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SABAH has formed a Committee on Climate Change to advise the State Government on climate change, the mitigation measures needed to reduce its effects and to vet forest based carbon projects.

It is also to ascertain and monitor the long term implications of climate change and its deleterious effects on Sabah and strategies to meet them.

Chaired by Technical Advisor (Forest) to the Chief Minister Datuk Sam Mannan, who is also former Chief Conservator of Forests, its initial tenure is from Aug. 1 2022 until July 31, 2023.

The other members are Datuk Darrel Webber (Engineer and former World, Sec-Gen of the RSPO or Round Table on Sustainable Oil Palm, Datuk Tengku Fuad Legal Adviser to the Government of Sabah, Cynthia Ong LEAP a NGO, Datuk Dr John Payne  biologist who heads local NGO Bora and Wildlife Specialist and Robecca Jumin of WWF.

Each member of the committee also shall focus on their specialities such as legal issues.

As far back as 1992, Sabah embarked on a pioneering journey to reduce the amount of CO2 in the air through the Infapro project. Through this large project, forest rehab work commenced to restore 25,000 hectares of badly damaged forests at Ulu Segama Forest Reserve in Lahad Datu.

After nearly 30 years of hard work and indigenous manpower resources, the restoration work succeeded to the extent that to the untrained eye, the area looked untouched and displaced wildlife (orangutans) came back in numbers.

Sam said the second project was the “Malua Bio Bank” at Malua Forest Reserve involving 34,000 hectares.

For the first time, the owner of both projects (Sabah Foundation) and its partner tried to market biodiversity, such as monetising biodiversity or simply put, trying to make money from wildlife - Love For Sale.

Unfortunately, the Bio-Bank did not sell as its time had not come. It was supposed to be financed by the sales of bio-units that the west appeared to be sceptical about. Hence, the project died.

Now the third project, involving 80,000 hectares (Sabah Foundation area) in Kuamut, a logged-over forest, took some 11 years due to wide deliberations. It finally promised the best of returns with some paid in advance already. However, due to business considerations, the sums earned so far cannot be disclosed. “It is pertinent to disclose that this UK based partner of ours was recently awarded, the best carbon project in the tropics for 2022, based on their assets outside Sabah. “Why have they chosen Sabah? The life span was just 30 years or so, for Kuamut.

“I put it to you that they stayed put in Sabah despite some turmoil because of long term forest management policies.” A pool of trained and competent technocrats experience in SFM, Total Protect Areas (TPAS) and world engagement in forestry at the apex for example Deramakot Forest Reserve.

He said such skills allow the natural progression towards carbon projects, such as doing nothing for something or one needs to conceptualise, why good is bad and bad is good. Good governance is also vital for carbon projects to succeed the pioneering efforts of “2002-2018” where the government is acknowledged as a “game changer”.

Meanwhile, there are two other carbon projects on stream under feasibility studies and there has been no definite decisions.

The momentum to do more however, continues to build up. Blue carbon or carbon involving the seas, and coastal areas are beginning to emerge. A productivity level, exceeding ten (10) times that of terrestrial productivity of carbon, has been banded about.

According to Sam, the committee is tasked to develop an enactment on carbon exchange within a year.

Sam said the committee was of the opinion that for Sabah to venture into the carbon exchange market, a third party in business dealings is not required as the State has years of experience and its own experts in environment conservation efforts.

“The carbon exchange market was quite underdeveloped for many years. But now it is (developed) because of pollution. So, organisations buy carbon credits to offset their own pollution.

“In doing so, Sabah needs to build a carbon exchange legislation to regulate how the State markets this because we want to lead the market. We don’t want the deal to go through a third party,” he said at a press conference on the matter in Sandakan on Aug 15.

Carbon credit trading is a market-based system designed to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming, especially carbon dioxide, by creating a financial incentive to do so.

Sam said the State entity to lead the deals in Sabah’s carbon exchange would be the Sabah Foundation (Yayasan Sabah) and that right should remain Sabahan.

“Sabah is blessed with the perception in the region that we have a high level of governance in conservation. But the big difference is on pricing of carbon,” he said.