Eco-tourism is thriving in Sabah state

Eco-tourism is thriving in Sabah state

KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia (JP): Sabah, despite its sprawling
forests, seems determined not to let forest-harvesting become its
only source of income.

In a remote spot in the heart of Sabah's vast tropical
forests, some 90 kilometers west of the small town of Lahad Datu,
an eco-tourism site is thriving -- but on a level which is not
harmful to the forests.

The place, called the Borneo Rainforest Lodge (BRL), is owned
by the state-owned Yayasan Sabah (the Sabah Foundation) and
operated as a subsidiary of the foundation's Innoprise
Corporation Sdn. Bhd.

Located in the 43,000 hectare-Danum Valley Conservation Area,
Sabah's largest protected lowland forest, BRL was established in
1994 to accommodate the increasing number of tourists visiting
the area.

The visitors are people who are moved by recent world-wide
environment-conscious drives, or Westerners who take the "back to
nature" attitude.

According to BRL's regional manager William Fletcher, the
lodge serves totally commercial, touristic purposes. "But we have
local experts and expatriate naturalists who can guarantee the
tourists get sound environmental education," he told a group of
Indonesian journalists visiting here earlier this month.

Last year, the lodge, which has 10 rooms for up to 30 people,
had a room-occupancy rate of 45 percent, with peak seasons in
July and August.

"We are planning to add rooms to accommodate up to 60 people,
but after that we won't add any more, because it may be harmful
to the forest," Fletcher he said.

He said the lodge has a very specific, upper-class market,
with most guests coming from Europe, the United States and Japan.

But they are willing to pay for the high-quality comfort --
including electricity, clean water and good food -- and for
guided nature walks, wildlife trekking, night drives and other
activities which can be done only in a tropical forest.

Gudrun Eisenmann, a German tourist who was at the lodge for a
two-day stay with her husband, said the visit is her way of
participating in the "green campaign".

"I'm not very keen on the anti-tropical timber campaigns back
home. My way of helping to preserve the tropical forests is
traveling to these places as a tourist... That way, I can
actually help to bring money needed for forest conservation,"
said Eisenmann, who said she has traveled to Brazil, China and
African countries for a similar purpose. (pwn)