Sabah targets 400,000ha of forest plantation by 2035

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor being briefed on the Sulaman Lake Forest Reserve in conjunction with the state level International Forestry Day 2022 celebrations in Tuaran about 40kms from Kota Kinabalu.

KOTA KINANALU: Sabah is targeting a total 400,000 hectares of forest plantation in the next 15 years, says Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.

He said the forest plantations would have a production capacity of at least six million cubic meters a year.

"It is my hope that we will be able to achieve it," he said when officiating the state level International Forest Day 2022 celebration at the Sulaman Forest Reserve Lake in Tuaran near here on Friday (March 25).

He said the target was set under Forest Plantation Development Action Plan 2022-2036 (Action Plan On Forest Plantation Development 2022 - 2036) by the Sabah Forestry Department.

The action plans would be a guide in transforming forest plantations in the state, Hajiji said in praising the initiative.

“This is a strategic and decisive action to transform our forest plantations into a direction of achieving sustainable land use to strengthen crops and timber products in Sabah.

“This action plan provides guidance in the development of forest plantations, in accordance with the principles of sustainable forest management, as outlined in the Plan Sabah Maju Jaya Development (2021-2025) and Sabah Forest Policy 2018.

To achieve the target, the Chief Minister said a total of 23,850ha had been fixed to 18 Sabah Forest Management Licence Agreement (SFMLA) licensees.year.

"Achieving this target, however, requires a strong commitment from the existing stakeholders, and new investments. Therefore, I urge all SFMLA licensees to remain committed and work hard to achieve targets for their respective areas, "he said.

Hajiji, meanwhile, said that he was proud that Sabah managed more trees nationwide in the first quarter of this year under the National Greening Campaign to plant a total 100 Million Trees.

“I hope the planting record can be maintained so that Sabah can achieve the target of planting eight million trees this year," he said in urging people to intensify the initiative in their respective areas.