News: Sepilok as Top Rainforest Centre

The Star - Nation News
Thursday August 9, 2007

Sepilok set to become top rainforest centre

KOTA KINABALU: Sepilok, known worldwide as a premier orang utan conservation area, will consolidate its place in the world map once Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi opens the nearby Rainforest Discovery Centre.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to open the centre, some 30km from Sabah's coastal town of Sandakan, on the first day of his two-day visit to the state from tomorrow.

Located within the 4,500ha Sepilok-Kabili forest reserve, the RM6.7mil centre would, among others, enable visitors to experience a walk within a rainforest and its canopy.

Its director, Datuk Sam Mannan, said the centre demonstrated the importance of the department’s efforts in managing forests for society's benefits.

“It also showcases the department’s continued relevance despite declining timber production from natural forests,” he said yesterday.

Mannan said visitors to the centre would experience the diversity of plants in the rainforest through its Discovery Garden.

He said those arriving at the centre would go through the visitor building which will house an exhibition focusing on forest biology interpretation and biodiversity.