THE State Legislative Assembly yesterday passed a new bill to excise, constitute and reclassify several forest reserves across the State.
Overall, the bill, which seeks to amend the Forests (Constitution of Forest Reserves and Amendment) Enactment 1984, will increase the total area protected as permanent reserve forests to 3.615 million hectares, with an addition of over 335.6 hectares.
The reclassification of several reserves proposed under the bill will also increase the State’s Class I Forest Reserve acreage by over 202,363 hectares, to a total of 1.03 million hectares.
Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department, Datuk Ellron Alfred Angin in tabling the bill, said the amendment would, among others, excise 278 hectares of rocky outcrop from the Banggi Forest Reserve Class I and replace it with a 500-hectare state land in Menumbok.
Additionally, another 102.9 hectares of forest managed by the State Agriculture Department in Mile 32 Sandakan will also be gazetted as Class VI Virgin Jungle Reserve and named as Ulu Dusun Agricultural Forest Reserve.
“The land swap area (in Menumbok) is suitable for the purpose as it is a rich wetland ecosystem, while the gazetting of the reserve (in Sandakan) will not have any negative impact on the villagers in the surrounding areas.
“The Agriculture Department, which owns the land, has given assurance that the reserve will be managed collaboratively with the Forestry Department. Access to the reserve will also be allowed for scientific researches and studies and infrastructure maintenance,” he said.
Ellron explained that the Banggi Forest Reserve was proposed to be excised and used for socio-economic development of the local communities and that the exercise would not affect the State’s biodiversity as the area is not a high conservation value of forest.
Moreover, he said the excision would not affect the total acreage of forest reserves in Sabah, as the area involved only represents 0.03 per cent of the total forests protected in the State.
The reason for taking the area out of forest reserve list, he explained, was the high quality stones that can be found there, needed for the Pan-Borneo Highway and other road construction projects in Sabah.
He said the shortage of suitable gravels for constructing roads in the State justified the excision, adding that Sabah does not have any other areas that can be mined for suitable stones.
The bill also seeks to reclassify 37 forest reserves including an area of 6,467 hectares in two Class I reserves, namely Tambalugu and Benkongka forest reserves, which will be declassified as Class II (Commercial) reserves.
Ellron said these areas had been repeatedly damaged by forest fires and the government could not afford to rehabilitate them as Class I reserves, hence the need for commercial rehabilitation.
Meanwhile, patches of forest with high conservation value in 14 Class II (Commercial) reserves will be reclassified as Class I (Protection) reserves.
“These areas are also important as water catchment and provide protection for animals by serving as wildlife corridor,” he said, adding that reclassification would involve a the total area 151,016 hectares.
The areas involved are in Class II forest reserve in Mandalom (18,452 hectares), Timimbang (11,465 hectares), Tangkulap (27,258 hectares), Sugut (8,680 hectares) Kalabakan (17,843 hectares), Gunung Rara (14,570 hectares) and Sungai Pinangah (48,093 hectares).
Five Forest Reserve Class III (Domestic) will also be upgraded to Class I (Protection), with a total area of 2,246 hectares.
They are in Kawang (1,551 hectares), Labuan (199 hectares) Matunggong (328 hectares), Tamparuli (60 hectares) and Tamalang (108 hectares).
For Class IV (Amenity) reserves to be upgraded to Class I (Protection), seven areas will be involved in Kukut (1,297 hectares), Sook Plain (1,452 hectares), Babanga (41.7 hectares), Baradaya (22 hectares), Membalua (72 hectares), Mili Nonum (6 hectares) and Tajong (436 hectares).
A total area of 56,672.56 hectares of nine Class V (Mangrove) reserves will also be upgraded to Class I (Protection).