Science can guide wildlife-friendly road planning in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: Scientific data on elephant movements along the Pan Borneo Highway has provided practical lessons on how road projects in Sabah can better account for wildlife.

Universiti Malaysia Sabah senior lecturer Dr Nurzhafarina Othman said a project studying elephant movement and habitat use before and during highway construction in Tawai Forest Reserve had identified areas where wildlife activity overlapped with the highway alignment.

"Movement data showed that the three elephants we were monitoring — one male and two females — moved out of the area during the early stages of construction.

"We also identified several areas of concentrated elephant activity that overlap with the highway alignment," said the Seratu Aatai director in a statement.

She said the monitoring project was commissioned to Seratu Aatai and Danau Girang Field Centre, with support from Yayasan Hasanah and the Finance Ministry.

Nurzhafarina was commenting following a recent workshop here involving 60 participants from government agencies, research institutions and civil society organisations.

Organised by the Institute for Development Studies (Sabah) and 10 civil society organisations under the Humans, Habitats and Highways (3H) Coalition, the workshop examined how scientific evidence and other information could be incorporated into road infrastructure planning early enough to influence alignments, designs and budgets.

She said the survey findings had provided practical information for those involved in the highway, including recommendations that guardrails should not be installed at certain locations where they could impede elephant movement, particularly that of calves.

"This is exactly why information needs to reach planners and engineers while there is still an opportunity to act on it.

Nurzhafarina said the issue went beyond individual road projects and reflected Sabah's broader development direction.

"If Sabah wants to advance a greener development agenda, we need policies and strategies that bring development and biodiversity together from the beginning.

"We cannot continue to consider biodiversity only after the alignment, design and budget have been decided," she said.

Cardiff University professor and Danau Girang Field Centre director Professor Benoit Goossens said although efforts to prevent the Tawai Forest Reserve from being affected by highway development were ultimately unsuccessful, lessons from the area could still be applied to other road projects.

Tawai Forest Reserve was among areas affected by the development of the Pan Borneo Highway, with civil society groups previously engaging with authorities in efforts to prevent the forest reserve from being affected by the project.

"It is not too late for the Kalabakan - Maliau stretch for Phase 3.

"We were informed that the alignment and budget have not yet been finalised, so there is still time to engage with planners, contractors and their consultants to explore how the road can better respect both nature and people, and this is what we hope to do," he said.