Sixth Annual Heart of Borneo Conference in Sabah

The Heart of Borneo. Credit: WWF

The Heart of Borneo is a transboundary conservation initiative spearheaded by the governments of Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Holly Jonas (Natural Justice) attended the initiative's sixth annual conference on 10 November 2014 in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, which focused on the theme "Enhancing Biodiversity towards No Net Loss and Beyond within the Heart of Borneo Landscape".

The conference was opened by Datuk Sam Mannan (Director of Sabah Forestry Department), who underscored the need for political sustainability in decision-making on environmental sustainability, and Datuk Seri G. Palanivel (Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment), who committed to applying for additional funds for the Heart of Borneo under the 11th Malaysia Plan. Dr. Greg Asner (Carnegie Institution for Science) delivered the keynote address on his team's groundbreaking work on remote sensing 3-dimensional mapping using the Carnegie Airborne Observatory.

The first panel, focusing on global perspectives, was chaired by Dr. Michael Kleine (International Union of Forest Research Organisations) and featured presentations by: Dr. Braulio de Souza Dias (Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity) on the CBD's perspectives on No Net Loss; Jane Lawton (International Union for Conservation of Nature-Asia) on the critical role of protected areas and on IUCN's Business and Biodiversity Programme; Dato' Dr. Dionysius Sharma (WWF-Malaysia) on the major findings of WWF's recently released 2014 Living Planet Report, which illustrate a 52% decline in global biodiversity between 1970 and 2010; and Michael Crowe on policies and tools for achieving No Net Loss, including the standards of the Business and Biodiversity Offset Programme. The CBD's  2011-2020 Strategic Plan and Aichi Targets, particularly Target 11, were referenced multiple times, along with the need to move beyond quantity towards quality of protected areas in Asia.

The second panel, focusing on practitioner perspectives, was chaired by Datuk Darrel Webber (Secretary General of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) and featured presentations by: Datuk Dr. Glen Reynolds (Royal Society South East Asia Rainforest Research Programme) on building an evidence base in Sabah for No Net Loss and Payment for Ecosystem Services; Dr. David Cassells (The Nature Conservancy) on translating environmental values into tangible income; Dr. David Brand (New Forests) on future forest plantations and implementation of No Net Loss; Simon Siburat (Wilmar International) on enhancing biodiversity within oil palm plantations; and Glen MacNair (Forest Solutions) on forest owners' perspectives on the role of industrial tree plantations in No Net Loss.

Melangkap Community Protocol

cc Harry Jonas, 2014

A group of five Melangkap villages presented their protocol on the 6th of September, 2014 in Sabah, Malaysia. These  communities have developed a one page protocol that requires anyone entering the broader community for any purpose to submit their intentions in writing, and to abide by local customary law. Those laws, customs, practices, their hopes and aspirations have also been documented and are contained in a secondary document.

At the meeting, there were cultural dances, a film highlighting the process produced by the community was shown, and signed copies of the protocol were handed by the traditional chief to the village headmen. In attendance were members of all five Melangkap communities, Sabah Biodiversity Centre, UNDP Small Grants Programme, BC Initiative and Natural Justice, among others. 

ASEAN Social Forestry Network Conference and CSO Forum held in Sabah

Member states, civil society organisations (CSOs), and community representatives from across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region have come together in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, for a series of meetings under the ASEAN Social Forestry Network and the theme "Enhancing Livelihood and Conservation Benefits from Social Forestry towards a Green ASEAN Community".

From 21-23 May, Holly Jonas (Natural Justice) joined more than 50 ASEAN-based organisations in the 3rd Annual CSO Forum, which was hosted by the Non-Timber Forest Products Exchange Programme (NTFP-EP), Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (JOAS), and Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The CSO Forum reviewed implementation of country-level roadmaps, shared support strategies, and developed working papers (on community economies and livelihoods, forest tenure and access rights, safeguards, and governance mechanisms) as the basis of CSO engagement in the 5th ASEAN Social Forestry Network Conference that followed on 24-25 May. The CSO Forum underscored that Indigenous peoples and forest-dependent communities are "partners, not threats" in forest conservation and that secure land and resource tenure are essential prerequisites to conservation and livelihoods alike.

