GC 2024 Progress Report: DaMaI Rainforest, Heart of Borneo
DaMaI Park Protection Team navigates rugged jungle terrain on foot.
Global Conservation’s Executive Director, Jeff Morgan, returned to the DaMaI Rainforest to review progress in deploying Global Park Defense across over one million hectares against illegal wildlife poaching, hunting, and illegal logging.
Despite the COVID Pandemic, the systems, organization, and training have stood strong against illegal wildlife poaching, and the GC-sponsored work has been invaluable to the Protection of DaMaI, while expansion of Class 1 forests has continued.
DaMaI Rainforest is comprised of Danum Valley, Maliau Basin, and Imbak Canyon conservation areas - 600,000 hectares of Class I protected forests (No Cut, No Kill), along with 400,000 hectares of Buffer Zone secondary and FSC-certified production forests and palm oil plantations.
Protection of such a massive, inaccessible area requires excellent park-wide communications, inter-agency coordination (rangers, forestry, and police), and critical transport, equipment, and training.
Special Feature:
We met with Dr. Waidi, Head of Conservation over the entire DaMaI Rainforest Landscape, as well as Research (wildlife, flora, and ecosystems), who manages 250 employees across 1M hectares for all Protection and Science programs.
“We greatly appreciate Global Conservation’s critical funding and Global Park Defense methodology,” says Dr. Waidi. “Without GC support over the last 5-6 years, we would never have accomplished the level of protection achieved. With great appreciation, we look forward to continuing our collaboration on Park and Wildlife Protection and Species Facing Extinction scientific work.”
Some impressive achievements over the past 5 years include:
Expanding Class I Forest “No Cut, No Kill” area by 90,000 hectares
Over 18,000 kilometers patrolled
85 arrests and hundreds of confiscations
SMART Training and Equipment for all DaMaI Teams
Single, Unified Command structure across DaMaI Rainforest
Integration of Park, Forestry and Police protection teams
Long-range patrolling finding many poaching camps, carcasses and snares
After the 2 Year Panning meetings in Danum Valley with GC Partners, Yayasan Sabah, and Sabah Environmental Trust (SET), we increased Protection funding for 2024 for long-range patrolling and two new Ranger Stations in high-threat areas.
The new Ranger Stations will enable a new full-time presence in both the Far West of DaMaI outside Imbak Canyon, where there is intense poaching into the park, and on the only main road to Maliau Basin for regular inspections of vehicles to discourage poachers from entering the area.
The Far West Ranger Station will be equipped with StarLink satellite communications with rotating teams patrolling the area for the first time.
We are also excited that our newest GC Partner - Sabah Wildlife - has, for the first time, budgeted for 12 dedicated Wildlife Rangers for the DaMaI Rainforest against wildlife poaching. Sabah Wildlife has enforcement authority and carries weapons for Ranger Safety as most DaMaI Protect Teams cannot protect themselves from well-armed poachers alone.
Global Conservation is also assisting with tourism development planning and introductions to the best resort and hotel developers to increase the economic potential of DaMaI Rainforest for Malaysian and International visitors, and open up new areas of the Rainforest to ecotourism, hiking, birding, and resort and recreational activities outside Core Conservation Areas.
A group of people from various countries enjoy wildlife ecotourism, which is booming in Borneo, Indonesia. Photo ©shutterstock.com
By bringing more high-end adventure and ecotourism to DaMaI, economic opportunities can convert hundreds of poachers and exploitation to conservation.
Another exciting development is seeing a Malaysian foundation co-fund with us in Park and Wildlife Protection, supporting six full-time Rangers.
Tun Mustapha Tower, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. It is owned by Sabah Foundation, an organization that manages rainforest ecosystems in Borneo. Photo ©shutterstock.com
Yayasan Sabah Eyes DaMal as a World Heritage Site
After Kinabalu Park, Yayasan Sabah hopes to become the second World Heritage site in Sabah when Danum Valley, Maliau Basin, and Imbak Canyon (DaMaI) are designated as such.
Its director, Datuk Seri Gulamhaidar, anticipated that the region's remarkable biodiversity, ecosystem services, and worldwide contributions to research and education would garner recognition that would highlight the region's significance on a global scale.
"By increasing awareness, Yayasan Sabah hopes to garner additional backing for this endeavor and guarantee that the DaMaI region gets the credit it merits," he stated.
Gulamhaidar added that Sabah and Malaysia would benefit greatly from DaMaI's designation as a World Heritage site.
