THE state firmly stands by its view that all long-term licensed forest areas must get their respective certification by 2025.
“As of now, there are about 20 Forest Management Units (FMU) with areas of 1.78 million hectares that have been certified, whereas seven Forest Plantation Management Units (FPMU) with 97,966 hectares of areas have also been certified.
“Overall, the total forest areas that have been certified is 1.88 million hectares,” said Minister of Natural Resources and Urban Development Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan in his winding-up speech in the State Legislative Assembly today.
He said the effectiveness of forest management is best measured by compliance with the criteria and indicators set by an international standards such as the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS).
The MTCS is affiliated to the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) in Switzerland and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in Germany.
He said the achievement of the forest certifications is significant to prove that the forest management in Sarawak is fully compliant with international standards and wood product produced here can be marketed competitively in the global market.
