KOTA KINABALU: Fifteen participants from the Sarawak forestry agency organised a working visit to Sabah Forestry Department relating to the implementation of the Sabah Timber Legality Assurance System (TLAS) in managing forest resources towards sustainability and governance.
The participants were from Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation, Sarawak Corporation Sdn Bhd, Hardwood Timber Sdn Bhd and Sarawak Timber Association.
Deputy director of Sarawak Forest Jack Liam who headed the delegation, said the main objective of the visit was to strengthen the implementation of the Sarawak Timber Legality Verification System (STLVS) initiative in Sarawak.
He explained that through information and experience sharing on Sabah’s TLAS implementation mechanism and at the same time making Sabah TLAS a benchmark for strengthening STLVS implementation in Sarawak.
Among the itinerary of the three-day work visit was a briefing on the Sabah’s TLAS background and the Sabah Action Plan on TLAS.
Apart from that, there was a briefing on the effectiveness of Sabah TLAS in sustainable governance and forest management in addition there was a bilateral discussion on issues pertaining to Sabah’s development of TLAS and STLVS
The participants also visited Sandakan Innawood Sdn Bhd, a wood processing factory which had been through Internal Audit and obtained the TLAS Sabah Compliance Certificate.
After the factory visit, the participants were invited to visit a timber licensed area operated by KTS Plantation Sdn Bhd with the internal audit team on the Internal Auditing and Compliance Audit System of TLAS.
Among the participants were Forest Prevention and Enforcement Division assistant director Sulaiman Jamahari and Forest Revenue and Economic Division assistant director Latifah Teh.
