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

Abstract

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.