Draft law on anti-biopiracy may be tabled in Parliament by year-end

LUBOK ANTU: A draft legislation on access to biological resources and benefit sharing aimed at tackling biopiracy is expected to be tabled in Parliament by the end of the year, says Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah Embas.

Taking cues from the Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit sharing of genetic resources, it aimed to prevent Malaysia’s biological resources from being taken out and exploited without permission, leaving the country empty-handed, he said.

So far, only Sarawak and Sabah governments have put in place legal provisions requiring prior approval to be obtained before their biological resources could be taken out.

Uggah told reporters this after opening the RM3mil Centre of Excellence for Orang Utan Conservation in Batang Ai National Park, Nanga Delok.

Completed in December 2010, it is a research centre for orang utan management and conservation covering the national park and the Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary.

Uggah said there were an estimated 1,984 orang utan in the 200,000ha area located in the ‘Heart of Borneo’.

The centre is eyeing enhanced transboundary cooperation with Indonesia’s Betung-Kerihun National Park, which is the world’s largest natural habitat for orang utan.

Uggah also said that he was happy that an expedition involving 150 local scientists and international experts organised by the state Forestry Department, Science Academy of Malaysia and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (USM) had yielded positive outcome.

He said their research could bring advancements in fields such as horticulture, herbal medicine, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

The minister also acknowledged the participation of Sekolah Kebangsaan Nanga Delok and the local community in the global Green Wave 2011 programme involving the planting of one billion trees to raise the level of awareness on the importance of biodiversity, especially at the grassroots -Bernama