Special Seminar
"Forest Management in Sarawak Malaysia with Special Reference to Rehabilitation Efforts in Deforested Sites"

Date: Tuesday, June 24, 2003 15:00 - 17:00

Venue: Room E207, 2nd Floor, East Wing, The Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), Kyoto University

By Lee Hua Seng Ph.D.,CSEAS Visiting Fellow

The Forest Department of Sarawak Malaysia is charged not only with the management of its forest resources but also its national parks and wildlife. A brief account is given of forest management practices in Sarawak. Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) is being practiced in accordance with the recommendations of an ITTO (International Tropical Timber Organization) Mission to Sarawak. Sustainable Forest Management is being implemented within the MC&I (Malaysian Criteria and Indicator for Sustainable Forest Management), which are a modification of the criteria and indicators drawn up by ITTO. Deforestation particularly in the form of shifting agriculture represents a major threat to SFM. Efforts are made by the Forest Department to rehabilitate such deforested and therefore degraded areas. These include reforestation and agroforestry projects in collaboration with the people carrying out shifting agriculture with emphasis on tree planting. They had not been successful because of the lack of interest in tree planting and dependence on governmental financial assistance. Perhaps rehabilitation of deforested sites with wild fruits and medicinal plants may be more a amenable approach. However, this line of approach gives rise to many issues and poses many challenges.