‘State moving away from traditional sectors for devt’
KUCHING: It has been the state government’s plan to diversify away from its traditional reliance on mining, agriculture and forestry and develop its infrastructure, high-tech industries and renewable energy sources to be a high income economy.
“The aim is to create 1.5 million jobs and long-term economic prosperity by 2030,” said Datu Sudarsono Osman, permanent secretary of Ministry of Resource Planning and Environment yesterday when delivering his paper titled ‘Sarawak’s Approach to Sustainable Development: The Land Use Policy’” at the 15th International Peat Congress (IPC) which is being held here from Aug 15-19.
He said Sarawak has been blessed with a big area of 12.5 million ha but with a small and diverse population of 2.6 million.
Traditionally, Sarawak’s major export commodities have been natural resources such as crude petroleum (18.8 per cent), liquefied natural gas ( 61.13 per cent) and timber and timber products which make up 8.68 per cent.
He said timber industries have played a significant role in socioeconomic development of the state as it is the major contributor to the state’s economy.
“Annual forest revenue is about RM600 million; export earnings from timber and timber products is RM7 billion annually while the industries employ 150,000 people,” said Sudarsono.
To attain sustainable forest development, the government has come up with Forest Management Certification or FMC which requires timber licensees to obtain FMC under any internationally recognised forest certification scheme, he added.
“It also ensures licensed areas are sustainably managed and that it encourages self-regulation by the industry.”
He further said the state government also introduced Sarawak Timber Legality Verification System ( STLVS) which was implemented to ensure acceptance and recognition by importing countries.
“The system also enables traceability of log movement along the chain of custody from the forest to the mill or export point and ensures no illegal logs enter into the supply chain.”
On palm oil industry, he said palm oil, both crude and processed, make up 10.66 per cent of total export commodities.
To ensure effective land use and environmental conservation, of the total 12.5 million ha of land, seven million have been allocated for forestry, four million for agriculture and 1.5 million reserved for miscellaneous land use such as township development and settlements.
For agriculture land, as many as three million ha have been allocated for oil palm plantations and one million ha for other crops such as pepper, rubber and paddy.
Sudarsono stressed that conservation and research were also a top priority in managing Sarawak’s natural resources.
Research for Intensified Management of Bio-rich Areas of Sarawak ( RIMBA) programme was launched in 2015.
“Sarawak has also signed MOUs with international research organisations such as the Smithonian Institution, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and Wildlife Conservation Society, among others.”
Sarawak research efforts have also yielded positive results, one of the achievements is the discovery of 12 new species of plants in Sarawak recently, he revealed.