SANDAKAN: The Sabah Forestry Department is confident of achieving the target of planting 40 million trees in the State by 2025.
Sabah Chief Conservator of Forests, Datuk Frederick Kugan, said 12 million trees had been planted since the campaign was launched in 2021.
“The forests can play a significant role in the health of the general public. At the State Forestry Department, 200 types of tree have been planted. What we want to show here is that forests can be restored,” he told reporters after launching the Sabah Forestry Department’s International Day of Forests celebration, Tuesday.
Kugan said the State-level International Day of Forests celebration would be held at the Rainforest Discovery Centre in Sepilok, near here, and it is expected to be launched by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor on April 27.
At Tuesday’s event, Kugan also inaugurated the Forestry Department’s forest trail, named the Kugan Trail after the chief conservator of forests.
The event also saw the planting of 150 saplings, including Belian trees (Eusideroxylon zwageri) at Taman Warisan, Sabah Forestry Department Headquarters.
The Belian tree, the pride of the State, takes a long time to grow and is the hardest log species, nicknamed Borneon Heavy Hardwood, with resistance to weather factors such as rain and heat, and will not decay for more than 100 years.
The theme for this year’s celebration is “Forests and Health”, which further amplifies the contribution of forests to universal human wellbeing by providing good air, clean water, sources of medicines, fruits and vegetables and stabilising the climate.
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