ISB signs conservation MoU

ISB Director David Taylor presenting a cheque for RM18000 to Mr Sahdin Lias  iof RAE for the re-forestation project following the signing of the MoU in Sukau village

Sukau, Sabah, Malaysia
14 April 2007

A Memorandum of Understanding between Red Ape Encounters (RAE), a community-based Orang-utan ecotourism project and the International School of Brunei (ISB) was signed on 14 April 2007 in Sukau. The ceremony was witnessed by village head, representative from Sabah Wildlife Department, staff of ISB and RAE.

In the MoU, ISB donated RM18,000.00 to support a one hectare reforestation site on a land adjacent to the wildlife sanctuary. The reforestation initiative called “1200 Trees Project” is in collaboration with RAE. ISB will be bringing groups of students to Sukau throughout the year to participate in this project. The trees planted in the area are native species which are food source for the orang-utans and birds. The lower Kinabatangan comprises of ten fragmented lots of forest which forms the wildlife sanctuary under the Sabah Wildlife Department’s jurisdiction.

Mr David Taylor, the Director of ISB said “We at ISB are very enthusiastic about this. This is part of our Million Trees Project, which involves schools and enterprises from all over the world. It gives the students an opportunity to take part in the conservation of forest at the same time as learning the threats to wildlife such as the Orangutan and pygmy elephants”.  Mr Taylor was accompanied by his Senior Management Team and a group of students to undertake the ground breaking of the site near to Sukau in the Lower Kinabatangan basin.
During their trek to the site the party observed a fifteen year old orang utan called Jalina with her two year old infant. ISB has been given permission by the Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Society to name the baby “Juta” in honour of the Million Trees Project. Mr. Sahdin Lias the Managing Director of RAE thanked ISB for its efforts in supporting the community based eco tourism enterprise and the conservation of orang- utans  in the lower Kinabatangan floodplain.

The Kinabatangan venture  is just one of the projects ISB is supporting as part of the Million Trees Project launched by Nobel Peace prize winner Wangari Maathai in March. Other projects include the ISB tree nursery, tree planting for schools in tsunami devastated Aceh, school and municipal tree planting in Kota Kinabalu.
Schools or other enterprises wishing to donate to or  be involved in tree planting projects for biodiversity reasons or carbon offset should contact ISB on enquiries@isb.edu.bn