The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted food security for the people due to the imposition of stringent measures to halt the spread of COVID-19 transmission. This study aimed to measure the community’s perception of the level of COVID-19 impacts on their food security and to identify the community’s participation in forest management around the Forest Management Unit (FMU) in Sook, Keningau District of Sabah, to improve their livelihood. A mixed-method approach was conducted where a total of 122 respondents were sampled using a questionnaire survey, focus group discussion with communities, and expert interviews to gather more valuable data. The result showed that the communities were primarily involved in forest management through employment, empowerment, capacity building, and decision-making, which could indirectly contribute to their food security. Meanwhile, the impacts of the COVID-19 transmission were found to moderately affect the people who live inside or adjacent to the forest. The impacts could be explained based on eight themes as the outcome of Principal Component Analysis (PCA): market access, food storage and safety, resource availability, adequate nutrition, food aid, affordability, continuous food supply, and food adaptation to shock. Communities were mainly involved in agricultural practices and could obtain resources from the forest to supplement their daily need. The communities raise a prominent issue regarding land tenure that needs to be resolved; thus, it is suggested that imperative action be considered to create a balance between conservation, economy, and social responsibilities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many activities, including tourism and recreational activities. This study determines the  local communities’ perceptions of local recreational activities or staycation based on the natural resources in Sabah during the pandemic. Using the convenience sampling method, the questionnaire survey was distributed to respondents through social media and email. Respondents including students, government, and private sectors were from different socio-demographics. Most of them preferred recreational activities based on nature- panorama activities, followed by those who chose extreme activities such as hiking, cultural base recreation, river-based activities, leisure vacation and jungle trekking. The respondents opined that recreational activities could generate income for the state’s economy. They perceived that the assistance provided by the government could help recover the present state to its original condition. Among the elements that needed special attention and improvement were related to the safety of visitors, the cleanliness of the surrounding recreation sites, the landscape beautification and basic infrastructure facilities. Among the roles that the government could contribute to stimulating and uplifting the tourism and recreation sectors include funding and finance allocation to help the industry players, promotion and publicity, upgrading and maintenance of facilities such as infrastructures and enforcement of related laws and policies. Reviving the local tourism is promising as long as the public observe the state’s Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).