The UN and UNDP in Brussels

Feature Story:  Parliamentarians Visit EC-UNDP SGP PTF Project in Krokong, Sarawak  

The delegates were given a traditional Bidayuh welcome by the villagers and were brought around the village to view the activities carried out under the project including handicraft making, documentation of local traditions, and conservation of the local Pidea River. The delegates also released 7,000 fish fries into the Pidea River and donated dictionaries to 5 schools in the Krokong area. 

The two-year Krokong Community Based Ecotourism (CBET) project, began in April 2005 and is undertaken by the Krokong Security and Development Committee (JKKK), comprising of 15 villages with 1500 people involved and benefiting from the project. The project primarily aims to assist local communities preserve and rehabilitate their natural environment while providing an alternate source of income through community-based tourism. 

Dr. Leete stated that projects, such as CBET Krokong, empower the poor to enhance their living standards by learning new skills and participating in the planning of sustainable development activities. This is in line with the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in particular MDGs 1, 3 and 7, which are specifically addressed by SGP PTF.  

The 21 projects currently funded by SGP PTF includes activities which lead to the restoration, conservation and development of forests, develop alternative and sustainable livelihood initiatives for forest dependent indigenous communities, gender empowerment and documentation of indigenous knowledge in forest management and utilisation. Dr. Leete also emphasized the need for the government to be fully involved in projects such as CBET to ensure that the issue of poverty is fully addressed.

H.E. Thierry Rommel added that visits such as this enabled members of the delegation to witness the positive effects brought by SGP PTF, especially in eradicating poverty and generating alternative income for the local communities. He also stated that the visit to Kampung Tringgus could be used as a basis for future assistance in developing indigenous communities in Malaysia living in poverty. He was confident of JKKK Krokong’s efforts in bringing the desired impacts of the SGP PTF programme to the communities.

Dr. Leete and H.E. Mr. Rommel, hope that the collaboration between UNDP and the EU in this project, together with the support of the government, continues. This is essential in ensuring that projects, such as CBET, are replicated elsewhere in Malaysia to enable indigenous communities to benefit in an equitable way from forest related products and services. By this means, economic, social and environmental benefits will be provided to to their respective communities.

The event was covered by The Star, Borneo Post, Mingguan Sarawak and Sunday Tribune.