance, sustainable forest management and increasing carbon stock size of its totally protected forest areas have received global accolades.
Many leaders and participants attending the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at Dubai, UAE from Nov 30 to Dec 12, themed “We United. We Acted. We delivered,” gave thumbs-up to Sabah’s sustainability and biodiversity conservation.
They heard Sabah’s Technical Advisor (Forestry) to the Chief Minister, Datuk Sam Mannan, delivering a keynote address, “Charting a Greener Tomorrow: Lessons from Sabah’s Forests”, at the Technology and Innovation Stage on transforming Sabah’s forest management, innovative strategies and community-driven approaches.
Sam touched on “The Greatest Good for the Greatest Number in the Long Run” as forests serve as natural carbon sinks, sequestering vast atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Sustainable forest practices, such as afforestation, reforestation and reduced deforestation, can significantly curb global greenhouse gas emissions.
The conference encouraged the adoption of protected areas, habitat corridors and conservation strategies to restore and safeguard the unique flora and fauna thriving in forest ecosystems, reflecting a shared commitment to combat climate change through collaborative efforts and innovative solutions in the forestry sector.
COP28 aims to establish robust policies and incentives to encourage countries to enhance their forest cover and protect existing forests.
By harnessing the potential of forests as carbon sinks, nations can make substantial progress in achieving their climate targets under the Paris Agreement.
“This is proven by third party audits and forest certification which has seen Sabah to have the largest area of certified forests on a per capita basis in South East Asia, with almost one million hectares under FSC besides other schemes – MTCS, PEFC and the European System, etc.
“Sabah’s Total Protected Areas have reached beyond 1.9 million hectares towards the ultimate target of 2.2 million hectares,” said Sam.
“People value consistency, sincerity, honesty, determination and seriousness. We are transparent with our carbon projects.
“We do not cheat you with carbon proposals. You can come and have a look of our forest by going into it yourself.
“This carbon offset project will only work with honest participants. Some people are out there to make money out of it. If you go to carbon seminars, you would witness that 70 per cent of them would talk about money when the whole purpose is to safeguard the world against out-of-control climate change.
“That’s the whole purpose. The whole purpose is conservation. And people don’t talk about that.
“Forest conservation is more important than carbon storage, because it is the same thing.
“In my paper, I emphasise on conservation, conservation, conservation. So long as there is strong enforcement and strong political support which is vitally important, then it will work.
“If you don’t have that, it will never work, no matter how brilliant you are.
“I am happy with the level of cooperation and the help we get from the top. What is needed include finance, technology and political will.
“There must be continuity in the attitude of people towards conservation – to continue to maintain it, improve it and expand it. Because the world’s climate is really changing. You look at the intensity of the rain in Sabah, in the Middle East.
“They say the main causes of it are the greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, etc. “Growing more greenery, photosynthesis is more effective in conversion of carbon dioxide than using gadgets, tools and whatever.”
Carbon storage is the total amount of carbon contained in a forest or a part of the forest (trees, soil). Carbon sequestration is the process of removing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in another form that cannot immediately be released, like wood. It is the rate of uptake of carbon from the atmosphere.
Sam said Sabah, renowned for forest destruction and land degradation 40 years ago with a high output of 14 million cubic metres of high-quality timber, is now renowned for forest conservation starting with the Deramakot Forest Reserve which is the first FSC certified tropical rainforest in the world, to play a current lead role in the Heart of Borneo conservation project on 22 million hectares of pristine forests.
“We have the best tropical forest carbon in the world with two current offset, triple gold asset, projects in a forest restoration project to restore 25,000 hectares of badly damaged forests at Ulu Segama Forest Reserve in Lahad Datu since 1992 and 80,000 hectares of Sabah Foundation area of a logged-over forest in Kuamut recognised as the 2022 best carbon project in the tropics. Such projects have their proven additionality.”
Sam, who is also former Chief Conservator of Forests, chairs the Sabah Committee on Climate Change to advise the State Government on climate change and the mitigation measures needed to reduce its effects.
“The first thing we have to do is to strengthen our laws. Carbon is under the Forest Enactment. We must make our legislation strong. The law must protect us.”
The committee will be meeting again next month.
The members are Datuk Darrel Webber (Engineer and former World, Sec-Gen of the RSPO or Round Table on Sustainable Oil Palm, Datuk Tengku Fuad, Legal Adviser to the Government of Sabah, Cynthia Ong of NGO - LEAP, Datuk Dr John Payne, biologist who heads NGO - Bora and Wildlife Specialist and Robecca Jumin of WWF.
Cynthia also did a presentation of Sabah’s rural electrification at the COP 28 Malaysian Pavilion in Dubai.
Nature-based climate solutions, ranging from forest conservation to wetland restoration, offer multifaceted benefits in the fight against climate change.
The inherent ability of ecosystems to sequester carbon, enhance biodiversity and bolster resilience aligns seamlessly with the ambitious goals set forth by international agreements like the Paris Agreement.
At COP28, the need to prioritise these solutions becomes evident, transcending traditional approaches and embracing holistic strategies that recognise the interconnectedness of climate action and environmental wellbeing.
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