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Encik Wong Sing Nang: Tuan Speaker, I rise to take part in the debate on the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre Bill, 1997 as tabled by the Honourable Chief Minister.

Tuan Speaker, the object of this bill is to establish Sarawak Biodiversity Centre and the Sarawak Biodiversity Council, is to manage and maintain the said centre and for other matters incidental thereto. Tuan Speaker, biodiversity as defined in Clause 2 of the bill; ?means biological diversity being the varieties among living organism from all sources, including plant, materials terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystem and ecological complexes of which they are part, and the diversity with in species, between species and ecosystem and includes biological resources.?

Tuan Speaker, the objective of the bill is to improve the conservation of biological diversity and in control and licensing of taking and collecting of any plants or any parts of a plant found on any State Land, protected forest, forest reserve or communal forest or collect any biological resources may be specified by the Council by notification in the gazette. This is provided under Clause 21 of the bill, Tuan Speaker.

Understanding biodiversity is crucial to the management, utilisation and conservation of the biological resources of our planet. The threat of losing species and habitats had driven many biologists to concentrate on biodiversity and as a result, we are beginning to accumulate a mass of data that demonstrate the amazing amount of diversity that exist in tropical rainforest.

Tuan Speaker, as rainforest contains more species than any other habitat on our planet, understanding, categorizing and protecting them is essential for our future existence.

Tuan Speaker, our planet essential goods and services depend on a variety and variability genes, species, population and ecosystem. Biological resources feed and clothe us and provide housing, medicine and spiritual nourishment. The natural ecosystem of forest, pasture and range lands, deserts, rivers, lakes and seas contain most of the earth biodiversities. Farmer?s fields and gardens are also of great importance as reciprosities while gene banks, botanic gardens, zoo and other germ plasm reciprosities make a small but significant contribution.

Tuan Speaker, throughout history, biodiversity has been the commons of local community with both resources and knowledge being freely exchange or apply for common good. Diverse and viable knowledge system developed based on the life-support capacities on the earth bounty. There was a symbiotic relationship; people hired off nature even as they helped to sustain it. The life of community was enhanced spiritually, culturally and economically even as the communities enhanced earth-biodiversity.

Tuan Speaker, ?biodiversity? means different things to different people. Environmentalists use the word in its technical sense, to denote the ecological complexity that underlines the resilient and beauty of nature but governmental and especially corporate negotiators and others concerned as well. Hearing ?biodiversity? they think not only of life but also of intellectual property rights. (IPR?s)

BASIS FOR ACTION

Tuan Speaker, there are urgent actions to be taken to protect our biodiversity. Despite mounting efforts over the past twenty years, the loss of the world?s biological diversity mainly from habitat destruction, over harvesting, pollution and inappropriate introduction of foreign plants and animals, has continued. Biological resources constitutes a capital asset with great potential for yielding sustainable benefit.

Tuan Speaker, urgent and decisive action is needed to conserve and maintain genes, species and ecosystem with a view to sustainable management and use of biological resource.

Tuan Speaker, capacities for the assessment, studying and systematic observation and the evaluation of biodiversity need to be reinforced at national and international level. Effective national action and international cooperation are required for the in-situ protection of the ecosystem. For the ex-situ conservation of biological and genetic resource and for the enhancement of ecosystem functions.

Tuan Speaker, the diversity of ecosystems life forms and way of life of different communities in under threat of extinction. Habitats have been enclosed or destroyed, diversity has been eroded and livelihood derived from biodiversity are threatened.

Tuan Speaker, while government involvement is necessary, it alone is not sufficient to cure the planet. One of the greatest United State Presidents, Abraham Lincoln, once said: ?With public sentiment, nothing can fail. Without it, nothing can succeed.?

