Imbak Canyon to Be Protected Forest Reserve

SANDAKAN: Conservation won the day yet again in Sabah after Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman announced that Imbak Canyon will be turned into a Class I (Protection) Forest Reserve.

This came just two months after logging was stopped at the Ulu Segama and Malua forest reserves, which are home to a third of the orang utan population in Sabah.

Covering 17,000ha of virgin forest, Musa said Imbak Canyon in central Sabah was in the final stage of being converted from Class II (Commercial) status to Class I which would seal it off from timber extraction.

He said a management committee similar to what was in place in the Danum Valley and Maliau Basin conservation areas would be set up once it was gazetted a protected forest.

He said the re-classification would enhance the totally protected area network in Sabah to 865,000ha or about 12 per cent of the state’s total land area.

“Imbak Canyon will have the added advantage of having a common boundary with the Sungai Imbak Virgin Jungle Reserve of some 10,500ha which is already protected,” he said at the launch of the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC) roadshow at the Sibuga Jaya hall near here.

The roadshow will travel from Sandakan to Ranau, Papar, Keningau and Tawau to explain to the people the essence of the SDC’s blueprint, which among others, stresses sustainable management of resources.

Yayasan Sabah is the custodian of the lowland forested Imbak Canyon.

The area is known for its rich dipterocarp forests with trees that exceed 60 metres in height.

With legal protection being accorded to Imbak Canyon, Yayasan Sabah now has no less than 500,000 ha of forests for conservation and protection.

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