Sabah tree planting project gets UK funding boost

 

A worker planting a sapling in the Lower Kinabatangan region as part of the Regrow Borneo reforestation project. (Regrow Borneo pic)

KOTA KINABALU: A reforestation programme in Sabah’s east coast has received a boost, with the British government contributing financially to the initiative known as Regrow Borneo.

With the charity status, Regrow Borneo can claim from the British government an additional 25% of every donation made in the UK.

The reforestation initiative, undertaken by the Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) research outfit in the Lower Kinabatangan region, is estimated to cost at least RM30,000 per hectare.

The Regrow Borneo effort is to replant degraded areas with native tree species to serve as corridors for wildlife to move between fragmented forests apart from being food sources for them.

DGFC director Benoit Goossens said the Charity Commission for England and Wales accreditation in October also meant Regrow Borneo’s increased capability to raise additional funds.

“Regrow Borneo will be able to help any British institution, business or community mitigate their carbon emissions in a sustainable, ethical and transparent way,” he told FMT.

“The charity status also gives us more transparency.”

A worker showing a growing sapling in a reforested area. (Regrow Borneo pic)

He said about 18,600 saplings had been planted so far, mostly by Kinabatangan villagers in the Pin Supu forest reserve.

According to Goossens, the cost of planting a tree and maintaining it for three years was between RM20 and RM25.

“We initially worked out the cost to be about RM10 but over the last year, we realised that it was higher. We work across a number of different sites, with different challenges and conditions, such as soil type, flooding frequency and level of degradation.

“We select an appropriate mix of native trees for each area and work around any surviving trees. As a result, the number of saplings needed to restore a hectare to its optimum density can vary. For example, a seasonally flooded peatland forest requires planting at a higher density than a floodplain forest. Therefore, costs can vary.

“We estimate that restoring a hectare of forest costs about RM30,000. So far, we have planted 12.3ha in the Kinabatangan region,” he said. - FMT