ALLEGATION that Sarawak has the highest deforestation rate in Asia is a lie and not based on facts, said Second Minister of Resource Planning and Environment Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan.
He reasoned that this was because satellite imageries by United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Nasa Tropical Deforestation Research, Sarvison and Wetland International showed that Sarawak had a forest cover of about 84 per cent.
“Sarawak has 10.4 million hectares of forest coverage which is only 0.3 per cent of 4,033 million hectares of forest coverage in the whole world or 0.6 per cent of world tropical forest which has an area of 1,664 million hectares of forest,” he said during his winding-up speech for his ministry.
Awang Tengah stated that besides continuing with its development agenda, the state government had always given emphasis to preservation, conservation and protection of environment.
“The state government is committed and responsible to ensure that the development as well as sustainable forest management is practised in this state.
“The state government’s commitment is clear with the availability of State of Forest Policy which was approved in 1954 by the Governor-in-Council.
“This is strengthened by the recognition by International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) executive director Emmanuel Ze Meka on May 2012 that Sarawak practised good sustainable forest management,” he said.
As recognition of the state’s effort in practising good sustainable forest management, Emmanuel had personally invited Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud to attend the opening ceremony of the 48th International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC) Conference on Nov 5 this year in Yokohama, Japan.
“The Chief Minister was given the honour to deliver his speech at the ceremony for the tropical timber producing nations,” Awang Tengah said.
During the conference, the state Forest Department submitted a technical report entitled ‘Sustainable Forest Management and Biodiversity conservation in Sarawak, Malaysia’ to ITTO and the report was also given out to the conference’s delegates.
“The report covers all the development works that were implemented from 1990 to 2012 based on the suggestions by ITTO as a result of ITTO’s report during their mission to Sarawak in 1989/1990.
“I would like to state here that most of the suggestions had been implemented successfully by the state government,” he noted.
To reaffirm the state’s commitment towards biodiversity conservation and environmental stewardship, he stated that the Forest Department, on behalf of the state government, had signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan Research Consortium for Tropical Forest in Sarawak which comprised nine prestigious universities and two research institutes.
“Both parties agreed to cooperate in developing joint research programmes on the tropical forest in Sarawak, its ecosystems and other related attributes in the totally protected areas in the state,” he said.