GDF SEA Community & Conservation projects –2009

2007 to 2009, 24 months

Participatory resource monitoring of Community Use Zones in the Crocker Range Park, Sabah, Malaysia. Darwin Initiative UK

From August 2007 to July 2009, we are conducting participatory resource monitoring of the Buayan-Kionop Community Use Zone in the Crocker Range Park. Funded by the Darwin Initiative, this project is carried out in partnership with Sabah Parks, Partners of Community Organisations (PACOS) and the local community in Buayan-Kionop. The project is governed through the MoU between the Global Diversity Foundation and Sabah Parks, and the Community Research Agreement between the Global Diversity Foundation and the Buayan-Kionop community. The project has formed a Resource Catchment Assessment Team comprising representatives from the Global Diversity Foundation, Buayan-Kionop Community Research Assistants, Sabah Parks and PACOS. The Team has been trained to plan, design and implement participatory resource monitoring of subsistence activities in the Buayan-Kionop CUZ. A key aspect of field research focuses on strengthening the capacity of our Community Research Assistants to carry out community-based monitoring of subsistence activities, both inside the Buayan-Kionop CUZ and in adjacent areas outside the Park. Project monitoring results are presented and jointly reviewed at regular CUZ Management Workshops, thereby generating systematic feedback to inform aspects of the CUZ Management Plan. 

2009 to 2010, 18 months

Traditional ecological knowledge in Sabah: A consolidation of issues and experiences in relation to biodiversity conservation and sustainable resource use. JICA Japan

From Jan 2009 to July 2010, we are implementing a project on traditional ecological knowledge in Sabah. Funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the project is a collaborative effort between the Global Diversity Foundation, Sabah Biodiversity Centre, Sabah Parks and JICA under the Bornean Biodiversity and Ecosystems Conservation Phase Two Programme. We have an existing MoU with Sabah Parks, and we are currently in the process of finalizing an MoU with the Sabah Biodiversity Centre. The project is managed through a Steering Committee chaired by the Natural Resources Office of the Sabah State Chief Minister’s Department. The project examines traditional ecological knowledge according to two core themes: 1) we are implementing a series of seminars, workshops and field visits aimed to build the capacity of Sabah state agencies to develop protocols for Access and Benefit Sharing in Sabah; and 2) we are conducting a state-wide review on Indigenous Peoples’ and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs) in Sabah using both desk-based research and community-based fieldwork approaches. It is expected that project results will contribute towards submissions to COP10 in Nagoya, for which JICA is one of the principal organizers.

2009 to 2012, 36 months

Participatory approaches to nominating the Crocker Range Biosphere Reserve, Sabah, Malaysia. Darwin Initiative UK

From August 2009 to July 2012, we will be conducting a project to support the nomination of the Crocker Range as a Biosphere Reserve under the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme. Funded by the Darwin Initiative, this is the third in a sequence of projects we have been carrying out in the Buayan-Kionop area of the Crocker Range Park in Sabah. This project will maintain our existing partnerships with Sabah Parks and the Buayan-Kionop community. We are also partnered with PACOS Trust and the University of Kent, UK. In this project we extend our focus from the Buayan-Kionop villages to include other communities in the Ulu Papar area of the Crocker Range. This project responds to a request from the Buayan-Kionop community for assistance in strengthening community institutions and building grassroots capacity so they can meaningfully engage in the conservation agenda – including nomination of the CRP Biosphere Reserve – of Sabah Parks and related government agencies. Community input into the nomination of Crocker Range Park as a biosphere reserve will consolidate the efforts of Sabah Parks and local communities to work together to create community use zones and buffer zones. We will support the Buayan-Kionop community and Sabah conservation agencies through a combination of training, participatory action research and community-based conservation education activities.

Under development for 2010

Construction of a community resource centre in Buayan, Sabah, Malaysia. Japanese Grassroots Grants Programme, Japan.

Since September 2009, we have been working with counterparts in JICA and the Japanese Consulate to Sabah to develop a project proposal with community members in Buayan-Kionop. The proposal will be submitted to the Japanese Grassroots Grants Programme, which is managed through the Japanese Consulate to Kota Kinabalu. The proposed project (up to US$100,000) aims to construct a Biocultural Heritage Community Centre in Buayan-Kionop where all research results will be housed as well as being a centre for community outreach in the Ulu Papar area. If successful, the construction of the Centre will also be co-funded by the Darwin Initiative grant we will be implementing in August 2009, which has funds allocated towards equipping the Centre with weather monitoring equipment. This will enable us to open a new phase of participatory research in Sabah that addresses indigenous knowledge about weather indicators and patterns, and documenting local adaptations to climate change.