Last month I blogged about our support to jungle research work here  with Michael Galante. Michael along with Camp Borneo team support from Tinangol completed the first wave of data collection in two Forest Management Units operating here in Sabah, Malaysia and just freshly out of the jungle where Sapulut Forest Development (SFD) hosted the second area for data collection in his research.

Sapulut Forest is well known for their proactive forestry practices and high-levels of biodiversity. In line with his research on monitoring the impact of harvesting activities on the balance of carbon in the forest, Michael and the team recently emerged from the forest after 2-weeks of camping and collecting data for the pre-felling carbon forest inventory.

“Sapulut Forest Development represents an extremely important area for biodiversity in the State as it is a key area of the Heart of Borneo initiative which boarders the internationally renowned biodiversity hotspot of the Meliau Basin” said Michael.

He will now begin to process the data collected with an aim to return to both Sabah ForestIndustries and Sapulut for the next wave of data collection somewhere during the later half of 2012. Also during the next data collection wave, Michael will embark on the development of a carbon chronosequence in the Deramakot Forest Reserve (an FSC certified forest here in Sabah). Michael is attempting to take a “carbon snapshot” of the forest 5, 10 and 15-years after harvesting to understand the patterns of carbon recovery after the implementation of Reduced-Impact Logging (RIL) techniques.

“Understanding the recovery of the tropical forests and their carbon content will help us to quantify the climate change mitigation potential of carrying out Reduced-Impact Logging in the tropics”. He further stated that “if the impacts are found to be positive, this will support the further support the implementation of RIL in the State and internationally”.

Through the support of the Sabah Forestry Department and the assistance of Camps International and specifically Camp Borneo, is continuing his research on the impact of the reduced-impact logging forest policy initiated by the Sabah Forestry Department.

If you’re looking to book your expedition with Camps International this month we have a fantastic prize draw on offer for anyone who confirms their place by the end of the month.

Book any Life or Gap trip with Camps International this month to be in with a chance to win £100 Cotswold Outdoor gift vouchers!

Save yourself £100 of essential travel equipment. Just choose your Gap or Life destination and book before the end of May 2012 (5pm GMT on 31st May 2012) to be included in the draw.

As usual with our monthly prize draws, we will choose the winner from a hat and post the video on our Facebook page so that you can see the draw. The prize draw will be held on the 1st June 2012.

So what are you waiting for? Enquire now to find out more about the trips available to you, or book online now! You can also give us a call on 0844 800 1127 to have a chat with one of the team. This prize draw only applies to new Gap and Life bookings made during April 2012.

A month ago, Anth blogged about our work here  in support and partnerships of some amazing projects we have been involved in over the last few weeks.

Here’s the progress of the trial scientific initiative involving  Michael Galante, a doctorate student at the University of Edinburgh,  Scotland who has been been running experiments and collecting research with the Sabah Forestry Department and the State Government of Sabah.

Camps is endeavoring to incorporate professional scientific work within its already successful framework of gap and school year programs. Michael’s research examines the climate change mitigation potential through the implementation of a new forest policy that mandates the implementation of “reduced-impact logging” in all production forests in the State of Sabah, Malaysia. In doing so, Michael will quantify the volume of carbon before and after logging and thus, determine the amount of carbon “avoided” from entering the atmosphere.

Michael, in collaboration with the Sabah Forestry Department and assisted by Camp Borneo have recently established the inception sample plots in the production forest of Sabah Forest Industries, Sipitang Sabah. “These forest areas are some of the most extreme forest areas I have ever worked in” said Michael. “Plateauing at over 1,400m above-sea-level, these forest areas are very interesting to work in and will make fantastic examples of the potential of sustainable forest management and reduced-impact logging in the State of Sabah” he continued.

Camps specifically are assisting with logistical support, local assistants on data collection and camping equipment to complete the sampling in a timely fashion. The concept is to develop professional ties with local governments and international scientific research for the development of a Scientific Youth-Program which can be offered to Gap-year and school expedition programs. While continuing the trend of ethical journeys, the program aims to broaden the scope of available programs to those individuals who are keen to learn more about the field of natural resource management, scientific education, discovery and evaluation.

While this is just the beginning of development phase of the program, we believe that this work can have lasting impact on the lives of those whom participate, specifically those wishing to pursue an academic science related field of study.