KTS Plantation inks tripartite arrangement for sustainable forest management
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Forestry Department (SFD), Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and KTS Plantation Sdn Bhd (KTSP) yesterday signed a Letter of Intention (LoI) to cooperate in research, training and academic partnerships in sustainable forest management at Segaliud Lokan Forest Reserve (FMU 19B).
The LoI will allow the three parties to develop a comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) within the next six months that focuses on the following fields, namely, management oriented research, educational aspects, functional aspects and resource inventory.
The management oriented research includes research and development standards, techniques and scientific technologies conforming to the concepts on sustainable forest management as advocated by SFD and adopted by KTSP while the educational aspects include all expertise, experiences and infrastructures that can be versed for mutual advancement.
For the functional aspects, it will include training and research on forest ecosystem dynamics and relationships, the effect of the dimension of human and other basic ecosystem, species and population studies while resource inventory includes research and training on forest vegetation, biodiversity, nature parks and tourisms, and medicinal plant research and commercialization of Sabah.
At a ceremony held at The Magellan Sutera Harbour Resort yesterday in conjunction with the International Conference on Heart of Borneo (HoB): ‘Bridging Heart of Borneo Landscapes and Beyond Through Healthy Watershed Corridors’, the LoI was signed by Datuk Sam Mannan, director of Sabah Forestry Department, Professor Dr Baba Musta, dean of Faculty of Science and Natural Resources of UMS, and Datuk Henry Lau Lee Kong, managing director of KTS Plantation Sdn Bhd. It was witnessed by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Haji Aman.
In line with the KTSP’s goal to achieve excellence in sustainable forest management, the company’s management seeks to tap on SFD’s and UMS‘s expertise in areas of research, forest sciences and forest operation management.
Through SFD’s success and extensive practical experience in managing various forest management units in Sabah based on Sustainable Forest Management principle and also UMS’s various scientific research findings in forest sciences, KTSP, as a partner representing the forest industry sector, will be able to acquire the latest skills and knowledge necessary for managing its forest area on sustainable basis.
As a pioneer in the implementation of ‘Sustainable Forest Management’ in Sabah, KTS Plantation will, in turn, offer UMS its unique forest ecosystem for research programs and will accommodate students to undertake practical, field work or industrial training. Collaboration in specific research projects in wildlife sciences will also provide KTSP with a better understanding on the impact of its forest operations in enhancing wildlife management.
This unique tripartite collaboration initiative representing the three main players of the industry, i.e., industry-education-regulatory body, is targeting to tap into the synergic effect that promotes‘Good Forest Governance’ through the application of knowledge-based management guided by sound scientific research and proven operational practices in managing their forest areas based on the principle of sustainable forest management.
It will also give specific focus on the development of forestry graduate to become a competent forest manager, and thereafter will benefit the forestry sector as a whole in pushing the agenda of‘Good Forest Governance’in Sabah.
This LoI is yet another step forward for KTSP in their endeavour to develop links with Sabah Forestry Department and Universiti Malaysia Sabah in collaborations that can result in synergy, sharing of knowledge, moving toward to a better sustainable forest management practices in resources, economy, environmental and social development.