| Sabah Govt Pledges Commitment To Protect Rare Sun Bear |
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KOTA KINABALU, Nov 14 (Bernama) -- The Sabah government Friday night pledged its firm commitment for the protection and conservation of its precious wildlife heritage, particularly the rare sun bear.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said the phasing out of logging activities at the Ulu Segama and Malua forest reserves at the end of last year and the declaration of the Lower Kinabatangan floodplain as a wildlife sanctuary were efforts in this direction.
He said many people in the state were not aware that Sabah was home to one of the eight bear species found worldwide and the last stronghold of the sun bear.
"Our ultimate goal is to put the (sun bear) species back into the wild. Perhaps it is time to give it the same attention we give to Sabah's other wildlife such as the orang utan, the Borneo pygmy elephant, the proboscis monkey and the Sumatran rhinoceros.
"There is a big task ahead to raise awareness on this little-known mammal and one way of doing this is to promote the sun bear as a flagship species," he said in his speech at the "Bear Necessities" fund-raising event for the Bornean Sun Bear, here.
Musa said there was great potential for raising the profile of this neglected animal and, at the same time, using it as an ambassador for further protection of rainforest habitats.
In this respect, he said, the setting up of the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre in Sandakan was timely as it would provide the opportunity for furthering this scientific research as well as serve as a focal point for sun bear studies in the region.
Musa said the new centre also had the potential to be developed as an educational and awareness centre given its location next to the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre and the Rainforest Discovery Centre.
Apart from that, the conservation centre could lend support to the state's tourism efforts and would become another eco-tourism destination for both local and international visitors, he said.
-- BERNAMA
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