Tuan Speaker, basically are three driving elements concerned about the loss of biological diversity. Firstly, there is a fear that if you reduce the capacity of the world interlinked ecological system to respond to stress. Evolution progresses by the continuing mingling of genetic material between the individuals that differ in minor genetic respects from their parents, is deep natural selection something to work on and means that as climate or habitats changed, a species is able to respond by producing individuals that continue to function competitively. Secondary, Tuan Speaker, there is a fear that the product of immense potential use to humanity will vanish before their value is recognized. And thirdly, there is a deep-seated feeling that this impoverishment of richness and beauty of nature is morally wrong.

Tuan Speaker, I fully agree with what the Honourable Chief Minister has said. In Sarawak we have a wide variety of biodiversity. We have the biggest flower in the world. We have the biggest and longest underground cave in Mulu. And also we have the smallest owl in Sarawak.

Tuan Speaker, in order to protect all this biodiversity, the passing of this bill is timely and I fully support it. And recently, Tuan Speaker, as also pointed out by Ahli Yang berhormat for Dalat, the Cabinet recently passed the National Policy on Biodiversity and leave to the state to enforce it. And it is proud to say that the Sarawak state is the first state in Malaysia to have the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre Bill, 1997.

Tuan Speaker, tropical forests almost covers 70% of the earth?s land surface but contains al least half of the earth?s species. Deforestation in this region is continuing at a rapid pace. The World continues to destroy an expanse of forest the size of Nepal area every year. Asia almost lost 90% of its frontiers according to the World Resources Institute. At this rate it is a net figure and incorporating deforestation and natural growth, all tropical forests would be cleared within 177 years, as according to the F.A.O 1981 estimate. During the next 30 years, one million species could be erased.

MARINE BIODIVERSITY
Tuan Speaker, biodiversity is not only confined to land. Biodiversity in marine ecosystem is also remarkable and coral reefs are sometime compared with tropical forests in terms of diversity. Marine habitat and marine life are under severe threat due to the destruction of diversity. The fisheries based in most coastal regions of the world are on the verge of collapse. We should all care. The future of mankind is absolutely depended on the state of ocean, without its aquatic heart and soul, earth would be a barren and inhospitable as Mars. It has taken billions of years and there is a planet with built in sources of life support. With or without forest, grassland, the ocean would roll on full of life but without the ocean there would be no forests, no life-giving wind, no coral reef, no people. The ocean continues to constitute the biggest sources of marine biodiversity.

AGRICULTURAL ECOSYSTEM

Tuan Speaker, on agricultural ecosystem, drop varieties have disappeared and cultivation during the Green Revolution phased shifted from hundreds and thousands of crops to wheat and rice derived from a very narrow genetic base. Primary threat to biodiversity. There are two primary causes for the large scale destruction of biodiversity.

PRIMARY THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY

Tuan Speaker, the first is habitat destruction due to internationally financed mega projects such as the building of dams and highways and mining operation in forested area rich in biodiversity. Second primary cause for the destruction of biodiversity is in areas under cultivation where the technological and economic push to replace diversity with monogeneity in forestry, agricultural, fishery and animal husbandry.

Tuan Speaker, the Green Revolution in agriculture, the White Revolution in diary farming and the Blue Revolution in fishery are evolutions based on deliberate replacement of biological diversity with biological uniformity and mono-cultures.

Tuan Speaker, Clause 5 of the bill provided the S.B.C. shall have the following ten purposes, such as the management and sustainable utilisation of biodiversity of the state including determine policies and guidelines for scientific research or experiment related to the use biological resources of Sarawak for pharmaceutical, medicinal and other specific purposes. Also to collect accurate information and data on the status, magnitude, distribution, usage and value of the biodiversity in the state.

Tuan Speaker, I fully support the bill. It is essential for the setting of the S.B.C. to carry out the purpose as stipulated in the bill. In actual fact, a lot of useful plants of great potential in medicinal and pharmaceutical industry may have been taken out of the state in the past years due to the lack of legislation to control the collection and taking of the species from the state.

Tuan Speaker, according to the book written by the Honourable Member for Limbang entitled ?Hill Logging in Sarawak?, page 28, I quote;

           ?Following the recommendation of the State Cabinet?s Select
             Committee on the conservation on flora and fauna, the state legislate
             decided to increase the number of protected animals and birds from
             33 species to more than 115 species while more than 50 species of
             rare plants are also protected for the first time.?

