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Clear forests only when projects startby Rosli Zakaria Forestry director-general Datuk Abdul Rashid Mat Amin said although State Governments have rights over forest areas outside gazetted permanent forest reserves, they should exercise restraint. "If there is no immediate development schemes, including agriculture, in such areas, the State forest should not be cleared for its timber. "Such restraint should also be exercised by land owners who have forest on their property. "Minimising the impact of logging activities on the environment is for the good of everyone," he told reporters after the opening of theForestry Department directors conference by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang in Kijal, yesterday. Rashid also said that logging activities on State-owned forest and on land owned by individuals had often led to criticism and confusion due to felling techniques used. He explained that the public was not aware that there were three types of forest, namely the permanent forest reserve, the State-owned forest which could be cleared for development, and forest on land owned by individuals. He said the Forestry Department managed and strictly supervised permanent forest reserve and would only allow selective felling in certain areas at the rate of one per cent of the total gazetted area annually. "When people see forests being cleared along the roads or near an orchard, they get confused and blame the Forestry Department for allowing such activities. "They fail to understand that we do not manage or approve logging in such areas. "The approval comes from State Governments." Earlier, Hadi, when asked about how much the State Government earned from logging, said the revenue so far this year was about RM48 million while last year, it received RM41 million. He said the revenue was the highest earned by the State Government although
logging activities did not reach the annual quota (maximum hectares allowed for
logging annually) of 8,530 hectares approved by the National Forestry Council. |
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11 September 2003
MTC’s
