Bio-diversity

Even in 1995 itself, the Sabah State Government had recognized that the unique lifestyle, tradition and culture of the Rungus indigenous people, which represented a potential asset for promoting culture tourism, was under threat from various sources. Such threats included, rapid and unsustainable and modernized development, construction of infrastructure, establishment of plantations, etc, which in turn adversely affected the welfare and well being of the Rungus indigenous people, and their lifestyles, their longhouses, their cultural practices, their traditions, etc, besides resulting in the loss of their interdependent biodiversity, natural resources, wildlife habitats. Hence that Sabah State Government embarked on a mission to pursue cultural tourism as an alternative and sustainable tagline to enhance the socio-economic status of the Rungus indigenous people, especially in the Kudat area of Sabah, but without compromising on their unique identity or their integrated and important wealth of biodiversity, natural resources or wildlife habitats. The proposed project aims to complement and corroborate the same alternative and sustainable tagline of cultural and eco-tourism, with activities for undertaking capacity building, increasing empowerment, enabling knowledge, training for cultural tourism, etc, of local communities of the Rungus indigenous people in the rural villages at Kudat in a manner that would contribute towards not only poverty eradication, income generation and sustainable livelihood, but also to the conservation and sustainable use of their critical biodiversity, natural resources and wildlife habitats. The objective of this planning grant is for consultations with the local indigenous community to identify the potential and planning of a community project for conservation and sustainable use of the biodiversity through sustainable ecotourism in the villages of Kg. Terongkongan Laut and Darat, Kg. Mompilis and Kg. Tinangol, as well as the documentation of traditional knowledge in medicinal herbs and other plants use.

Malaysia