KUCHING: The first Sarawak Delta Geopark (SDGp) expedition to the Padawan and Bau areas will be from March 20 to 26.
The expedition by the SDGp Heritage and Conservation Working Group and chaired by the Forest Department of Sarawak (FDS) director is the first expedition held after the SDGp was recognised as the sixth National Geopark by the National Geopark Committees on June 20 last year.
Deputy director of Forest, Forest Conservation and Development Happysupina Sait said the theme of the expedition was “Unearth The Natural, Cultural, and Heritage Treasures.”
“The purpose of the expedition is to obtain more information on the geological, biological, and local culture as well as provide a platform to promote SDGp to researchers, tourism operators and the local community.
“With the information gathered from this expedition, we hope to be able to identify the needs and action plan for the purpose of unifying the scientific information, information for education, promotion, and development of the social economy of the local community in and around the SDGp area,” he said.
Happysupina spoke during the launch of the SDGp Expedition 2023 at the Bau Civic Centre here yesterday (Mar 20).
Deputy Minister of Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Datuk Len Talif Salleh officiated at the event.
Happysupina added the expedition involved seven areas of study, namely, Geology-Geoheritage; Socioeconomics; Flora; Fauna; Tourism Products – Geotourism, Geoheritage, Community Product Development, and Traditional Knowledge-Ethnobotany.
“This expedition will involve 81 participants of various agencies and it is also estimated that 200 communities will also take part in workshops, briefings, interviews and join in the site visits to Bau and Padawan,” he said..
Meanwhile, throughout the expedition, an exhibition will also be held until March 26 at the Bau Civic Centre.
The exhibition covers SDGp, Information, Destinations and Tourism Products in Bau and Padawan, sales of handicrafts, food products, and cultural and heritage products.
Also on display is the history of gold mining in Bau by the Sarawak Mineral and Geoscience Department and the history and heritage of Bau and Padawan by the Sarawak Museum Department, and many others.
In the meantime, the SDGp which covers an area of 3,112 sq kilometres is unique in terms of delta morphology, the Sarawak river basin, rock landscape, biological heritage, geological heritage, cultural heritage, and so forth covering land and water areas in Kuching Division (Kuching, Bau, Padawan) and a small part of Serian Division (Siburan).
The recognition of SDGp as a National Geopark is an achievement for the Sarawak government in its efforts to conserve for the sustainability of nature and sustainable management of areas that have geosites with high use value.
