KOTA KINABALU: About 4.75 million trees have been planted in Sabah, accounting for about 60% of the target set by the state for 2023.
This was revealed in the Sabah Forestry Department’s (SFD) annual report, which also outlined its efforts towards achieving sustainable forest management (SFM).
The report, which is the department’s “report card”, showcased its project implementations, activities and achievements throughout 2023.
“The SFD is currently executing a tree-planting initiative aimed at reaching the goal of planting 40 million trees in the state between 2021 and 2025, which is also in line with the state government’s commitment to supporting the National Greening Agenda: 100 Million Tree Planting Campaign 2021-2025,” chief conservator of forests Datuk Frederick Kugan said in the report.
As of last year, 83,337,068 trees were planted nationwide. Out of this, 15,997,226 were in Sabah.
SFD has planted over 12 million trees as of June 2023 such as bintangor laut (Calophyllum inophyllum) and ketapang (Terminalia catappa), mangrove and fruit trees.
To effectively and efficiently manage forests, Kugan said the department had organised various workshops, among others, to revise the Forest (Timber) Enactment 2015, the Forest Enactment 1968 and Sabah Timber Legality Assurance System to meet the current scenario, develop Sabah’s Mangrove Action Plan and improve the management of the peatland ecosystem.
“We carried out many tree-planting activities in collaboration with schools and agencies throughout Sabah in support of the Greening Malaysia – 100 Million Tree Planting Campaign, including a tree-planting programme with Miss Tourism International,” he said.
He added that the department had also participated in international, national and state events to share its story about biodiversity conservation in Sabah.
However, Kugan said that despite its many achievements, SFD faced challenges in implementing SFM, such as staffing and fund limitations.
On Friday night at a Forestry Appreciation event, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor urged the SFD to identify more potential economic activities from the industry that could generate higher income for the state.
“This is to hit the RM165mil revenue target from forestry activities in places like forest reserves and government land by year’s end,” he said.
“So far, we have achieved RM39.7mil, which is about 24% of the target amount. If we are able to keep up with this momentum, we could even exceed our target.”
The text of his speech was read out by state Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun.
In line with the commitment to enhancing SFM governance, Hajiji said the department was aiming to certify or obtain international certification for all forests managed under it by next year.
So far, over 280,616ha of forest management areas had been certified, he added.
On another matter, he said lastyear, the SFD developed a digital database which, among others, would support forest resource management more efficiently, allow timber royalty payment via an application, and set up a timber royalty assessment system for the convenience of revenue collection to the state.
Sabah, he said, aimed to develop a total of 18,000ha of forest farms every year, and achieve 400,000ha of forest farm development by 2036.
To further develop timber trade in the state, he said an economic value chain study was being conducted.
Some of the trees and plants that had been identified to add value to this cause and should be developed further are the acacia, eucalyptus, batai, laran and rubber, he said.
