Hamden (centre) watering a tree planted near the golf course at Bintulu Golf Club while others look on at the Forest Landscape Restoration Programme.
BINTULU (Dec 18): The state’s dependence on the logging industry for income has ceased ever since the State Forest Department came up with its policy to reduce forest harvesting and limiting the issuance of area licenses.
State Forest Department director Datu Hamden Mohammad said that in addition to that policy, the state government also planned to restore Sarawak’s forests by planting 35 million trees in five years, an initiative which began in June 2019.
He added that this had reduced the production of timber with royalties and tax collection to only about RM400 million a year.
“The income from logging industry has reduced due our policy. Our new policy is to replant forest trees.
“Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg has agreed with our proposal not to be too dependent on logging as we already have revenue from oil and gas and from Petronas,” he said.
He said this at the Forest Landscape Restoration Program organised by the Sarawak Forest Department (JHS) in collaboration with the Bintulu Golf Club (KGB) at the club’s venue today.
He said with the new policy, the department’s target for the state was to plant up to 35 million trees in five years which is equivalent of seven million trees each year.
He said the number of trees planted so far from June 19, 2019 until Dec 10, 2020 was about 10.4 million.
“We want to plant more trees. The federal government has also targeted to plant 100 million trees nationwide in the same period of year,” he said.
He hoped that the people of Sarawak would support this effort.
He said the department is only a facilitator in this effort and with the limited staff, community must come to together to help.
“More parties or clubs as well as government, private and other agencies have to come forward to implement such good programs and we thank the KGB for working with the department to make this programme a success,” he added.
He said Sarawak is the only state in Malaysia where 63 per cent of its land was forests.
However, the quality of the existing forest is not as before.
“For over 100 years we have cut down many trees and based on our records, our timber has been exported to Taiwan since 1840, but I am not sure how they exported the items out,” he said.
He said for more than 100 years, the Sarawak government had depended on logging industry
“At one time the Sarawak government collected more than RM1 billion a year in royalties,” he explained.
That is why he said, it is important for the people to give back to the future.
He also said that the restoring of the state forest could address issues such as climate change, ecosystems and so forth.
He said Sarawak is lucky for having vast forest land, which prompted foreign countries to do carbon trading with the state.
“We are still in negotiation with a company who wish to buy carbon from us in the effort to reduce pollution,” he said.
Also present were Chief Executive Officer of Bintulu Port Holding Berhad Hadir cum KGB captain Dato Mohammad Medan Abdullah, Bintulu Deputy Police Chief Bintulu DSP Jame Reis, Penghulu Dato Chai Shong Phian and others.
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