KUCHING: The Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (SBC) is playing its role of greening up the state by collaborating with the Forest Department Sarawak (FDS) on a tree-planting campaign at the Sabal Forest Reserve.
The effort is part of SBC’s 25th anniversary celebration series of events.
FDS said the collaborative programme is aimed at providing support to the Greening Sarawak Campaign, which seeks to plant 35 million trees as part of the overarching ‘Greening Malaysia Agenda Through 100 million Tree Planting Campaign (2021-2025)’.
It is one of the national agendas to address climate change and improve the quality of life.
“A group of 100 representatives and participants from SBC, FDS and members of local communities surrounding the Sabal Forest Reserve, demonstrated their commitment by engaging in the planting of 1,000 saplings of valuable native species.
“This tree planting programme has contributed to the cumulative number of trees planted in Sarawak, surpassing 22.2 million since its official launch on Jan 5 in 2021,” FDS said in a statement.
As the coordinator of the Greening Sarawak Campaign, the department encourages the participation of various agencies and institutions to ensure the campaign’s success.
“By involving local communities in the tree planting programme, the initiative not only fosters awareness but also encourages the communities to take on the role of guardians for the newly planted trees,” it said.
Meanwhile, SBC chief executive officer Dr Yeo Tiong Chia expressed his joy for bringing volunteers from SBC to support the environmental conservation initiatives.
“SBC takes pride in its involvement in the Greening Sarawak Campaign as we believe in the collaboration effort to make Sarawak greener and healthier,” he said.
