Forest Management in Lower Kinabatangan Sabah, East Malaysia: Cost-Benefit Analysis

Sabah is known in the world with its nature and biodiversity. In fact, one of the contributions of tourism sector in Sabah is the uniqueness of the nature and wildlife. Unfortunately, the developments of agriculture, particularly for oil palm cultivation cause so many negative impacts to environmental imbalance, especially in fragile areas such as Lower Kinabatangan. Because of that, Lower Kinabatangan need for a balanced approach to reduce the negative effects due to the clearing of forests. In this study, Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) model with three option namely, Option1: Status Quo, Option 2: Compromise and Conservation and Option 3: Translocation is used to provide alternative solution to local residents in Lower Kinabatangan which faced with problems due to insufficient of forest management. A total of 234 respondents were randomly selected from four villages with high conflict because of the of oil palm cultivation namey Kg, Kg Bilit, Kg Sukau and Kg Batu Putih. Study results found that Option 2, which recorded the highest NPV is the best option selected by the local people in solving their problems. This study thus shows that there is awareness among the local community on the importance of balancing development and environmental conservation to ensure sustainable forest management can be achieved in Lower Kinabatangan, Sabah

The Effects of Industrial Value Addition and Energy Consumption on Environmental Deterioration: New Evidence from Islamic Countries

The current research is aimed at finding out the effects of energy consumption and industrial value addition on environmental deterioration. Panel data for the years 2000-2017 was employed to explore the long- and short-term association of variables for the selected Islamic countries. Panel Unit Root Test was used to check the stationarity of the data. Moreover, Fisher panel Co-integration tests, PMG, Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Square method (DOLS) were also applied to find out relationship between the variables. The study suggested that economic growth, industrial value addition and energy consumption positively affect the CO2 emission. Moreover, high-energy consumption to meet the demands of energy in transportation and production sectors leads to increased environmental pollution. The coefficient of industrial value addition shows significant effect on environmental deterioration in long term. Our study suggests the use of cleaner technology in production system and replacing renewable energy by non-renewable energy sources

Rural Livelihoods and Vulnerability Towards Natural Disasters: An Empirical Exploration from Selected Villages of District Gilgit, Pakistan

Present study explores livelihoods of rural households and their vulnerability towards natural hazards in three selected villages of district Gilgit, a far-flung mountainous area in north of Pakistan. Data were collected from 180 households by using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Moreover, Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) and descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. The standard value of LVI ranges from 0 to 1, whereby the higher value of LVI shows higher vulnerability. LVI for each village was calculated using the data of seven components i.e. socio demography, livelihood strategies, social networks, food, health and education, water, natural disasters and climate vulnerability. The results suggest that the rural households of district Gilgit are vulnerable to natural disasters and Gilgit is most vulnerable in food and social network and least vulnerable in terms of demographic profile. Lastly, the overall value of LVI for district Gilgit is 0.3

Challenges in implementation of community-based-tourism and homestay post-Covid-19 movement control order (MCO) at Kundasang, Sabah

This article discusses the challenges in implementing the community-based tourism and homestay post covid-19 movement control order (MCO) at Kundasang, Sabah. The spread of the Covid-19 virus has had a significant impact on the community and, at the same time, on tourism activities. The implementation of the MCO, announced by the Prime Minister of Malaysia on March 18, 2020, has led all sectors, including the tourism sector, to stop operating temporarily to curb the virus from continuing to be prevalent among the community. On June 10, 2020, the government implemented the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO), allowing all sectors to operate again. However, there is a question of what challenges the tourists face in implementing the post-covid-19 recovery strategy and plan in Kundasang. The primary approach to this study is qualitative, based on primary and secondary data sources. The preliminary data is used through in-depth interviews while in the field. Secondary data is from journal articles, academic reference books and newspaper news widely used in this writing. The results of this study found that there were challenges facing the community, especially homestay operators, where the challenges they faced were different in implementing the post-covid19 tourism recovery strategy in Kundasang, Sabah

Protection Priority in Mountain Environment Using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) on Kinabalu Park, Sabah

Environmental degradation is one of the largest threats that are happening especially in protected areas. This is due to protected areas provide not only environmental benefits but also social and economic benefits to people and communities worldwide. Kinabalu Park, Sabah is declared by UNESCO as Malaysia’s first World Heritage Site in 2000 and the park is classified into category II (National Park). A national park is very closely related to naturebased tourism, being a symbol of a high-quality natural environment with a well-designed tourist infrastructure. Among the main reasons for people coming to Kinabalu Park is to enjoy the beauty of nature as its flora and fauna diversity and also the magnificent mountainous landscape. This paper focuses on prioritizing the environment aspect that being affected by the tourism activities and some of the acts of irresponsible visitors. If the environmental degradation continues, this might harm the environment on the long term basis. The method that will be using is Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to prioritize the protection of the environment on the study area. It can help decision makers to prioritize on which matter that they need to focus more on and also enables to put more expert knowledge together allowing more precise decisions and moderating personal judgments

Establishing mangrove forest products for eco-tourism activity at Kota Kinabalu Wetland Ramsar Site, Sabah. Malaysia

Mangrove forests are found ubiquitously across the global landscape and are known to assume a pivotal role in supporting the surrounding ecosystem. The study purposely estimates the ability of absorption in CO2 towards the subject area to understand the precautions of visitors in future demand. By leveraging the advanced technology of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and employing carbon footprint analysis, the study estimated the daily footfall to the area and the resultant carbon footprint. The analysis conclusively revealed a surplus of minus 7,957.65 tons/year, indicating that the area can assimilate more CO2. This underscores the wealth of natural resources and the potential to accommodate a larger number of visitors in the future

