Help Communities in Borneo Protect their Heritage

Almost a year has passed since approval was given to designate the Crocker Range in Sabah as a Biosphere Reserve, making it, at 350,584 hectares, the largest protected area in Malaysia. This Reserve includes areas inhabited by Dusun communities with whom Global Diversity Foundation has been collaborating for over a decade. Through a combination of training, participatory action research and community-based conservation education activities, the communities have provided input in the process of its nomination. Given recent uprising against the controversial Kaiduan Dam, it is timely to reflect on the processes used to achieve gazettement, and the core characteristics of Biosphere Reserves. It is crucial to gauge the level of our commitment to this reputable designation.

A key characteristic of Biosphere Reserves is the use of a multi-stakeholder approach, strongly emphasising local community involvement in management. Dusun communities in the Crocker Range are not new to asking that their rights be met, a call backed by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. A collaborative project that began in August 2009, the third in a sequence of projects carried out in the Buayan-Kionop area, was actually designed as a response to community request asking for assistance to strengthen community institutions and build grassroots capacity that would allow them to meaningfully engage in the conservation agenda of Sabah Parks, which included the nomination of the Reserve.

During the three year project, community research groups successfully raised awareness on Biosphere Reserves and other aspects of community conservation among communities living in Ulu Papar and governmental institutions in Sabah. The Ulu Papar Biocultural Community Protocol was developed, a document representing the voice of the Ulu Papar community about the importance of their way of life and culture, ancestral lands and territories, especially in relation to the use of natural resources as a livelihood source for the community and the conservation of biodiversity. GIS maps and participatory 3D models of Buayan-Kionop and Ulu Papar were created from new knowledge to display livelihood patterns and resource use of each community. Since the project officially ended in 2012, the community also pushed ahead with constructing a community outreach centre in Buayan village through fresh partnerships with both local and foreign organisations. This was partly funded through generous donations made by GlobalGiving donors.

Having collaborated with the Ulu Papar community, Sabah Parks, Sabah Biodiversity Centre and PACOS Trust throughout the project, the Global Diversity Foundation continues to appreciate local community efforts in preserving their traditional ways. Dusun communities in the Crocker Range continue to push their way into the forefront to make their voices heard. They have called out to local authorities to consider other solutions to the water shortage in Sabah. They make repeated requests for satisfactory consultations to be carried out with those who would eventually be displaced if the construction of the Dam proceeds. These requests are, after all, in line with a second characteristic of Biosphere Reserves, stated as fostering dialogue for conflict resolution of natural resourse use.

Photo by Rabani Ayub. Natural resources are a livelihood source for the Dusun communities of Ulu Papar in the Crocker Range.