KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is looking at turning the Klias wetlands into the state’s next potential Ramsar Site, striving to make it its third wetland to attain international recognition.
Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said the state now has two wetlands of international importance after the KK Wetland was finally bestowed with Ramsar status in Dec, last year.
“We have a lot of wetlands and there have been suggestions to make the Klias wetlands, which is part of the forest reserve, as the next candidate (for Ramsar).
“There will be a meeting with the Forestry Department to discuss the necessary with regards to this,” he told reporters after the launching of KK Wetland Ramsar Site here, today.
Present was Sabah Wetlands Conservation Society president Datuk Zainie Abdul Aucasa.
Stressing that wetlands with Ramsar status would not affect land owners, Masidi said the state government aimed to add value to the land and to restrict certain development that would further destroy the rich biodiversity.
“We are not saying they (land owners) cannot do anything but we encourage development in a systematic and sustainable manners,” he added.
Earlier, Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman, in his speech delivered by Masidi, said the management and restoration of mangroves are given priority as Sabah has about 338,000 hectares of mangrove vegetation within its forest reserves.
He added that the state government via the Sabah Forestry Department has a responsibility to protect these lands as Sabah is home to some 60 per cent of Malaysia’s total mangroves area.
“Our commitment is clear as Sabah has protected the KK wetlands despite it being within the city centre and we are continuously increasing the Totally Protected Area apart from keeping sustainable forest management practices on track on commercial forest reserves.
“Areas with high conservation values within commercial forest reserves are mapped out and not disturbed,” he said.
Musa added that the new Ramsar status for the KK Wetland will help to enhance conservation efforts of the last remaining patch of mangrove forest in a city that is developing at a fast pace.
The KK Wetland Ramsar Site was officially declared as the seventh Ramsar site in Malaysia earlier this year, and it is the second wetlands in Sabah after the Lower Kinabatangan-Segama Wetlands, which was awarded the status in 2008.
It is also the second Ramsar Site within the boundaries of a city in the world after Yatsu-Higata Ramsar Site in Tokyo.