Date Posted: 29 Jul 2010

Kota Kinabalu: The Danum Valley field centre is now regarded as a leading and influential tropical rainforest research establishment in the region, thanks to the work done under the South-East Asia Rainforest Research Programme (SEARRP) in the last 25 years.

"Globally, it is one of the top three facilities of its kind after La Selva in Costa Rica and Baro Colorado Island in Panama," said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman when witnessing the fifth renewal of the programme through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) inked here.

SEARRP, which sees the collaboration between UK's The Royal Society and Danum Valley Management Committee in conducting research in Danum Valley - a 43,800ha Class 1 forest reserve - was established in 1985. Since then, the collaboration has been extended every five years.

The current extension makes it the longest-running overseas programme in the 350-year history of The Royal Society, and probably the longest running non-military joint Malaysia-UK programme.

The MoU was signed between Danum Valley Management Committee chairman Datuk Sam Mannan and The Royal Society foreign secretary, Prof Lorna Casselton.

"I believe with The Royal Society's vast experience in research and leadership, the collaboration will further strengthen not only research activities in Danum, but also make Sabah a global powerhouse in tropical rainforest research in the long term," said Musa.

"Out of 330 studies carried out in the Danum Valley, 139 were through this collaboration, and as many as 314 research reports and publications have been published, contributing 95 per cent of the total research publications from this conservation area.

"I'm also glad that about 50 Malaysians, mostly Sabahans, had gained their doctorates and Master's degrees based on the work in Danum," he said, adding that many of them had now occupied key positions in state and federal agencies, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Casselton said The Royal Society, formed in 1660 and functioned as Britain's National Academy of Sciences, making it the oldest national science academy in continuous existence in the world, aimed to support excellent science research not just in the UK but across the Commonwealth nations.

She said over the past 25 years, SEARRP had evolved from a programme that in its early days, sought simply to describe the diversity of pristine forests and the basic processes underlying their dynamics, to understanding the effects of timber harvesting and how forest recovery after disturbance of logging could be promoted.

"Today, the programme seeks to understand how a changing climate and landscape, particularly agricultural development, are likely to affect tropical rainforests...and perhaps as importantly, how rainforests can themselves contribute to a sustainable future," she added, linking it to the theme for the programme's latest extension, 'The Future of Tropical Rainforests in a Changing Landscape and Climate'.

The Danum Valley field centre, said Casselton, as the leading research station in tropical Asia, was playing a critical role in providing the platform from which these questions could be addressed.

She said the work done in the Danum Valley could well give insight into how to manage rainforests in other parts of the world such as the Amazon.

"We have to congratulate Sabah for its part in preserving the forests.

If they (state government) cut the forests they can make billions of dollars, but they aren't and that is so important and critical," she added.

Sam Mannan, meanwhile, highlighted the importance of political stability to avoid expediency and populist decisions that might affect the policies and enforcement on preserving the forests and environment, while making sure no party took advantage of the resources there.

(Source: Daily Express, 28 Jul 2010)