Finding the Equilibrium between Development and Sustainability: By Dr. Vikneswaran Nair

In the wake of globalization and economic restructuring, many nations and communities are struggling to redefine and rebuild their economies without impacting the equilibrium of sustainability. The topic of environmental sustainability has well and truly hit the headlines following the fraught Copenhagen Summit late last year.

The theme of World Environment Day (WED) 2010 certainly echoes the urgent call to conserve the diversity of life on our planet. Indeed humans are among only a handful of species whose populations are growing, while most animals and plants are becoming rarer and fewer. As outlined by UNEP [1], our present approach to development have caused the clearing of much of the original forest, drained half of the world’s wetlands, depleted three quarters of all fish stocks, and emitted enough heat trapping gases to keep our planet warm for centuries to come.

Asia and the Pacific encompass some of the world’s greatest biological, cultural and economic diversity. It covers 8.6 per cent of the Earth’s total surface area and nearly 30 per cent of its land area [6]. The region’s wealth in biological diversity and associated traditional knowledge is evidenced by the fact that 5 of the 17 members of the group known as the Like‑minded Megadiverse Countries are from this region: China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

As we celebrate WED 2010, it is interesting to see how a small indigenous community in the interiors of Sarawak, bordering Kalimantan in Bario, have balanced the task of preserving all life on earth and at the same time controlled development. Bario is located in the centre of the Kelabit Highlands in the north east of Sarawak Malaysia, adjacent to the international borders of Kalimantan, Indonesian. The highland stands at 3,280 feet above sea level. Bario is the main settlement in the Kelabit Highlands.

There are regular flights between Bario Airport and Ba'kelalan, Marudi and Miri. There are two flights a day from Miri to Bario that flies via the 15-seater MAS-Wing twin-otter one hour flight. Bario is also reachable via river (2-days), logging road (15 hours) and trekking (a few weeks).

The Kelabits, at approximately 5,000 people, is one of the smallest ethnic groups in Sarawak. Like many other indigenous communities in Sarawak, the Kelabit live in longhouses in the highlands. However, due to economic and social factors, many have migrated to live in urban areas over the last 20 years. It is estimated that roughly only 1,200 Kelabits are still living in the highlands. The Kelabit language is widely spoken, and many have also learned to speak English and Malay. Currently, there are 12 villages (long houses) housing the predominantly religious Christians community and 13 homestays in Bario.

Bario lack constant supply of basic utilities. Besides the limited network coverage, water supply is through gravity-fed system and thus they rely on rainwater and river water for their constant supply. Limited electricity supply is provided through diesel generators and solar-panels.

Bario has potential to become a truly responsible ecotourism destination that emphasizes community based tourism. Nonetheless, the community in Bario is contended with their lifestyle. There is a lack of interest by the locals in developing this destination for tourist as money is not as important as knowing how to survive in this remote location. Although, majority of the Kelabits and the Penans in Bario can be classified as “hardcore poor” in the Malaysian definition, money is relative to them. What is more important is to improve on the basic necessities and infrastructure, i.e. proper roads, constant electricity supply, clean water supply, proper sewage and waste management and telecommunication connection.

In the past Bario has attracted many researchers from University Malaysia Sarawak with the e-Bario project [2] [3] [4]. The idea of bringing the Internet to Bario was conceived as a research project to determine opportunities for social development through the deployment of information and communication technologies within remote communities in Sarawak. The project was funded by the International Development Research Council (IDRC) of the Canadian government and MIMOS Berhad under the Demonstrator Application Grant Scheme (DAGS) [4].

The e-Bario project was designed to bridge the gap between the shy and unexposed community in the village of Bario and their aggressive, well-informed counterparts in Malaysia’s larger cities [3]. The project was to serve as the benchmark for future rural development initiatives in Malaysia and elsewhere in the developing world.

