KUCHING: The state government targets to set aside an area of one million hectares as totally protected areas (TPAs) for the protection of its natural ecosystem which includes flora and fauna as well as to enhance its natural beauty and cultural heritage.
This was pointed out by Second Minister of Resources Planning and Environment, Minister of Industrial & Entrepreneur Development, Trade and Investment, Datuk Amar Haji Awang Tengah Ali Hasan.
His speech was read by Assistant Minister of Workforce Development and Training and Assistant Minister for Environment, Datu Len Talif Salleh during an appreciation dinner held conjunction with the Forum and Workshop on Forest Landscape at Riverside Majestic Hotel here on Tuesday night.
“We are happy to note that 65 per cent of the state land mass is still under forest cover which is more than the minimum requirement for our country.
“Sarawak’s large and rich TPAs provide a platform for international collaborative research in developing intensive, practical conservation management procedures for bio-rich areas,
“The Sarawak Research for Intensified Management of Bio-rich Areas (RIMBA) project, launched in 2015, is one of the state government initiatives to open up the state for international research studies for the purpose of achieving sustainable conservation of its rich biodiversity,” added Tengah.
He said deforestation and forest degradation were global issues and that the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) had reported on this globe, an accumulative area larger than South America had been deforested and degraded.
“Some kind of forest landscape restoration programme needs to be carried out. IUCN defines Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) as a long-term process of regaining ecological functionality and enhancing human well-being across deforested or degraded forest landscapes.
“Our gathering here in Kuching shows the extent of concern and importance that we need to address the issue of sustainability of our forest resources. It requires a good policy and governance as well as good implementation by the relevant agencies and stakeholders,
“Today marks a new direction for all stakeholders to channel the cooperative efforts in addressing this issue.
“I believe that this forum is of utmost importance for us to understand what is forest landscape restoration, what is the method of restoration and learn the success model from industry players and agencies,” he said.
The forum with the theme “Enhancing Multi-Functionality of Forest Landscape Restoration in Sarawak” takes place from 7 to 10 at Riverside Majestic Hotel.
Delegates and participants from various agencies are involved in the forum which is organised by the Ministry of Resources Planning and Environment with the involvement by Forest Department Sarawak (FDS), Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC), Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC), Sarawak Timber Association and Harwood Sdn. Bhd.
Helping to facilitate the forum are Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Biodiversity International.
