KUCHING: Sarawak Energy (SEB) is collaborating with the Sarawak Forest Department in a research involving the Baleh Watershed Wildlife Connectivity Project.
The collaboration, contained in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed yesterday, also focuses on data gathering with the view to conserve and protect the state’s catchment area and ecosystem.
SEB in a press statement issued here said the three-year project is part of SEB’s integrated
catchment management initiative to support biodiversity conservation as well as build resilient hydropower resources through protection of catchment areas and water resources.
“The conservation and protection of biodiversity in the Baleh catchment area is vital to ensure the sustainability of a catchment area ecosystem.
“It is also part of the long-term risk management to ensure the upstream water resources are protected for the sustainable operation of our future Baleh HEP,” it added.
The MoU was signed before Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg. SEB was represented by its group chief executive officer Datuk Sharbini Suhaili while signing on behalf of Sarawak Forest Department was its director Hamden Mohammad.
The ceremony was held on the side of the launch of the Sarawak Forest Landscape Restoration Programme at Sabal Agroforestry Centre.
Sharbini said the Baleh Watershed Connectivity project is a continuation of the Heart of Borneo (HoB) scientific expedition in 2015, following which 66,721ha of the surveyed area was officially gazetted as Baleh National Park within the Baleh HEP Catchment Area.
The Baleh watershed has also been identified as a wildlife connectivity area, linking the Hose Mountains in Sarawak to the Betung Kerihun National Park in Kalimantan, Indonesia.
In addition, this effort is aligned with the international best practices of Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol (HSAP) and the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG #15 that entails conserving
biodiversity through prevention of
endangered species extinction, as well as SDG #17 which calls for multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilise shared-knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources.
The collaboration is seen as a positive effort towards the development of a long-term monitoring plan for wildlife conservation within the proposed Baleh HEP reservoir as part of the preparation for Wildlife Monitoring and Rescue (WiMOR) of Baleh HEP.
