PENAMPANG: The Sabah Birdwatchers Association (SBWA) participated in the Global Bird Fair 2025 in Rutland, United Kingdom, together with the Penampang Tourism Association (PTA).
The participation was supported by the Sabah Tourism Board (STB) and helped promote Sabah’s diverse birdlife and natural habitats to the international birdwatching community.
SBWA also returned Ron Pudin as president and Roger Rajah as vice president during its biennial general meeting (BGM) held at the Multipurpose Hall of Lok Kawi Wildlife Safari Park, recently.
He highlighted the Association’s activities over the past two years, noting SBWA’s continued efforts to promote birdwatching, conservation awareness and Sabah’s rich avian biodiversity through local programmes and international engagements.
Among the highlights was SBWA’s participation in the 4th International Grey-Faced Buzzard and Migratory Raptors Summit held in Sanchez Mira, Philippines in 2024.
The SBWA delegation comprised Ron Pudin, Roland Ng, Jason R. Bugay, Samson Shak and Ben Golimbi. The summit brought together conservationists and birdwatching groups from across the region to exchange knowledge on migratory raptor protection.
Members were also briefed on SBWA’s earlier initiative to host a future edition of the Asian Bird Fair in Penampang in collaboration with PTA.
Although the proposal could not proceed previously due to unforeseen circumstances, it agreed to continue pursuing the matter.
Roger Rajah has been tasked with exploring and submitting a fresh bid to host the event, following a proposal raised during the meeting, with the aim of aligning it with Visit Sabah Year 2027.
Samson Shak proposed appointing a prominent Patron to help strengthen the Association’s financial position and support the establishment of a permanent office for SBWA.
Members also discussed the possibility of setting up a cooperative to support the Association’s activities.
Drawing from experience in establishing Koperasi Pelancongan Penampang Berhad, insights were shared on how a cooperative model could help generate sustainable support for SBWA programmes.
