DaMaI Initiative” Patrolling (Monitoring & Enforcement) is a five year programme started since 2017 with project sites encompassing three main conservation areas in Sabah, Malaysia namely Danum Valley conservation Area (DVCA), Maliau Basin Conservation Area (MBCA), and Imbak Canyon Conservation Area (ICCA), including and few Forest Reserves under class I (Protection), class II (Production) and class IV (Virgin Jungle Reserve), or collectively known as DaMaI Rainforest Complex. The DaMaI Rainforest Complex is a vast area totaling approximately one million hectares, sited within the Heart of Borneo (HoB) Initiative, with DVCA and MBCA recognised as two important Bird Areas (IBAs). The site also nominated as the second World Heritage site (Natural) for Sabah by the Sabah government. In October 2017, Sabah Environmental Trust (SET) has signed and MoU with the state government of Sabah and Sabah Foundation to support “DaMaI Initiative: Patrolling (Enforcemnet & Monitoring).
The goal of the project is focusing on strengthening the protection of DaMaI area, with three main objectives under the project; (1) To establish a dedicated DaMaI Patrol team; (2) To pursue and formalize DaMaI as a single management unit; (3) To enhance the capacity of the joint dedicated patrol team.
Illegal harvesting of forest and wildlife resources are the main issues within DaMaI Rainforest Complex. Limited existing man-power, rangers’ capacity, equipment and mobility has been identified as the stumbling block to address illegal activities such as poaching and encroachment.
Implementation of Global Park Defense has so far showed positive output in addressing the issues, complementing monitoring tool i.e. SMART.
The DaMaI Initiative strong supporters The Global Conservation (GC) as well as huge contribution from SET local partners the Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) and Sabah Foundation, and technical partners the Vulcan Earthranger, Wildlife Protection Solutions, LUSH Cosmetic has made the protection of DaMaI possible.