KOTA KINABALU: The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry (NRE) should seriously look into the setting up of the National Forestry Council (NFC) if forestry is important.
Sabah Forestry Department director,Datuk Sam Mannan said at the closing of the 17th Malaysian Forestry Conference held at a resort near here yesterday that while Forestry was the biggest landowner in the country, it did not have its own council anymore.
“Whether it should be revived or not to ensure that forestry, the forestry profession, and what needs to be done to improve forest governance should be given that prominence, then perhaps the government, in particular NRE should look seriously into this NFC,” he said.
“Otherwise there is no point calling the Forest Department of Malaysia to the Land National Council. What do we do? What is the purpose? Why are we going to that conference? It is all about land and this and that.”
“If forestry is important, then return its prominence,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sarawak Forest Department director of forests, Sapuan Ahmad shared the efforts being made by Sarawak with regard to SCORE — Sarawak Corridor of Renewal Energy.
He said SCORE involved an area of 70,000 kilometers square or 56 per cent of the Sarawak area.
“Under SCORE, Sarawak has placed its vision and direction which is to be a developed and industrialised state by 2030.
“Two of the main industries under SCORE directly involved with good forestry governance are the wood and tourism industries,” he said.
With regard to the Heart of Borneo (HoB) in Sarawak, Sapuan said it involved two million hectares of state land.
He added that the local communities residing near the forest areas and National Parks in the state were involved in ensuring the sustainability of the forest resources.