Ministry sets up Sustainability and Capacity Development Centre
Published on: Friday, May 03, 2024
By: Clarence Dol
Liew accepting a souvenir from Dr Maklarin.
Kundasang: A Sustainability and Capacity Development Centre was officially established by Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister (Kepkas) Datuk Christina Liew here on Thursday.
The Centre aims to continuously improve the knowledge, skills and capacity of stakeholders as well as local communities around Taman Kinabalu.
ADVERTISEMENT
This, is to take advantage of the socio-economic benefits from protection and conservation of the Park area, especially around the Unesco sites.
“Based on the concept of sustainability, officially announce the establishment of Centre which has been approved by the Board of Trustees of Sabah Parks,” she said.
“The United Nation Sustainable Development Goals programme that we are attending today is a curtain-raiser programme for the establishment of the Centre.
“After this, all programmes of this kind will be managed by this Center, most of which will be related to the sustainability elements of natural resource management for the socio-economic interests of the local community.
ADVERTISEMENT
Meanwhile, Liew said the State Government introduced the Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) development plan, which includes three main focuses for the sustainable development of the state of Sabah from 2021 to 2025.
“These focuses reflect the slogan of SMJ: ‘S’ refers to the main economic sectors which are agriculture, industry, and tourism; ‘M’ is related to human capital and people’s well-being; and ‘J’ emphasises green infrastructure and sustainability networks.
ADVERTISEMENT
“The SMJ plan has identified five driving factors to drive these focuses, namely fiscal sustainability, financial ease, effective and efficient delivery, excellence in integrity and governance, and digital government.
“In addition, it has set five implementation objectives to create a better future, including fostering unity, peace, prosperity, optimizing the state’s resources and income, encouraging economic recovery, and increasing the economy and human capital of the people,” she said.
She added that the SMJ roadmap aims to achieve its objectives through the implementation of 584 initiatives launched since 2021, including 304 main initiatives and 280 drivers.
“Interestingly, the SMJ plan is also in line with all 17 United Nation Sustainable Development Goals. Therefore, this 11-day training course is very important and critical to achieve both goals in parallel and simultaneously,” she said.
Regarding the course, Liew said the 11-day course which revolves around the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals Year 2015-2030 is important to support the State government’s steps towards better well-being for the people of Sabah.
“Congratulations to more than 25 participants from; Kepkas, Sabah Biodiversity Center, Sabah Tourism Board, Sabah Forestry Department, Sabah State Forestry Development Board, Sabah Irrigation and Drainage Department, Kota Kinabalu City Hall, Ranau District Office (PD), Tuaran PD, Papar PD, Penampang PD, Sabah Parks and stakeholders,” she said.
She said cooperation and strong support are all important to ensure that various industries especially in the aspects of tourism, culture and the environment in Sabah grow to stimulate socio-economic development.
Liew added that Kepkas is fully committed to advancing the sustainable development of tourism, which is the third pillar of the Sabah State Government’s economy.
“Our target is to ensure that this development continuously benefits the people of Sabah, especially the local community.
“Our priority is to maintain a sustainable balance between the three main draw pillars, namely agriculture, industry, and tourism.
“So I appreciate this timely training program. I urge all participants from the districts where the Unesco Kinabalu Park World Heritage Sites, Crocker Range Biosphere Reserve and Kinabalu Unesco Global Geopark are located, to make full use of this course to fulfill their respective responsibilities,” she said.
Also present, were Sabah Parks Director Dr. Maklarin bin Lakim, Keynote Speaker of the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd. Sayuti Hassan and others.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