The 5th Conference began with welcoming remarks from a range of dignitaries from the ASEAN Secretariat and Sabahan and Malaysian governments and opening presentations on perspectives on cooperation in ASEAN forestry, a situation analysis of ASEAN social forestry (based on a new report by the Center for People and Forests), challenges in promoting and realising social forestry goals in ASEAN. It also included parallel sessions on the following topics: 

1. Local Engagement in Social Forestry for Forest Conservation and Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation; and
2. Social Forestry for Food Security, Community Economy and Partnerships.

Under the first topic, Holly Jonas presented alongside Samson Pedragosa (Philippine Association for Intercultural Development) on Indigenous Peoples' and Community Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCAs) in a session on "Equity in Forest Management and Biodiversity Conservation".

From 27-28 May, government officials from ASEAN member states will convene for the 8th ASEAN Social Forestry Network meeting, which is expected to endorse a number of recommendations that emerged from the CSO Forum and Conference.

Participants in the CSO Forum. Photo courtesy of  Atama Kitama/JOAS.

Workshop on Spatial Planning for Conservation and Sustainable Development in Sabah

Hand-held GPS units have been used by communities

around the world to map their territories and important

resources and cultural sites.

On 8 July, Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice) attended a day-long meeting on spatial planning for conservation and sustainable development in Sabah, Malaysia (the third in a series organised by Hutan and the Malaysian branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature). Building on the discussions undertaken in the previous meeting in late May, this meeting included the following:

• An update from the consultants compiling the draft 2013-2033 Sabah Structure Plan;
• An update from the NGO team compiling biodiversity data, including the latest spatial assessment of forest cover in Sabah;
• Discussion about several planning scenarios produced by the initial spatial analyses; and
• Suggestions about possible policy amendments or new policies that may be needed to address current and future challenges such as climate change and voluntary conservation by communities and companies alike.

Participatory Mapping Workshop in Melangkap

From 29 June to 1 July, Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice) joined Borneo Conservancy Initiative for the first of a series of participatory mapping workshops with the villages of Melangkap (Sabah, Malaysia). The workshop involved sketch mapping by each of the five villages, comparisons of certain overlapping areas and common resources, and a basic introduction to taking Global Positioning System (GPS) points with hand-held units.

Subsequent workshops will involve creating 2-D and 3-D maps on the basis of GPS points currently being collected, and as part of an ongoing process to document and develop a community protocol.

Forever Sabah Workshop with Community Conservation Leaders

A selection of community conservation initiatives from

around Sabah and a timeline of key events.

From 21-22 June, Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice) joined a Forever Sabah workshop of community conservation leaders. Forever Sabah is a 25-year initiative that aims to build a fair, prosperous and sustainable Sabah (Malaysia) by pioneering the state’s transition to a diversified green economy. It aims to change the development and economic trajectory of the State by rebalancing the economy from its historical over-reliance on and exploitation of natural habitats (particularly forests, rivers and seas).

The workshop focused on more than ten leading community conservation initiatives, including Native Forest Reserves, Community Use Zones (co-management with state protected areas), reforestation, eco-tourism, and natural resource-based enterprises. It used Open Space Technology to identify, explore, and brainstorm next steps on a range of key issues such as land, sustainable use of natural resources, economic opportunities, and leadership.

Community Workshop in Melangkap, Sabah

On 16 June, Harry Jonas (Natural Justice) joined Lanash Thanda and Dorothy Lim (Borneo Conservancy Initiative) at a community workshop in Melangkap, Sabah, Malaysia. The participants discussed a range of issues, including their local governance systems and women's contributions to the transmission of traditional knowledge.