Maragang hill trekking through community based ecotourism (cbe): the tourist guides responsibility and challenges in Kundasang, Sabah, Malaysia

The issue of this article is tourist guides’ responsibility and the challenges they face when conducting Maragang Hill trekking activities through communitybased ecotourism (CBE) in Kundasang, Sabah. This study used mixed data collection methods: in-depth interviews with eight informants and observations around Mesilou village and at Maragang hill. The survey was also conducted on 63 community members in Maragang Hill as a supporting method to obtain more accurate data. Secondary sources refer to reinforce the study data. The concepts used in this study are interrelated to the topic and to understand the issue deeply. The results of this study have shown that although tourist guides did their responsibility perfectly (such as providing additional information to the tourists, a safety briefing, giving information about flora and fauna to the tourists, and hiking rules), some of the challenges remain for them. This study indicates the challenges tourist guides face while conducting Maragang Hill trekking activities through community-based ecotourism. This study enhances the concept of CBE in studies related to ecotourism activities, especially ecotourism based on nature. In so doing, the result of this study reduces the challenges faced by tourist guides or CBE management while conducting Maragang Hill-related activities soon

Lessons learned-local residents’ acceptance of crowding during public

Pangkor Island is one of the islands that is the focus of tourists from within and outside the country—as evidenced by the very high number of tourist arrivals, especially on public holidays. The arrival of many tourists will have an impact on the locals as well as bring about various levels of acceptance. It can be difficult to achieve sustainable tourism development. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the situation of crowding that occurs in Pangkor Island during public holidays and the level of acceptance of local residents to the situation. This quantitative study used a questionnaire to survey a total of 387 local residents. Using the People at One Time (PAOT) method, respondents were given five choices of pictures showing the tourism situation in Pangkor Island during public holidays. From this PAOT analysis, respondents stated that the situation in Pangkor Island on public holidays was 'very crowded' with 74.4% choosing Photo F, followed by Photo D (9.6%), Photo E (7.2%) and finally, the photo with lowest percentage was Photo A (1.3%). The average frequency of respondents seeing tourists carrying out selected activities in tourism is also high with a mean value of 4.15. The crowding situation in Pangkor Island during public holidays puts the barometer of the level of acceptance of the locals at a moderate level with a mean value of 2.87. This situation shows that the locals can still accept the number of tourist arrivals, but that there is already a conflict. If this condition continues without any improvement, it can cause the barometer reading to increase to the red level which is unacceptable. This study provides important information to stakeholders to ensure the sustainability of tourism in Pangkor Island is preserved

The Relevance of Scuba Diving Activities as A Tourist Attraction on Pangkor Island

Scuba diving tourism is one of the tourism products that contributes to Malaysia's economic returns. There are three main issues underlying this research problem, namely the validity of Pangkor Island as a scuba diving tourism destination in Malaysia, the confusion about Pangkor Island's actual status as a scuba diving tourism destination in Malaysia based on tourism agency promotions and souvenir sales, and past studies conducted by local scholars. To obtain validity, several stakeholders were made respondents of the study, namely foreign tourists, local residents, and resort entrepreneurs. This study aims to identify the characteristics of tourist attractions on Pangkor Island based on the perceptions of foreign tourists and local communities, examine the involvement of local communities in tourism development, and the level of their knowledge about scuba diving tourism. Furthermore, it examines whether this activity is a characteristic attraction that drives international tourists to visit Pangkor Island based on the stated attraction characteristics and the scuba diving activity service offerings by hotel and resort entrepreneurs there. This study uses a quantitative approach and is supported by a qualitative approach. The research methods used are face-to-face interviews using questionnaires, observations, and in-depth interviews. The study's findings on 125 foreign tourists, 179 local communities, and 42 hotels and resorts show that Pangkor Island is not relevant as a scuba diving destination. All three stakeholders gave negative responses to this research problem. For foreign tourists, the main attraction stated is the beach and the sea, as well as the attractive natural environment, which is 71.4%. Local community interviews showed that Pangkor Island is not popular as a scuba diving destination, which is 52.0%, and resort analysis found that scuba diving package offerings are only offered by four out of 42 resorts and hotels on the island, and only if there is demand. The study's findings indicate that scuba diving is not popular as a tourist attraction there. Therefore, this study's findings reject the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) statement that places Pangkor Island as a scuba diving tourism destination. In conclusion, this research contributes to the academic discipline, particularly in service geography and tourism, and policy makers such as the Malaysian Ministry of Tourism

Willingness of island community to participate in the waste-to-wealth program: A case study in Teluk Renjuna, Tumpat, Kelantan, Malaysia

This manuscript explores Teluk Renjuna communities’ willingness to participate in the waste-to-wealth program. Waste-to-wealth is an initiative to reduce the environmental impact of waste disposal. The total number of respondents who participated in this study was 118 respondents. Analysis indicated a reasonable waste disposal practice among respondents, with moderate knowledge and high awareness of the waste-to-wealth program. Besides that, this study found no significant sociodemographic impact on the knowledge and awareness of respondents on the waste-to-wealth program, except for age, income, and marital status. A Pearson Correlation test assessed the significance between knowledge, awareness, practices, and willingness. The results indicated a weak relationship between practices and willingness. A moderate relationship was found between knowledge and willingness, and a strong relationship was observed between awareness and willingness. The findings of this study are crucial to help government agencies or NGOs in planning suitable waste-to-wealth programs for the island community