This is despite the assurances by the Sabah forestry department that the agreement between the state government and Singapore firm Hoch Standard Pte Ltd will not allow exploitation of protected forests in the state.
WWF-Malaysia conservation director Henry Chan urged the state government to relook the terms and conditions, stressing that the NCA needed to adhere to existing protocols and safeguards.
First, he said, these safeguards should ensure that any decision made would be transparent to all affected parties, especially native communities.
He said that free, prior and informed stakeholder consultations should be held before the signing of the agreement and not during its implementation.
“In line with this, the organisation calls for the practice of inclusive conservation, where communities’ rights to decide how to manage their land are recognised and protected,” Chan said in a statement here today.
“While the state government’s plans to strengthen the protection of Sabah’s Totally Protected Areas (TPAs) were commendable, WWF-Malaysia strongly urge for a scrutiny of the terms in the NCA.
“Sabah’s commitment to 50% forest cover and 30% TPAs are vital for biodiversity conservation in the state. Among others, forests offer watershed protection, prevent soil erosion and mitigate climate change.
“Adding another layer of protection to our invaluable forests through carbon trading is a step in the right direction. But this step must be taken properly through appropriate channels.”
Sabah chief conservator of forests Frederick Kugan has said that the NCA’s main objectives were the conservation and protection of tropical rainforests through the monetisation of carbon stored in standing trees, in addition to natural capital benefits in the forest environment.
The focus of the NCA would be forests classified previously as TPAs, he said, adding that the TPAs were areas already locked in for conservation and protection under various state laws and international treaties.
Kugan denied a report by environmental protection website Mongabay that these areas were under threat from mining, logging or industrial agriculture.
He said the NCA had yet to be finalised as there were a number of outstanding issues.
The online portal had reported that Sabah leaders recently signed a profit-sharing deal to market carbon and other natural capital from more than two million hectares of the state forests in the next 100 years.
In his statement today, Chan pointed out that a sound agreement framework should be well negotiated.
“For conservation efforts to be sustainable, both nature and its people must benefit. The only way this can be achieved is if all the available protocols and safeguards are put in place and adhered to.
“Is the deal limited to just carbon? How will the deal impact future socio-economic activities in Sabah? These are questions that have just scratched the surface but answers to which are crucial in order to fully understand what we are getting ourselves into,” he said.