Environment news in Batu 3 Sandakan Sabah

1. Sabah study: Sunda clouded leopards need intact forests to survive

   5 days ago Daily Express Sabah Batangan Ridge, Lower Kinabatangan floodplain, Sabah 41.5 km

   A new study in Sabah's Lower Kinabatangan floodplain found that Sunda clouded leopards depend almost exclusively on intact forests for survival, despite being able to cross oil palm plantations. The research, published in Animal Biotelemetry, tracked the animals and found they use agricultural areas mainly as high-risk transit zones, not habitat. The study highlights the critical importance of a specific limestone ridge, Batangan Ridge, for the species.

2. High fertilizer costs squeeze oil palm smallholders in Sabah

   5 days ago Saluran 122 Kampung Kasih Sayang, Bukit Garam, Kinabatangan, Sabah 47.3 km

   Oil palm smallholders in Kampung Kasih Sayang, Bukit Garam, Kinabatangan, Sabah, are under pressure from persistently high fertilizer prices, which have risen from RM55 for a 50kg bag to RM120 for a 60kg bag. Reduced fertilizer use is feared to affect crop yields over the next two to three years, potentially impacting Sabah's palm oil output, which contributes 22.1 percent of the national total.