New GC Video - DaMaI Rainforest Complex, Sabah - Heart of Borneo

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New GC Video - 2018 Progress in DaMaI Rainforest Complex, Sabah - Heart of Borneo

In the northern reaches of the island of Borneo lies a sweeping, forested crater, the width of 250 football fields. The Maliau Basin is isolated from the world by a jagged rocky rim, with countless curtaining waterfalls. Its uncharted rainforests are so secluded that it has never been permanently inhabited by humans, and its ecosystem is virtually self-contained. It’s as though it exists on a separate planet. Some call it Sabah’s Lost World.

The Maliau Basin is one of three sites within the proposed DaMaI World Heritage Site in the state of Sabah on the Malaysian island of Borneo. To the north of Maliau is Imbak Canyon, “The Green Canyon of Borneo,” brimming with undisturbed lowland rainforest. In the east is the Danum Valley, a vast depression carpeted with prehistoric, virgin forest containing the last herds of wild Borneo Pygmy Elephants.

Clouded Leopards, Orangutans and ten other primates, Pangolin, Banteng, Sun Bears and many other endangered species also call the DaMaI Rainforest Complex home. Already, in 2015, Rhinos were declared extinct in Malaysian Borneo.

DaMaI Rainforest Complex is comprised of Danum Valley, Maliau Basin and Imbak Canyon,  often referred to as the Heart of Borneo. DaMaI is one of the last major intact primary forests left in Asia – The Lungs of Asia. 

Until Global Conservation began working together with Sabah Environmental Trust (SET), Sabah Forestry Department and Sabah Foundation, there was little protection for endangered wildlife in the proposed DaMaI UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

Armed gangs and organized syndicates aggressively hunt endangered wildlife, both for international trade and sale to wildlife eateries in Sabah that are frequented by local, Malaysian and foreign tourists, over 3 million a year. 

Deforestation and illegal hunting in the DaMaI Rainforest Complex has rapidly increased over the past 10 years. As poaching pressure builds on the last remaining wildlife populations, Global Conservation and our partners are fighting back with Global Park Defense and a new plan increasing national park protection to over 800,000 hectares under unified management.

The proposed UNESCO World Heritage Park has the potential to bring millions of visitors in the coming decades, which provides a powerful financial model for long-term protection and sustainability. Few other rainforest wildlife areas offer this opportunity. Already, Sabah has millions of visitors to their resorts, beaches, marine parks, and wildlife sanctuaries. 

Global Conservation is deploying Global Park Defense against wildlife poaching including park-wide communications, cellular trailcams, aerial surveillance, SMART patrols, and DaMaI Ranger training. Global Park Defense enables targeted patrolling based on 24/7 surveillance of all trails, roads and rivers, dramatically improving the effectiveness of limited rangers available for park and wildlife protection.

Our goal is to achieve “No Cut, No Kill” protection in DaMaI’s three core habitats within 5 years. 

DaMaI Rainforest Complex World Heritage Site will protect one of the last major primary forest ecosystems in Asia, including critical lowland forests that harbor endangered wildlife facing extinction in other parts of Malaysia and across Asia. 

Your support is critical to save the world’s great national parks, the last bastions of protection for our endangered forests and wildlife habitats. 

Please visit our website at globalconservation.org. Thank you.