Generating revenue without felling trees

KOTA KINABALU: The forests in Sabah are set to become a key revenue earner for the state without any tree being felled.

Instead, the state government is exploring revenue options through ecosystem services such as clean water and air, biodiversity, soil protection and carbon sequestration.

Sabah Forestry Department director Datuk Sam Mannan said this new approach was necessary following a decline in revenue from timber products.

However, it is costly to manage the forest so the Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) approach is being used.

“PES is a scheme in which service providers are compensated to cater for environmental services to the user,” Mannan said after a one-day workshop on developing PES for Sabah.