Tuan Speaker, one must remember and look to the world?s civilzation historical fact that the wealth of the Europe in the colonial era was to a large extent based on the transfer of biological resources from the colonies to the central imperial power and the displacement of local biodiveristy in the colonies by mono-cultures of raw materials for European industries.

Tuan Speaker, A.W Crossby has called the biological transfer of wealth from the America to Europe the ?Columbian Exchange? because with the Columbians arrival in America, it started the mass transfer of maize, potatoes, tomatoes, peanuts, common beans and other crops across the Atlantic. Various spices, sugar, banana, coffee, tea, rubber, indigo, cotton and other industrial crops began to make their move to new production sites under the control of newly emerging colonial powers in the state-backed trading company.

Tuan Speaker, in 1876 the British smuggled rubber out of Brazil, introduced it in the colonies in Sri Lanka and the then Malaya. The Brazilian rubber industry collapsed and farming replaced the rubber industry. The large scale introduction of mono-cultures in the Third World through the Green Revolution was spearheaded by the International Centre for Feed and Maize Improvement (CIMMYT) in Mexico and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines controlled by the Consultative group on international agricultural research which was launched by the World Bank in 1970.

Tuan Speaker, the International Bureau for Plants Genetic Resources (IBPGR) which is run by the CGIAR system was specifically created for the collection and conservation of genetic resources. However, it has emerged as an instrument for the transfer of resources from the South to the North.

Tuan Speaker, according to an ecologist and scientist, Vandana Shiva, the Director of the Indian Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Natural Resources, India, in her book ?Mono-cultures of Mind?, page 80, she said; I quote;

         Mr. Speaker, ?according to Prescot Allen while varieties contribute
         US$340 billion per year between 1976 and 1980 to the US farm
         economy, the total contribution of wild germplasm to the American
         economic has been US$66 billion which is more than the total
         international debt of Mexico and the Philippines combined. This
        wild material is owned by sovereign states and by the people.?

Tuan Speaker, a wild tomato variety taken from Peru in 1962 had contributed US$8 million a year to the American tomato processing industry by increasing the content of soluable solids. Yet none of this profit or benefit has been shared with Peru, the original source of the genetic material.

Tuan Speaker, the pharmaceutical industry of the North has similarly benefit from the free collection of tropical biodiversity. The value of the South for pharmaceutical industry ranges from an estimate US$4.7 billion now to US$47 billion by the year 2000.

Tuan Speaker, Vandana Shiva also on page 81 said;

          ?If drug companies realise that nature?s pool rich resources of profit
            that begin to convert the potential wave of tropical moist forest as a
            source of medicine, for example the rosy periwinkle plant from
            Madagascar is the source of at least 60 alkaloids which can treat
            childhood leukemia and Hopkinson disease.?

Drugs derived from this plant bring in about US$160 million worth of sales per year. Yet another plant from India ?Ranwolfa Serpentine? is the base for drugs being sold up to US$260 million a year in the US alone.

Tuan Speaker, unfortunately it has been estimated that with the present rate
of destruction of rain forest, 20% - 25% of the world?s plant species will be lost by the year 2000. Consequently, major pharmaceutical companies are now screening and collecting natural plants through contract third parties. For instance, a British company BIOTIC?s is a commercial broker known for supplying exotic plants for pharmaceutical screening by inadequately compensate the third world country of origin. The company?s official has actually admitted that many drug companies prefer sneaking plants out of the third world than going through the legitimate negotiating channel

Tuan Speaker, though the South has contribute immensely in biodiversity, the North continues to exert pressure against the third work genetic resources by major drug, agricultural imput companies our international institutions such as General Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT) and the F.A.O. recognize such sources as a ?universal heritage? in order to guarantee them free access to the raw materials. International patents and licensing agreements will be used to secure a monopoly over genetic material which can be developed into drugs, food and energy sources.

