Sabah Parks, WWF-Malaysia MoU to Manage Tun Mustapha Park

KOTA KINABALU (Sabah), Sept 18 (Bernama) -- Sabah Parks and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Malaysia today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for efforts to protect and conserve the Tun Mustapha Marine Park off the north coast of Sabah. Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Masidi Manjun said the MoU including the development and implementation of concepts and mechanism for the management of the park as well as a collaborative surveillance and enforcement system. “The Tun Mustapha Park is a marine park with an open concept under sixth category of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) which allows activities such as monitored catching of fish and other activities. “The management of the Tun Mustapha Park is a joint effort and places priority on the involvement of the local community,” he said at the MoU signing ceremony here. Masidi said the park which spans almost one million hectares was gazetted as the ninth park under Sabah Parks on May 19 last year, after 13 years of planning by the state cabinet. With the gazette, the Tun Mustapha Park, with more than 50 islands, is now the largest marine park in Sabah and Malaysia. -- BERNAMA