KUCHING The destruction of primary forests in Sarawak could be far worse than what has been shown in government records, with a lot of green areas categorised as “forest covered” actually being severely degraded forest or large-scale monoculture plantations, an activist has claimed.
Peter Kallang, the chairman of Save Rivers, an environmental NGO, said logging activities and large scale industrial farming were rampant in vast land areas all over the state.
“These industries are purportedly licenced but the destruction of the forests has brutally impacted ecosystems, biodiversity and often encroached into lands belonging to the indigenous people, leading to disputes,” he told FMT.
He said the latest ruse to legalise such logging was to label the logs as sustainable, with certification issued by the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC).
However, the indigenous people have complained that the council continues to issue certificates to companies that disregard the input of the local communities.
“Procedures or standards, no matter how practical, can only be as effective as the enforcement. This (logging) could spell the end of the primary or virgin forests in Sarawak,” the activist said.
Kallang was commenting on the Sarawak government’s commitment to develop the state while ensuring environmental sustainability under the State Land Use Policy, with seven million hectares for the forestry sector, of which one million hectares will be totally protected areas (TPA) and six million hectares permanent forest estate (PFE).
TPA refers to areas gazetted for National Park, Nature Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary, where any development and harvesting of timber is prohibited while PFE is a production forest gazetted under Forest Ordinance, 2015, mainly for the harvesting of timber and forest plantation.
Jason Hon, head of WWF-Malaysia’s Sarawak conservation programme, said Sarawak’s forest policy actually came into force in 1919, more than 100 years ago.
“Over time, this policy has to be reviewed and strengthened, and made public so we all know how our forests are being managed.
“According to the policy, our forests are to be preserved permanently for the benefit of present and future inhabitants. It is important to ensure that land designated as PFE remains forested for many generations to come.”
Hon said the state should move beyond the conventional approach of harvesting timber for sale, and instead explore a greener economic model that can improve the conditions of the forests and help preserve them for the long-term.
He said ongoing efforts, such as forest landscape restorations, will benefit the state in the future.