The Sabah government has reduced the number of short-term timber concessionaires in a pro-active step to promote sustainable forest management (SFM) in the state, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said, according to Malaysian News Agency Bernama. Instead, Sabah had to date appointed 15 timber concessionaires which had signed Sustainable Forest Management Licence Agreements (SFMLAS) covering a combined area of two million hectares and a period of 100 years to ensure that timber production in the state would be based on sustained yield and Reduced Impact Logging (RIL) techniques for harvesting logs, he said. "We have no choice but to do it for a better forest tomorrow despite the slow progress," he said in his speech at the workshop on Sustainable Forest Management organised by the Organisation of Asia Pacific News Agencies (Oana) here. Bernama, the national news agency of Malaysia, is the current chairman of Oana. His speech was read out by Datuk Masidi Manjun, Sabah's Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, as Musa is away in Bandar Seri Begawan accompanying Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on a visit to Brunei. Prior to the implementation of SFM in Sabah in September 1997, the state used to have more than 100 timber concession holders with short-term licences of 10 to 15 years each and these concessionaires usually did not have much time to undertake SFM because of the short time-frame. But with 100-year leases, SFMLA concessionaires will be able to replant timber species which they will be able to re-log when the trees mature and adopt RIL techniques which means felling mature trees without damaging immature trees in the same locality. "Short-term licences are being phased out. Logging is very much regulated now. And the forests are put into a better perspective under the Forest Management Plan," said Musa. The Sabah state government adopted SFM in Deramakot with the initial signing of 10 long-term SFMLAs in September 1997 for leases of up to 100 years, a move described as a smart partnership between the state government and the private sector. Under the SFMLAs, the concessionaires also need to have prescribed silviculture treatment on potential tree crops and identify and protect high conservation value forests, including sensitive ecosystems. Musa said efforts were now underway to certify the forests under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or any equivalent standard recognised internationally. The FSC is a non-profit organisation devoted to encouraging the responsible management of the world's forests. "Besides Deramakot, we are now looking towards getting more forest areas under certification within the next five years. Greater Deramakot totalling some 50,020 hectares is expected to be certified early next year, hence doubling the forest areas under certification in the state to some 100,000 hectares," Musa said. Describing the Oana workshop as timely, Musa said the participants could see for themselves the work done by the Sabah state government. He said Sabah, until recently, had been very dependent on forests for revenue, of up to 80 per cent at one time, but this had been reduced to less than 30 per cent at present. Musa said Sabah still managed to secure about half of its land mass in permanent forest reserves at 3.6 million hectares and more areas were being identified to be gazetted as permanent forest reserves. The chief minister said efforts were also underway to protect the state's rich bio-diversity, including the wildlife and ecosystem. Based on a study and recommendation from the WWW (formerly known as World Wildlife Fund), the Sabah state government had placed the whole of Ulu Segama and Malua forest reserves covering 240,00 hectares under SFM for the conservation of orang utan. Due to the richness of biodiversity and wildlife of this area, it is also included as part of the broader Heart of Borneo (HoB) conservation initiative. Musa said the Ulu Segama-Malua SFM project was set to be Sabah's agenda to showcase its concept of sustainable development and to enlighten the world that there would always be a place for orang utan in the state. He said the good work done in Sabah had long suffered from the negative publicity associated with allegations of deforestation, illegal logging and destruction of orang utan habitats due to the opening up of oil palm plantations. With regard to forestry and climate change, he said the Sabah Foundation, one of the agencies of the state government, had entered into a 25-year collaborative programme with the FACE Foundation to offset carbon emission through enrichment planting and rehabilitation. In the first phase of 1992 to 2012, some 360,000 tonnes of carbon are targeted to be sequestrated from less than 10,000 hectares rehabilitated within the Ulu Segama forest reserve. "In other words, while we are restoring Ulu Segama and Malua for orang utan, we are also addressing the issue of global warming through the sequestration of carbon dioxide," he said. Musa said the Sabah state government had realised that forests were not just about timber but had become more crucial for their rich bio-diversity and role in climate change. "The trend now is to look beyond the trees, prospecting into a new commodity at the molecular level, such as carbon, and selling the many intangible values, services and the love for the forest. "These are the new frontiers and the future of forestry in Sabah," he said. Musa said the efforts in Sabah had been well-received by the international community, including the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Tropical Timber Organisation (Itto). Malaysia's commitment is also reflected in its participation in the "Heart of Borneo" conservation initiative involving 240,000 sq km of forest conservation in Sabah and Sarawak, Brunei and Kalimantan in Indonesia. Earlier, Bernama general manager Datuk Azman Ujang, who is also the secretary-general of Oana, said the workshop would provide an opportunity for participants to find out about initiatives, policies and practices to balance between "development needs" and the need to "preserve the environment" in the management of forests in Malaysia. SFM, he said, was gaining ground in Asia-Pacific as most of the countries in the region had developed well-defined policies and innovative tools for sustainable forestry.
