KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s totally protected land areas will see changes but slightly increased with the passing of the Forestry Bill (Gazetting of Forest Reserve and Amendment) (Amendment) 2023 on the last day of the State Assembly sitting on Thursday (May 25).
Datuk Nizam Titingan, assistant minister to the chief minister read out the Bill and explained that it was aimed at withdrawing the state permanent forest reserve status of a total of 554.43ha of forest and to gazette two new forest reserve areas involving a 1,121 ha.
It was also to reclassify nine forest reserves of various classes, he said.
He said the withdrawal of the permanent forest reserve status involves 18 areas comprising those from the Class I (protection), Class II (Commercial) and Class V (Mangrove) for settlement or village gazettement, cemetery, mosque site, Custom and Security (ICQS) complex in Serudong and for social economic development.
Nizam said this included converting a Class II forest reserve for the construction of a clinker and cement factory, plantations of high value herbs for medicinal purposes, and the ICQS following the relocation of Indonesia’s capital to Kalimantan.
He said the withdrawal of these 554.42ha of forest reserves is only 0.02% reduction from the existing forest reserve area.
The government had also decided to gazette a total of 1,121ha as forest reserves of different classes, and to reclassify a total of 203ha class I forest to Class II, and 68,975 Class II forest reserves into Class I and Class VI (Virgin Jungle Reserve) for conservation of flora and fauna.
"This will in fact see the state forest reserve area increase by 566.57ha. So the total protected areas (TPA) in Sabah would increase to 27.33% coverage, just 2.6% short of the targeted 30% TPA by 2025," he said.
In their debate, several assemblymen including Kadamaian Datuk Ewon Benedick, Senallang’s Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal, Kepayan’s Jannie Lasimbang, Kemabong’s Rubin Balang, Sindumin’s Datuk Yusof Yakob, Nabawan Datuk Abdul Ghani Mohd Yassin and Kuamut’s Datuk Masiung Banah expressed their views on the matter.
Benedick asked why there was no deeper engagement between the government and villagers as well as community leaders and assemblymen prior to the tabling of this bill, and said that the concerns of villagers affected by the declassification of forest reserves must be addressed.
He also suggested for a community forest reserve to be set up and considered by the state government.
Shafie had among others asked if there were no other areas that could be used instead of taking up villages’s homes and turning them into forest reserves or existing TPAs to be declassified.
Lasimbang wanted an assurance that the rights of villagers and communal issues be addressed so that no one’s rights are encroached.
Telupid assemblyman Jonnybone Kurum asked if the government could consider identifying new settlement areas for flood prone villages and to relocate villages to these new and safer grounds in future.
To these suggestions and questions, Nizam said the government takes note of the concerns and assured that the rights of all natives would be respected while other arising matters would be looked into seriously.
