REGULATING forest management activities through the insertion of a new Section 70A into the Forest Ordinance is a step forward towards preserving and conserving the state environment for the future generation with good sustainable usage.
Wilfred Yap (GPS-Kota Sentosa) said the new Section 70A in the Forest ordinance would give power to grant a licence for a specific term, to any person or entity to carry out a forest carbon activity in any permanent forest, state land or alienated land.
“At the same time, licensing forest carbon activity will also provide an additional revenue stream for the government through participation in international Carbon Markets where payments are based on the quantity of carbon sequestered,” he said while debating the Forest (Amendment) Bill 2022 today.
He said the amendment sought was indeed a step forward through usage of our existing forests and lands for carbon sequestration and future participation in carbon trading.
“Carbon trading treats sequestered carbon in the same way that a financial institution treat capital. In essence, “deposit carbon” in our forest can be used to exchange for an annual payment,” he added.
Therefore, he hoped the Sarawak government would be committed in taking steps to work with the Federal government to comply with World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility for a standardised framework recognised internationally for calculating emission carbon results.
“The potential to use our forests for revenue generation through preserving and conserving our forest by participating in “Forest Carbon Activity” is the way forward.
“I trust this Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) Sarawak government will deal seriously with potential issues of governance (weak institution) and law enforcement after embarking on any carbon sequestration projects in line with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and Kyoto Protocol 1997,” he said.
