KOTA KINABALU, July 24 -- A Taiwanese developer says it will spend the next decade restoring coral reefs, protecting turtle nesting beaches and reforesting Sabah's Mengalum Island before laying a single brick for what it hopes will become the world's first net-zero carbon island resort.

The decade-long conservation effort forms part of Sinyi Group's more than RM1 billion investment in two tourism projects in Sabah, in what the company says is a long-term commitment to developing luxury destinations without compromising the state's fragile marine ecosystems.

"We want to conserve and enhance the island before development," Sinyi Realty Malaysia assistant general manager Henry Chou told delegates recently at the Sabah Asia-Pacific Impact I...