Working in partnership, the Sabah Wildlife Department and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) have established the 26,000 ha Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary. The ongoing plan is to create and maintain a protected floodplain corridor for the conservation of habitats and species, as well as to mitigate the impact of erosion and flooding. Since the commencement of the project, a wide range of activities has been carried out. These include: seminars on specific topics related to the Kinabatangan floodplains; studies on pollution, hydrology, tourism, and wildlife management; discussions with plantation owners; and the collection and collation of socio-economic data. Planned future activities in the lower part of the catchment include:
- Rehabilitating degraded riparian vegetation on the oil palm plantations. This is intended to prevent further riverbank erosion and improve the forest’s filtering function, thus limiting sediment and agricultural chemicals runoff, and thereby improving water quality, in addition to boosting the connectivity of wildlife habitats.
- Promoting best practice in management of agricultural chemicals and effluent.
- Studying the economic cost of human-wildlife conflicts. This will focus on Asian elephants and be supplemented by research into patterns of movement and the carrying capacity of fragmented forest blocks.
- Developing an ecotourism ‘code of conduct’ for the Lower Kinabatangan with the aim of optimizing the economic and social benefits of tourism for local stakeholders.
Alliances have been forged between conservation and development interests through demonstration of sustainable use activities that others can follow. Planned future activities include, rehabilitating riparian vegetation on palm plantations to prevent further erosion and sedimentation; promoting best practices in agricultural chemicals and effluent management; identifying areas prone to flooding that are unsuitable for palm plantations, but can be set aside for wildlife.