Good harvesting practices crucial in forest plantations

SANDAKAN: Good harvesting practices are crucial to the success and long-term sustainability of forest plantations.

This message was emphasized at a workshop organised by the Borneo Forestry Cooperative (BFC) at the Forestry Department headquarters here on Tuesday.

David Boden, chairman of BFC, stressed that soil damage can negate all benefits from good silviculture and tree improvement, justifying that special care needs to be taken to minimise damage to the top soil layer where most of soil nutrients are concentrated.

In his opening remarks, Sabah Forestry Director Datuk Sam Mannan highlighted the i mportant role of forest plantations i n maintaining a healthy forestry industry in the state, and reminded all Forest Management Unit (FMU) licence holders of their responsibility in ensuring that their forest concessions are managed for maximum productivity.

Eighty persons attended the one-day workshop which was aimed to share the findings of research carried out by BFC over the last five years. They included representatives from the private sector, long-term forest concession holders and officers from the Forestry Department.

Glen MacNair, the managing director of Asian Forestry Company (Sabah), in his introductory remarks pointed out the importance of sharing information for the overall benefit of the industry.

“The members of BFC are eager to share what we have learned - in terms of research, standard operating procedures and knowledge. We don’t have enough time to learn from new mistakes. That is why we need to learn from previous mistakes and the mistakes of others, and by so doing we hope to build up the forestry industry in Sabah,” he said.

BFC was formed in 2010 mainly to provide research support and cooperation among member companies in the forest plantation industry. In addition, the BFC also serves to develop and improve skills and capacity in the plantation industry by drawing support from international experts.

Co-founded by Sabah Softwoods Berhad ( SSB) and the Asian Forestry Company (Sabah) Sdn Bhd in 2010, BFC now includes the Sabah Forest Industries and the Sarawak-based Jaya Tiasa Forest Plantation Sdn Bhd.

BFC’s current research focuses on various aspects of the key plantation species, namely Eucalyptus pelita and E. hybrids, Acacia mangium, Paraserianthes falcataria, and Anthocephalus cadamba, with the ultimate aim of increasing plantation productivity.