MIRI: Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) and its R&D collaborators have responded positively to the Chief Minister’s clarion call for more focused R&D to be conducted so that ‘Industrial Forests’ can be viably set up in Sarawak.
This was disclosed during SFC Annual Meeting of the Planted Forest Research Programme (PFRP) here, yesterday.
The meeting which saw the participation of 60 representatives from LPF companies, international and local researchers and related government agencies was officiated at by Assistant Minister for Environment and Assistant Minister for Workforce Development and Training, Datu Haji Len Talif Salleh.
In his speech, Len touched on several policy directions that could facilitate the attainment of forestry objectives as recently outlined by the Chief Minister during a public forum on Forest Landscape Restoration.
Len also called on LPF (Licence for Planted Forest) holders and other major timber players to seriously consider intensifying their tree-planting programme in view of the reduction of production from the natural forests leading to an eventual total ban of log export from natural forests.
“All LPFs need to collaborate to share R&D data and findings to ensure the success of PFRP,” he said and called on the industry to help fund the PFRP through provision such as the cess from harvested timber,” he pointed out.
On the matter of protecting Sarawak’s forests from external pests and diseases, he called on the Forest Department and SFC to take the necessary preventive measures including enforcement of phyto-sanitary regulations and in due course, the Forests (Nursery) Rules that are being gazetted.
The Chief Executive Officer of SFC, Wong Ting Chung disclosed at the meeting that SFC will enlist the expertise of research institutions that have proven track records with similar R&D programmes, both locally and internationally to achieve the research goals that the Chief Minister had earlier articulated.
The event also witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between SFC and Borneo Forestry Cooperative (BFC).
This collaboration would intensify R & D efforts in areas of common interests such as the development of best operating practices for plantation establishment and the improvement of seed quality.
