KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is drafting a 25-year Statewide Forest Master Plan to balance socio-economic development and environmental conservation, says Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
The Chief Minister said the plan, drafted by the Sabah Forestry Department, would be a guideline to manage Sabah's forest resources for the next 25 years.
"With the Forest Master Plan in hand, the Sabah government will ensure that all ecologically sensitive areas (ESA) remain protected while at the same time not neglecting sustainable socio-economic development," he said at the opening of the National-Level International Forest Day 2026 in Sook on Saturday (May 23).
He said Sabah remains committed to maintaining a 50% forest cover for the state, in line with the 2018 Sabah Forest Policy.
He said Sabah currently has maintained 63% forest cover, encompassing 3.85 million hectares gazetted as forest reserves and other protected areas.
"To strengthen the state's forest management and protect biodiversity treasures, Sabah is also committed to maintaining 2.2 million hectares or 30% of the state's total land area as Totally Protected Areas (TPA)," said Hajiji.
He said Sabah has identified a small portion of degraded forest reserve areas covering around 400,000 hectares for Forest Plantation Development purposes, as stipulated in the Forest Plantation Development Action Plan (2022–2036).
"This Forest Plantation Development is seen as one of the strategies to restore the productivity of degraded forests, while also reducing the local timber industry's dependence on log supplies from natural forests and ensuring a sustainable supply of raw materials," he said.
Hajiji said as a manifestation of balancing socio-economic development and natural resource protection, the Sabah government, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), will spearhead the implementation of the Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration Impact Programme.
He said this programme, involving integrated landscape management covering approximately 2.1 million hectares, will coordinate land-use planning and management in Sabah to curb the impacts of palm oil production while maintaining High Conservation Value Forests (HCVF) for environmental and development benefits.
"This programme will be implemented in 12 districts in Sabah and is expected to benefit approximately 56,000 rural residents," he said.
Earlier at the same event, Hajiji, accompanied by Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Datuk Seri Arthur Kurup, presented a total of 1,136 Native Title (NT) land grants for the Pensiangan parliamentary constituency, covering a total area of 2,303.84ha.
