@ AGROBiz | January-February. 2026

RESTORING CONNECTIVITY: The collaboration aims to integrate wildlife corridors within certified plantation landscapes.( Photo by: WWF Malaysia)

The collaboration will be carried out in Tawau, covering about 13,000 hectares across five Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil( RSPO)-certified estates managed by SD Guthrie.

The landscape has been identified under WWF ' s Reconnect Borneo Initiative, a regional effort to restore ecological connectivity across Borneo by developing wildlife corridors.

Under the pilot, WWF-Malaysia and SD Guthrie will work to establish a wildlife corridor within the plantation landscape, while implementing WWF ' s global regenerative palm oil framework under real operating conditions.

The approach is designed to deliver measurable environmental and social improvements beyond existing certification benchmarks.

MEASURABLE OUTCOMES

The regenerative framework builds on standards such as RSPO and the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil( MSPO) certification scheme. It emphasises commercially viable production systems that support workers and surrounding communities, while strengthening biodiversity, ecosystem services, soil health and climate resilience. Progress will be assessed against defined baselines, including biodiversity connectivity and social outcomes.

" Through this ground-breaking partnership, WWF-Malaysia and SD Guthrie are taking a decisive step to pilot regenerative palm oil practices and deliver landscape-scale biodiversity and climate outcomes in a priority area of Sabah," said WWF-Malaysia chief executive officer Sophia Lim.

" These approaches go beyond RSPO and MSPO certification to deliver measurable improvements for biodiversity, climate resilience, and communities, while recognising the economic importance of palm oil to Malaysia and the global market.

" This partnership reflects a shared understanding that transformation cannot happen in silos- conservation organisations, industry leaders, and value-chain stakeholders must work together to co-create practical, sciencebased, and scalable solutions.

" As a conservation organisation, WWF-Malaysia believes in engaging constructively with the palm oil sector, alongside other priority industries to drive meaningful environmental outcomes."

For SD Guthrie, the initiative complements its " Beyond Zero " sustainability framework, which includes piloting a Regenerative Agriculture Framework for palm oil by 2028 and restoring and conserving 100,000 hectares by 2030.

“ We are excited to commence this pilot for regenerative palm oil with WWF and look forward to new learnings that will improve the way we interact with the environment,” mentioned SD Guthrie Group Managing Director Mohd Haris Mohd Arshad.

" This partnership reflects SD Guthrie ' s commitment to achieve our ' Beyond Zero ' targets practically and credibly, while boosting productive and responsible palm oil operations.

" With this initiative, we will go above and beyond certification requirements, aiming not only to minimise and mitigate our negative impacts, but also ensure that we actively cultivate positive outcomes in the landscapes where we operate."

Activities under the pilot will include both certified plantation areas and conservation zones, subject to independent audits, risk reviews and WWF governance controls. Verified findings from the project are expected to inform wider adoption of regenerative practices across the palm oil industry.

CONCERNS over rising shrimp imports have prompted the Malaysian Fisheries Development Authority( LKIM) to call for clearer and more structured controls to safeguard domestic producers and maintain market balance.

Chairman Muhammad Faiz Fadzil said the authority did not have direct jurisdiction over fishery import and export regulations, but plans to raise the issue with the relevant authorities to explore a coordinated control mechanism.

" Unregulated shrimp imports could affect local production, particularly farms under LKIM supervision. While there are no specific rules to prevent such imports, the government needs to take proactive measures to manage the situation collectively.

" This applies not only to shrimp but also to other fishery products, so that a surplus of imported goods does not impact local operators," he said after inspecting a tank shrimp farming project operated by the Johor State Fishermen Association( JOSFA) in Kampung Sungai Danga.

He noted that import and export governance falls under multiple agencies, requiring inter-agency coordination, as LKIM is not the primary body overseeing international fishery trade.

At the same time, LKIM has been pushing fishermen ' s associations to venture into aquaculture by offering technical and financial assistance. The move supports the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security ' s goal of raising aquaculture ' s contribution to 40 per cent of national fish production by 2030.

" If associations do not seize these opportunities, the sector will be dominated by private companies. We want a structured system including private

PROTECTING LOCAL: The structured import control is seen as key to protecting local fish farmers from market oversupply.

players, but within a framework that prevents oversupply and price instability," he added.

LKIM recorded aquaculture production of 1,495 metric tonnes valued at RM37.77 million in 2023 and 1,200 metric tonnes worth RM23.67 million in 2024.- @ AGROBiz