| The Project...Expedition O3S1 Sabah, Malaysia January 19th - March 21st 2003 |
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| **************************************************** The project Trekforce Expedition is taking part in next January 03, is a continuation of the work carried out this summer in the Mulua Forest Reserve, within the Danum Valley in eastern Sabah. It is part of what is called "The Sabah Biodiversity Experiement", a collaborative project between the Royal Society South-east Asian Rainforest Research Programme (SEARRP) and Innoprise Corporation. SEARRP has organised a large- scale biodiversity experiment, which will provide a resource for local and visiting scientists, and forest managers, to test various aspects of the effects of tree diversity on community and ecosystem processes. The experiment is the first in the world which will answer the serious question of how we can possibly replant rainforest in areas, which have been affected by logging. Already this summer, a team of 22 Trekforce volunteers have worked on the project and planted 35,000 seedlings. The seedlings were planted accurately in designated areas with the guidance of scientists. SEARRP intend to establish plots of low, medium and high tree diversity covering an area of 500 hectares of forest. They hope to plant 150,000 seedlings and so Trekforce will continue to provide the manpower needed to carry out this planting, in January 2003. ****************************************************** The second project is in the Maliau Basin (39,000 hectares), which is Sabah's least explored region. It is the most sensitive area of Sabah and access is only permitted, in the main, to scientists and researchers. The project to be carried out within the Maliau Basin is on behalf of DANCED and the Sabah Forestry Department. DANCED is a Dutch orgainisation that was set up as a non- political NGO to assist Sabah parks and the Sabah wildlife Authority in protected areas management. The principle of their work is that the most protection is given to the areas most under threat. In this case the Maliau Basin is the least accessed by tourists and only scientists are allowed in to work there. In this region we will have the task of building two bridges and sleeping shelters. By establishing a degree of infrastruture within the protected area, it will enable the area to be used more effectively by scientists who are carrying out biodiversity research and will allow the area to be opened up to a controlled number of ecotourists, thereby providing a modest income to the area, and also greatly assisting in the area's conservation. **************************************************** |