SFD & ISME Collaboration on Mangrove Rehabilitation in Sustainable Forest Management

Mangroves are a diverse group of trees, shrubs and ground ferns that grow in a particular habitat, i.e. the intertidal area between land and sea along tropical and subtropical coastlines throughout the world. Together with the animal fauna, the plant communities and other organisms that live in the same habitat, they form a unique type of ecosystem – “the mangrove ecosystem”. The Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) has adopted the principles of sustainable forest management (with regards to various forest formations occur extending from coastal mangroves at sea level (asl) to inland sub-alpine vegetation on Mt. Kinabalu at 4,095 m asl) and biodiversity conservation since 1997, whereas, the International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems (ISME) based in Okinawa, established in 1990 as an international NGO. ISME has been promoting rehabilitation of degraded mangroves ecosystem, promotes research/training on mangrove ecosystems and compiles/disseminates mangrove information for conservation, sustainable management and utilization of mangrove ecosystems throughout the world. In September 2007, a delegation from SFD comprising several senior officers visited Ishigaki and Iriomote islands hosted by ISME officials. In returned the SFD also hosted a visit by ISME delegation to Sandakan in July 2010. The visits led to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two organisations on 10 November 2010 in Kota Kinabalu. Beginning 2011, the SFD & ISME collaborative project to rehabilitate degraded mangroves in Sabah was initiated. Funded by Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd., Japan, the mangrove rehabilitation project is implemented by SFD with technical guidance from ISME. Both SFD and ISME havecollaborated well to ensure the successful implementation and completion of the first phase project activities (2011-2014) covering a total planted areas of 151.5 hectares with a total of 189,870 planting materials. Indeed this collaboration presents a great opportunity for SFD to strengthen its capacity in mangrove rehabilitation. The SFD is honoured as the first state in Malaysia to have such collaboration with an international agency, such as ISME. With the successful completion of Phase One project, the funding agency has extended their support for another five more years (2014- 2019). Continued support to SFD in the phase two by the funding agency and ISME to rehabilitate degraded mangroves in Sabah has now been translated in earnest in protecting all mangrove forest reserves in Sabah. The Sabah Forestry Department will continue its rehabilitation efforts and outreach programs through this SFD-ISME collaboration in ensuring sustainable management and conservation of mangrove ecosystem in Sabah.