Sabah could be regional role model for park management
Malaysia could become a good role model in the region for park management and turtle conservation.
Solutions for Marine and Coastal Resilience in the Coral Triangle (SOMACORE) programme director Dr Jan H. Steffan said that Sabah had decades of experience in managing marine parks and trained staff.
Under Sabah Parks, the Tunku Abdul Rahman marine park here was gazetted in 1974. It also manages Pulau Tiga in Kuala Penyu, Turtles island in Sandakan, Tun Sakaran and Sipadan island in Semporna, as well as the Tun Mustapha Park in Kudat, Kota Marudu and Pitas.
"In some ways, Malaysia is a role model. You have a history of park management. If you see a country like the Solomon Islands, they just gazetted the first marine protected area a few years ago. They don't have your experience.
"We would love to find ways to give Sabah Parks opportunities to share with the Solomon Islands or Timor-Leste how they have structured their work on the parks," Steffan said in an interview in the Sabah capital.