On a similar approach, Taylor’s University College, a leading private institution of higher learning in Subang Jaya, Selangor, is currently undertaking a megaproject of building a hostel for the primary school at Bario and at the same time adopting the school and the community for continuous engagement of their students and staff with the local community. Various community based development is outlined to further alleviate poverty among the indigenous community without upsetting the current socio-cultural equilibrium.

Community based development strengthens the ability of rural communities to manage their resources while ensuring the local community’s participation. Community based development can help the local community in generating income, diversifying the local economy, preserving culture, conserving the environment and providing educational opportunities.

Three main areas to look into for the community based development that is sustainable and responsible at Bario include:

Economic Aspect: Bario has tremendous potential to develop and sustain their homestay to give tourist the true experience. The current management of homestay can be improved further with proper guidance and structure.

Socio-Cultural Aspect: The rich culture of the Kelabits can be preserved by documenting them and making it available to all visitors. The younger generations will be involved in all the social events. Thus, the older generation can pass their know-how to these younger Kelabits who will then be proud to show it to the tourist. Hence, this will avoid the culture from dying.

Environmental Aspect: The current remote and rural setting in Bario is great but the environment is not 100% visitor friendly. Due to the lack of constant electricity, water and telecommunication facilities, the location may not attract many holiday seekers. Only the “hardcore” ecotourist will enjoy the destination. Thus, the community needs to sort out clean water supply, adequate toilet facilities, efficient solid waste disposal, extensive usage of solar panels (and wind mills). Getting the road tarred/cemented for easy transportation (i.e. rental of bicycle, motorbike, jeep, etc,) and walking/trekking, will further make Bario and destination for the “hardcore” and “not so hardcore” ecotourist.

All community based development in Bario can be segmented into two phases similar to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) homestay approach [5]:

Phase 1 – Developing community based development

· Assess community needs and readiness for development.

· Educate and prepare the community for development.

· Identify and establish leadership/local champion.

· Prepare and develop community organization.

Phase 2: Sustaining community based development

· Develop partnerships.

· Adopt an integrated approach.

· Plan and design quality mini projects that will benefit the community.

· Identify market and develop marketing strategy that will get others to assist.

· Implement and monitor performance.

In conclusion, it must be understood that sustainability is not like a project that can be completed at a certain point in time. Rather, it is an ongoing balancing act and at the heart of the issue are assumptions about the requirements of future generations and how we expect these requirements to be satisfied.

The vast scale of human activities for development poses a direct challenge to the resilience of the community’s ecosystem. The serious effects of these activities intense development are already evident today in many parts of the world including Malaysia. Rapid economic development in many local communities has led to massive changes in lifestyle and increases in correlated indirect drivers of biodiversity and cultural loss. As a result, nature has come under great pressure and much valuable biodiversity has been lost or continues to be degraded. The Bario experience has shown that a balanced development can achievable if the basic necessities of acceptable living are met. This world will certainly be far more interesting than listening to scientist arguing about who is causing climate change. Far more effective point of view from the environmental and economic experts will determine the balance of this fragile sustainability equilibrium.

References

[1] United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (2010). World Environment Day 2010. Retrieved on 6 June from http://www.unep.org/wed/2010

[2] ebario (2009). eBario Homepage. Retrieved on 6 June from http://www.ebario.com

[3] International Telecommunication Union (ITU) (2007). Connecting Malaysia’s rural communities to the Information Age: The E-Bario project. Proceeding of the World Summit on the Information Society, Geneva 2003 – Tunisia 2005.

[4] Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS)(2009). eBario Project. Retrieved on 7 June 2010 from http://www.unimas.my/ebario/Main_index.htm

[5] Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) (2009). Handbook on Community Based Tourism: How to Develop and Sustain CBT. APEC Secretariat, Singapore.
[6] United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (2010). State of Biodiversity in Asia and the Pacific. UNEP Publications, Kenya.

[NOTE: This article was published in Issue 1/2010 of IMPAK, the Quartely Department of Environment Update on Environment, Development & Sustainability, Malaysia]