GOOD WORK: Taib (second left) admiring one of the books while (from left) ITTO executive director Emmnuel Ze Meka, Minister of Housing Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg and Sarawak Forest director Ali Yusop look on. — Bernama photo
KUCHING: Sarawak allows only trees which are at least 50 years old to be harvested for timber.
Trees in the state are only harvested for timber when they are at least 50 years old, said Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud yesterday.
“If a tree is less than 25 years old in the first cycle, then it will be left out for the next harvest. This means it can only be felled for timber after if it is 50 years old.
“It is also government policy to cut only six trees that are matured per hectare to enable us to have sustainable management of our tropical timber.
“The rest of the trees will be reserved until maturity before harvesting,” said the chief minister at the launching of two books, ‘The Lanjak Entimau Story: Changing Landscape In Biodiversity Conservation’ and ‘Birds of Bario and Kelabit Highlands’, at the Dewan Setapan of the State Legislative Assembly here yesterday.
Taib advised non-governmental organisation (NGO) who were unhappy with the way the state managed its tropical timber to double-check their facts with the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO). The state has been working with ITTO since the 1990s.
“We have conformed to the highest standard in sustainable forest management and ITTO has given us good advice on how to preserve our flora and fauna.”
Taib, who is also the Minister of Resource Planning and Environment, assured that since the state had tropical forest of at least six million hectares, the government would continue to sustain and conserve this precious asset.
“Our objective and mission to join ITTO (in the 1990s) was to ensure that we can also improve on biodiversity conservation besides ensuring that our forest resources are conserved for our future generations to see and utilised.”
On the books, Taib said it was vital that the future generations understood the government’s policy on sustaining and managing its tropical forests and flora and fauna biodiversities.
“Education is a powerful way to ensure that we can always protect and conserve our biodiversity so that it can last forever.”
Also present were Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu Numpang, Second Minister of Resource Planning and Management Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan, Minister of Housing Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg, Minister of Land Development Tan Sri Dr James Masing Jemut, DUN Speaker Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nassar, Sarawak Forest Director Ali Yusop and ITTO Executive Director Emmnuel Ze Meka.