A Boost for Eco-Tourism

Blame it on Jacques Costeau. On a visit to Pulau Sipadan, the renowned French oceanographer famously observed: “I have seen other places like Sipadan – but 45 years ago – but now, no more, now we have found again an untouched piece of art.”

That was in the early 1980s. Word has spread around the diving community, and now Sipadan, with its unsurpassed variety of marine life, is recognised as one of the top diving destinations in the world. The only oceanic island in Malaysia, Sipadan rises some 600m from the seabed, at the heart of one of the richest marine habitats in the world. The list of attractions is quite staggering – greenback and hawksbill turtles, barracuda and big-eye trevally, manta rays, hammerhead and whale sharks, etc.

Other notable dive destinations include Mabul Island, with luxury chalets on stilts and shallow reefs; the three islands of Pulau Tiga National Park surrounded by a crystal-clear sea; Turtle Islands Park; Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, a group of five beautiful islands with good facilities, beaches and snorkelling just a 10-minute boat ride from Kota Kinabalu

Some active travellers combine a diving trip with a delightful trek up Mount Kinabalu, at 4,095m the highest mountain between the Himalayas and New Guinea. One of the few existing, relatively pristine tall tropical mountains, it is unique for its very wide range of habitats from lowland tropical rainforest at its foot to sub-alpine scrub at the summit.

But even if you don’t join the climbers, you can still enjoy trekking through jungle trails or simply admiring the superb scenery of Kinabalu National Park, the country’s first Unesco World Heritage site.

Within it are over 5000 flowering plants including 1200 species of orchids.

Also within the Park is Poring, where sulphur hot springs provide a therapeutic bath and marked trails lead to waterfalls and caves. The remarkable Rafflesia, the world’s largest flower, may sometimes be found n bloom here and at Tambunan.

Other noteworthy parks include Crocker Range National Park, noted as a habitat for primates including the orangutan, gibbons, macaques and the furry tarsier.

Many nature lovers visiting Sabah head for the Kinabatangan River, whose floodplain has a well-earned reputation as the best spot in Borneo – indeed all of Southeast Asia—for wildlife observation. The village of Sukau in particular offers outstanding opportunities for sighting proboscis monkeys, elephants, crocodiles, Oriental darter and even orangutans in the wild. The British filmmaker and conservationist Sir David Attenborough had this to say about Asia’s only remaining forested floodplain: “One of the richest wildlife congregations per unit area on Earth.”

Nearby are the Gomantong Caves, famous for centuries for high-quality bird’s nest. The Danum Valley Conservation Area is home to some of the world’s oldest and largest trees as well as wildlife that include elephants, mousedeer, Malayan sun bear and orangutan. The region has some excellent jungle walks.

Maliau Basin encompasses a diverse assemblage of forest types, comprising mainly of lower montane forest, rare montane heath forest and lowland and hill dipterocarp forest.

Orangutans used to be widely distributed in the region. Sadly, these red apes are now found only in Borneo and Sumatra these days. One of the best places in the world to see it is the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, where scores of the primate roam and mate freely in a well-preserved 43 sq. km. tropical lowland rainforest sanctuary. During their twice-daily feeding times, a dozen or two of the animals emerge from the jungle.

Those seeking a wet and wild adventure head for the Padas River, which offers exhilarating white-water action.

The Sabah Development Corridor envisions Sabah as the model for sustainable tourism development in Malaysia and the region. A proposed eco-certification programme—that assesses a tourism product’s commitment to ecological and social sustainability as well as quality of the eco-tourism experience – will help the state’s aim of being a premier eco-adventure destination by accrediting tours, attractions, accommodation and transport service providers.

With the increasing environmental sensitivity among discerning travellers, eco-tourism – responsible travel to natural areas which conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local people – has become the fastest-growing segment in the tourism industry, rising by 20 per cent annually compared with 7 per cent for tourism overall.

To cater to the rising demand, the blueprint proposes enhancing existing natural attractions and developing new nature sites in line with the eco-tourism concept.