Tuan Speaker, recently a move by the Thai Government to recognize the country?s traditional healers and regulate access to their knowledge and traditional medicinal genetic resources has drawn protest from the U.S. Government. Although the move is fully consistent with Thailand?s obligation under United Nations Convention and Biodiversity and World Trade Organisation Accord, the U.S. moves to intervene as Thai legislators are debating a bill to give effect to this initiative, the Thai working group on genetic resources and traditional medicine in an E-mail message to the World Environmental Development N.G.O group emphasized that the objective of this law is to encourage the conservation and utilization of herbal plants and genetic resources including categorizing them for the use of public benefit, research and commercial purpose.

Tuan Speaker, while experts have dismissed the United State charged that the draft to protect traditional medicine violate W.T.O. rules, the United State has been accused of interfering in Thailand?s internal affair. The real hidden agenda is merely to protect its pharmaceutical research, want a monopoly industry and try to stop any competition. This interference will happen to many other third world countries and they should be warned about it.

Tuan Speaker, Clause 21 of the bill permits for collection to be obtained from the council before any person is allowed to collect or take any plant or to collect any biological resources may be specified by the council for the purpose of any scientific study, experiment and research, However, Clause 21 lacks the detailed terms and conditions where the applicants apply for the permit need to be fulfilled.

Tuan Speaker, I would make some observations on that. Perhaps the government may consider certain conditions that need to be fulfilled before the permit is to be granted. The conditions may be as follows:

(a) The applicant for the permit is financially sound;
(b) The applicant is in a position to make his obligation under this bill; and
(c) The applicant should also specify the type of materials to be collected in terms of species in quantity, the plan for the evaluation and use of the material collected, the benefit of the host community may derive from the collection of the species and also they must have conditions that should not collect more than certain weight of the resources for initial scanning save with permission in writing of the council.

And also the applicant should undertake to inform the local community concerned as to the purpose of the information and how and where samples of the correct biological resources can be obtained by the local community.

Tuan Speaker, Clause 23 provides for the condition of permit and Clause 24 provides the duration of the permit. However, Tuan Speaker, there isn?t any clause pertaining to the revocation of the permit once granted. I would suggest that there must be a clause stipulated that the council may revoke the permit granted under Clauses 21 and 23 once the permit holder failed to comply with the condition such as if the permit holder (a) is carrying on, is undertaking in the opinion of the council in the manner detrimental to the interest of the local community. Local community interest may be defined as a group of people having a long standing social organization and by stand together whether in a defined area or household and otherwise shall include indigenous people, farmers and local population. Secondly, contravenes any of the provision of this bill. Thirdly, has ceased to carry on the undertaking. Fourthly, has insufficient asset to cover his liability.

Tuan Speaker, then the council may subject to the giving of the opportunity to be heard revoke the permit issued or suspend it for such period as the council may determine.

Tuan Speaker, before revoking and suspending the licence, the council should notify the permit holder who is affected by the decision proposed to be taken by the council of the aforesaid proposed action and should give the permit holder an opportunity to submit reasons or explain why the proposed action should not be carried out.

Tuan Speaker, any permit holder who is affected by the action or decision of the council in refusing to grant the permit or altering or cancelling any condition of the permit or imposing thereof any new or additional condition or in revoking or suspending his permit, may within 30 days after being notified of the action or decision of the council appeal against the decision to the minister and the decision of the minister may thereon should be final.

Tuan Speaker, to conclude, Sir Tony?, former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, in his book entitled ?Our Country, The Planet Put In the Nutshell?, regarding the loss of biodiversity, I quote, :No one knows how many species of plants and animals there are in the world.? So far, scientists have named and documented 1.4 million. Educated guess of the total number ranges from five million to thirty million. It is part of the natural order that species become extinct by human action now speed up the process by a factor as high perhaps as 10,000. As evidence of a few extinction species in the evolution past in which vast number of species will wake up.?

Tuan Speaker, with that I will conclude my speech on the, take part in this Sarawak Biodiversity Centre Bill, 1997 and I fully support the bill. Thank you, Tuan Speaker.