The land issue on Banggi Island, Sabah, Malaysia: Deagrarianisation and exclusion of the Bonggi

Bonggi communities live on the island of Banggi in northwest Sabah, Malaysia. Livelihood change since the 1960s has ranged from a complete departure from subsistence production in favour of cash crop production to one of spatial and sectoral diversification. This transformation is such that livelihood and income structures may no longer be wholly dependent on agriculture. This paper benefits from debates on deagrarianisation that in general has altered views concerning the contours of poverty including its causes. According to the deagrarianisation perspective, spatial diversification (delocalisation) of livelihoods occurring through ex-situ employment (often via migration) and sectoral diversification through non-farm employment opportunities both in-situ or ex-situ can provide exit conditions that are amenable to an escape from poverty. Notably, Bryceson (2002) has written on deagrarianisation in the African continent, which takes account of the agrarian transition facing many rural areas captured in the transformation of livelihoods and income structures at the household and community levels. These dramatic changes can occur within a generation and belie the seemingly unchanging and stagnant agricultural orientation of the landscape of many rural areas. The changes in the Bonggi so-ecological landscape are documented in a way that demonstrates a people's agency, despite a lack of political representation and voice

State, Communities and Forests in Contemporary Borneo

Forests; Forestry; Policy; Community; Management; Land use; Borne

State, communities and forests in contemporary Borneo

The name ‘Borneo’ evokes visions of constantly changing landscapes, but with important island-wide continuities. One of the continuities has been the forests, which have for generations been created and modified by the indigenous population, but over the past three decades have been partially replaced by tree crops, grass or scrub. This book, the first in the series of Asia-Pacific Environmental Monographs, looks at the political complexities of forest management across the whole island of Borneo, tackling issues of tenure, land use change and resource competition, ‘tradition’ versus ‘modernity’, disputes within and between communities, between communities and private firms, or between communities and governments. While it focuses on the changes taking place in local political economies and conservation practices, it also makes visible the larger changes taking place in both Indonesia and Malaysia. The common theme of the volume is the need to situate local complexities in the larger institutional context, and the possible gains to be made from such an approach in the search for alternative models of conservation and development

Biodiversity Conservation and Its Social Implication: The Case of Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas in Sabah, Malaysia

With natural resources—terrestrial or coastal—fastly diminishing, governments are now resorting to biodiversity conservation, fast-tracking the introduction of new legislations, as well as the amendment of existing ones, and laying out programs that interpret existing practices and research agendas. This paper examines how biodiversity conservation—in addition to eco-tourism—has become an important symbol of the modernizing state of Sabah, Malaysia. It further examines the effects of biodiversity conservation on state and community management of natural resources, with particular reference to the management of natural resources by the indigenous peoples of Sabah. Citing case studies and focusing on a forest community at Kiau Nuluh, in the district of Kota Belud

Coastal Landscapes of Peninsular Malaysia: The Changes and Implications for Their Resilience and Ecosystem Services

Coastal landscapes are not only supporting the most productive and ecologically valuable ecosystem but are also fast changing, caused by both anthropogenic and natural processes. Changes in the form of diminishing vegetation cover, water body and increasing urbanization in Terengganu, East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, for the years of 2000 and 2017 were assessed using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer satellite (MODIS) product. Images were processed based on Erdas Imagine software and then projected to World Geodetic System (WGS 84) coordinates based on ArcGIS 10.0. Significant reduction is detected in vegetation cover, from 46.5% in the year 2000 to 26.6% in 2017, coinciding with an increase in urban areas (from 3.3 to 33.6%). Changes due to urbanization raise concern over the loss of coastal landscape and may impact its resilience, so it may no longer be able to provide key ecosystem services. This understudied ecosystem deserves to be conserved for its ecosystem services. The paper argues that looking at the data presented, the resilience or the capacity of the Terengganu coastal landscape in maintaining its ecosystem services in the near future might have been compromised. Recommendations on how these valuable landscapes could be best conserved for social and ecological sustainability are put forward

Sumber semula jadi dan kepentingannya terhadap sosioekonomi komuniti pesisir pantai timur Sabah

Persoalan yang sering diutarakan berkait dengan sumber semula jadi pesisir pantai adalah tentang kemampuannya menyumbang kesejahteraan hidup masyarakat. Lazimnya, sumber semula jadi di pesisir bukan sahaja penting dalam menjana peningkatan ekonomi, tetapi juga sebagai sumber makanan, menjadi asas kepada pengukuhan hubungan sosial dan jaringan keselamatan antara penduduk, serta berguna dalam aktiviti penyembuhan penyakit dan ritual tradisional. Justeru, artikel ini membincangkan kepentingan sumber semula jadi di pesisir pantai timur Sabah terhadap kehidupan sosioekonomi masyarakat di kawasan tersebut. Kajian bersifat kualitatif telah dilakukan melalui kaedah temu bual berstruktur menggunakan borang soal selidik terhadap seramai 411 orang responden. Turut dilaksanakan ialah temu bual mendalam (in-depth interview) dan pemerhatian. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan sumber semula jadi (flora dan fauna) di pesisir pantai timur Sabah sememangnya mempunyai pelbagai kepentingan. Sumber tersebut bukan sahaja berjaya memacu peningkatan ekonomi komuniti nelayan tetapi juga berguna dalam konteks kehidupan sosial mereka

Sumber semulajadi dan kepentingannya terhadap sosioekonomi komuniti pesisir Pantai Timur Sabah.

Persoalan yang sering diutarakan berkait dengan sumber semula jadi pesisir pantai adalah tentang kemampuannya menyumbang kesejahteraan hidup masyarakat. Lazimnya, sumber semula jadi di pesisir bukan sahaja penting dalam menjana peningkatan ekonomi, tetapi juga sebagai sumber makanan, menjadi asas kepada pengukuhan hubungan sosial dan jaringan keselamatan antara penduduk, serta berguna dalam aktiviti penyembuhan penyakit dan ritual tradisional. Justeru, artikel ini membincangkan kepentingan sumber semula jadi di pesisir pantai timur Sabah terhadap kehidupan sosioekonomi masyarakat di kawasan tersebut. Kajian bersifat kualitatif telah dilakukan melalui kaedah temu bual berstruktur menggunakan borang soal selidik terhadap seramai 411 orang responden. Turut dilaksanakan ialah temu bual mendalam (in-depth interview) dan pemerhatian. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan sumber semula jadi (flora dan fauna) di pesisir pantai timur Sabah sememangnya mempunyai pelbagai kepentingan. Sumber tersebut bukan sahaja berjaya memacu peningkatan ekonomi komuniti nelayan tetapi juga berguna dalam konteks kehidupan sosial mereka

Composting paper and grass clippings with anaerobically treated palm oil mill effluent

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the composting performance of anaerobically treated palm oil mill effluent (AnPOME) mixed with paper and grass clippings. Methods Composting was conducted using a laboratory scale system for 40 days. Several parameters were determined: temperature, mass reduction, pH, electrical conductivity, colour, zeta potential, phytotoxicity and final compost nutrients. Results The moisture content and compost mass were reduced by 24 and 18 %, respectively. Both final compost pH value and electrical conductivity were found to increase in value. Colour (measured as PtCo) was not suitable as a maturity indicator. The negative zeta potential values decreased from −12.25 to −21.80 mV. The phytotoxicity of the compost mixture was found to decrease in value during the process and the final nutrient value of the compost indicates its suitability as a soil conditioner. Conclusions From this study, we conclude that the addition of paper and grass clippings can be a potential substrate to be composted with anaerobically treated palm oil mill effluent (AnPOME). The final compost produced is suitable for soil conditioner