04 May,
2003
DAILY EXPRESS
Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Wildlife Department
has endorsed a regulation to allow a selected group of people to
make “citizen
arrests” on
poachers who threaten the wildlife in the State for their own gains.
Its Director Mahadi Andau said such
a move is in line with the newly enacted Wildlife Conservation
Enactment 1997 that contains
provisions
that could help address some of the wildlife conservation problems
in the State.
He said this during a recent presentation
of letters of appointment to 40 volunteers selected as “honorary
wardens” to
maintain a close surveillance on the security of the State’s
exotic flora and fauna species that are on the “endangered
list”.
Mahadi pointed out that the appointment
of honorary wildlife wardens was to assist the department enforce
the Wildlife
Conservation
Enactment.
The wardens will be issued with an
authorisation card, which they must produce when conducting enforcement
operations.
As an authorised officer under the
Wildlife Conservation Enactment, an honorary wildlife warden is
empowered to:
* Stop and search any vehicle or boat
if they have reasons to believe that an offence has been committed
or to conduct
inspection to
determine if an offence has been committed;
* Arrest without warrant
any person who has committed a wildlife offence if that person
fails to provide personal identification,
and
* Request any person to produce the
licence that is required under the Wildlife Conservation Enactment
for any activity related
to
wildlife.
The other important features of the
new legislation include:
* Adoption of the CITES Convention
(Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna
and Flora).
* Provisions for the creation of different
categories of protected areas - Wildlife Sanctuary, Wildlife Conservation
Area and Wildlife
Hunting area * Heavier penalties for various wildlife offences.
Under the new legislation, wildlife
species critically endangered are accorded the highest protection
status.
These include rhinoceros, marine turtles,
orang-utan, bear, clouded leopard, tembadau, proboscis monkey and
dugong.
Those found guilty of hunting fully
protected species face a heavy penalty under this new legislation.
According to Mahadi, Sabah is well
endowed with more than 200 mammal species and over 500 species
of birds.
“
We have every reason to be proud owners of this natural heritage
and, therefore, have every right to be involved in their protection
and conservation against wanton killing,” he said.
He described
the wildlife resource as a very important asset that can be utilised
in a manner that ensures its perpetual benefits.
“
Our wildlife areas are collecting revenue for the Government and
at the same time providing business opportunities for private entrepreneurs
involved in eco-tourism and other service-related businesses.
“
That would be motivation for us to work harder to conserve and
manage the wildlife of Sabah,” he said.
Mahadi also pointed
out that more than 60% of Sabah’s population
lives in the rural areas, with more than 20% (about half a million
people) being identified as hardcore poor.
For most of these people,
hunting is of cultural importance and certainly an important
livelihood factor, he said.
“
Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that hunting becomes regulated
and sustainable.
“
It is important that fully protected species are not hunted and that
game species are hunted according to sustainable quotas set by the
Government.
“
In this way, bio-diversity would be managed as a natural capital
stock, which, when managed the right way, would yield in perpetuity
a wide range of direct and indirect economic benefits to the human
population,” said Mahidi.
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