KOTA KINABALU: Custodians and stakeholders will find it challenging to preserve the Tawai forest reserve, which will make way for the Pan Borneo Highway project in central Sabah.
Elephant expert Jibius Dausip said the reserve was home to many wildlife species and there were also many agrarian communities in surrounding areas.
"There are bound to be wildlife encounters if any development occurs. So, how to deal with it is important," said Jibius of the Malaysian Palm Oil Green Conservation Foundation (MPOGCF).
Increase in human-elephant encounters are among the main concern when a section, near Telupid town, of the 226sq km reserve is cleared to link the project.
Jibius said an elevated road was a good idea but costly.
"The impact will not be as big as clearing whole sections of the forest and, once completed, animals can roam beneath the elevated structures."
He was commenting on two main proposals by scientists on how the issue could be dealt with in Telupid, highlighted during a recent seminar organised by the Sabah Forestry department, through its Forest Research Centre.
The other alternative they had proposed was to reroute the Pan Borneo Highway.
"The government cited the possibility of building a more elaborate electric fence network. That too could work well on elephants," Jibius said, but noted there had been cases of lack of maintenance in electrical fences used by communities, which saw metal parts theft and vandalism.
Jibius explained a more effective electric fence would need to be constructed along with a ditch, to prevent the elephants from crossing the line, and commitment from communities to join forces in keeping such network working.
He also suggested setting up similar fences in the 550sq km-Deramakot area, a forest reserve about 50km southwest of the Tawai Forest Reserve.
"Most elephants I've encountered in Telupid come from the Deramakot area. If the government can find ways to limit their movement there, maybe they can reduce the human-elephant conflicts in the Telupid area," said Jibius who was with the State Wildlife Department the last three decades before retiring recently.
Recently, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya told the State Legislative Assembly that electric fencing would be set up along parts of the Pan Borneo Highway.
In his response to a question from Telupid assemblyman Datuk Jonnybone Kurum, Shahelmey had said the design took into account safety features for elephants and other wildlife in animal-crossing areas.
Village chief Felix Ajin said human-elephant encounters affected the lives of many in central Sabah and believed it would remain an issue, with or without the Pan Borneo Highway development.
The Kampung Gambaron leader said: "We see elephants a few times in a month, mostly in the jungle fringes or plantations.
"Occasionally the elephants will stray into villages or near the town area.
"Normally, we will inform the Wildlife Rescue Unit from the Wildlife department and they will deal with the encounters. If the government opens up a route across Tawai (Forest Reserve), surely there will be more conflicts but we just have to be ready."