In Ulu Padas we observed how community institutions have become weakened by the absence of tenure security and the impacts of monetisation and opportunism. Anecdotal evidence suggests that similar scenarios are being replayed in rural communities throughout Sabah. The uncertainty surrounding land alienation, and the potential profitability of making claim to and selling timber rights, manifests in actions that are deleterious to the welfare of local communities, to the environment and to long-term development. As communal forest areas continue to come under threat, divisions within communities are precipitated by outside interests to undermine their defence of shared resources. At this crucial juncture, the state government has the potential to intervene to reverse these trends.

There are some immediate steps that can be taken to improve current policies and practices governing the management of forests and land use change in Sabah, in particular those that are inadvertently encouraging resource degradation such as the policy of handling land applications on a piecemeal basis. To support the social integrity of these communities, the land registration process should be conducted by engaging village communities as a whole. Village land use and future development plans should be mapped out, and designated sensitive areas and common property resource areas identified with the mediation and supervision of officers of the Department of Lands and Surveys, the Native Court and other observers. In addition, the integrity of these plans should be upheld by all government agencies that have the authority to issue logging or occupation licences so as to restrict activities that threaten resource management in the community area.

The experience in Ulu Padas also demonstrated the value of collaboration in conserving communal forests. Government officers, conservation practitioners, researchers and scientists, and, of course, local people have the potential to complement and reinforce each other’s contributions. Accounts that portray the contest over resources as lopsided battles between state élites and marginalised communities have an obvious emotional appeal, yet they can dangerously polarise issues. I have found that the state government includes people who are receptive and committed to conservation and community interests, and who try, within their limited mandates, to seek favourable outcomes.

Working with local people has given me an appreciation for their resourcefulness and eagerness to be engaged more actively in developing their economic potential and building stronger futures for their families, while retaining links with their land, identity and heritage. Most perceive these aspirations as being achieved through opportunities arising from inclusion in state development programs, such as support for agriculture and, more recently, nature tourism. These impressions resonate strongly with Li’s observation that, ‘supporters of peasant struggles who assume that “traditional” communities are inclined to oppose “the state” in order to preserve “their own” institutions and practices may overlook the extent to which uplanders seek the benefits of a fuller citizenship’ (Li 1999: 21). There is no question that the residents of Long Pasia and Long Mio see development in terms of fuller integration in the state system and through government-funded infrastructure and services.

Using a ‘practical political economy’ mindset (Chambers 1983), working more closely within and through the system in Sabah has enabled conservation NGOs to have continued access to relevant spaces, be they actual physical locations or the opportunity to provide input on important issues. Non-governmental organisations that ‘act responsibly’ are in a better position to increase the credibility of local-level conservation initiatives and maintain an opportunity for continued advocacy. Accordingly, the bid to secure communal ownership of forest resources and Native Title received a favourable response as the strategy adopted was consistent with the land legislation and was pursued through the official channels.