MIRI: A total of 66,873 hectares of Forest Plantation Management Unit (FPMU) have been certified under Malaysian Criteria and Indicators for Forest Management Certification (Forest Plantation) by Sirim QAS International to date, disclosed Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.
“I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate those certified FPMU — namely Lana, Segan, and Marudi of Samling Group and Penyuan and Masama of Shin Yang Group for this achievement.
“I hope that other plantations will also follow suit in this endeavour,” he said when officiating at an Industrial Forest Plantation seminar here today.
He said last year the state government had endorsed a policy on forest management certification which required all long-term forest timber licences to be certified by 2022 — an effort to ensure the sustainability of the state’s forest resources.
“Certification is a tool to ensure good plantation management practices leading to efficient harvesting and production, while also helping to increase the market confidence of timber products from well-managed plantations.”
On another matter, he said that in order to meet the increasing need for raw materials, other degraded areas in the state could be identified for planted forest development.
He said these could include abandoned or idle land, or even native customary rights (NCR) land which could be developed in a joint-venture with land owners and local communities.
“Besides planting tree species, planting of non-timber forest products (NTFP) such as bamboo and rattan could also be looked at.”
He pointed out that the state government aimed to establish one million hectares of industrial forests by 2025.
He said forest plantations offered a promising source of timber, while also increasing Sarawak’s forest cover which would reduce the greenhouse effect.
Forest plantations also ensured better land utilisation in the rural areas, which had the added benefit of bringing social development to the rural community.