National Consultation in Sabah on Women's Rights in ASEAN

From 14-15 June, Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice) attended a national consultation in Kinarut with women from East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak) on human rights in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. The consultation was organised by Land Empowerment Animals People (LEAP) and the Women's Aid Organisation, with support from the Southeast Asian Women's Caucus in ASEAN (Women's Caucus).

The two-day consultation included the following topics and activities:

• Introduction to the Women's Caucus,
• Introduction to ASEAN and its human rights mechanisms, including the ASEAN Charter and Human Rights Declaration, ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children, and ASEAN Committee on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers,
• Open Space Technology to explore women's priority issues in East Malaysia,
• Introduction to UN human rights mechanisms, including legally binding instruments ratified by Malaysia, and particular focus on the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,
• Discussion of strategies and plans for the Women's Caucus in East Malaysia, including advocacy strategies to use regional and international mechanisms, and
• Group feedback and circle of support and solidarity.

Please visit LEAP's Facebook page to view photo albums from the consultation.

Spatial Planning for Conservation and Sustainable Development in Sabah

On 23 May, Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice) attended a day-long meeting on spatial planning for conservation and sustainable development in Sabah, Malaysia, which was organised by Hutan and the Malaysian branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Malaysia). With an overall emphasis on establishing the technical information-base for a holistic landscape approach to planning, participants highlighted the following points, among others:

• The need for a multi-stakeholder integrated approach with a common vision and concerted strategy that focuses on connectivity, viability, complementarity, target-setting, and cost-efficiency (known as 'systematic conservation planning'),
• The need to fill knowledge gaps in the spatial data such as location of 'good quality' forests, social-cultural values, and distribution of biodiversity and threats to it,
• The importance of providing technical inputs into the draft 20-year Sabah Structure Plan, including social safeguards in line with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and
• The importance of also planning for governance, management, implementation, and enforcement.

Participants also discussed unique considerations required for marine spatial planning, impacts of climate change (particularly on plant life), implications of different definitions of 'forests' (for example, if oil palm plantations were to be included), and the need to protect islands and mangroves from further developments.

Participatory photography workshop held in Melangkap, Sabah

On 16 May, Borneo Conservancy Initiative and Natural Justice co-organised a participatory photography workshop with the five villages of Melangkap in Sabah, Malaysia. The workshop was facilitated by Remmy Alfie Awang, a Global Diversity Foundation community researcher from the nearby village of Bundu Tuhan. Remmy led the community participants through an introduction to digital cameras, the basics of taking pictures, and a practical session around Melangkap Kapa. The participants will be using photography to document and communicate various aspects of their communities, traditions, and ways of life as part of a broader process to develop a community protocol, which is supported by the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme of Malaysia. Additional workshops on photo editing as well as participatory video and mapping are currently being planned.

We are very grateful to Remmy for leading such an excellent workshop and to all of the participants and our hosts in Melangkap Kapa!

REDD+ Readiness Workshop in Sabah

From 31 July to 1 August, Holly Shrumm (Natural Justice) participated in a workshop on Malaysia's emerging national institutional framework for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD+). The meeting, held in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, was part of a three-year "REDD+ Readiness" joint project between the United Nations Development Programme and the federal Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment (NRE).

The workshop included presentations on the following topics:

• "Introduction to REDD" by Dr. Elizabeth Philip, head of REDD+ Unit, NRE;
• "Sabah REDD+ Preparedness Roadmap" by Fred Kugan, Sabah Forestry Department;
• "Draft Recommendations for Institutional Framework" by Lee Kian Foh, project consultant; and
• "Free, Prior and Informed Consent within REDD+" by Maximilian Conrad, REDD+ Unit, NRE.

The workshop also included breakout groups and subsequent plenary discussions on social and environmental safeguards, financing and sharing of benefits, and measuring, reporting and verification. Natural Justice participated in the safeguards group alongside local organisations such as Partners of Community Organisations (PACOS) Trust and Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (JOAS), the Indigenous Peoples Network of Malaysia.

More information, news and analysis of REDD+ is available at: www.redd-monitor.org.