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MIRI – The Sarawak Forestry Department has acknowledged the need to redouble efforts to tackle illegal logging in Sarawak.
Its director Datuk Hamden Mohammad said illegal logging activities are robbing valuable forest resources and tax revenue in the state.
“Greater efforts must be made to prevent our forest resources from being stolen via illegal logging. Our enforcement needs to be stepped up aggressively.
“We must put in place stricter control measures on logging projects,” he said when speaking at the department’s annual dinner in Kuching last night.
Hamden said his department is also increasing reforestation efforts, adding that conservation projects are also being activated in more areas.
Recently, Sarawak Pakatan Harapan (PH) expressed dismay that Sarawak had again attained a dubious reputation as the state with the highest number of illegal logging cases in the country.
State PH information chief Abun Sui had said that the latest details released in Parliament last month by Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad showed Sarawak at the top of the illegal logging list for 2022.
Nik Nazmi said that with the ongoing destruction of forests due to large-scale timber harvesting, Sarawak’s flora and fauna as well as its water resources and air quality have greatly suffered.
“The minister said that out of the 90 illegal logging cases found in the country last year, Sarawak had the highest number with 60 cases.
“There is a need to look into the enforcement aspects of the timber harvesting operations to put an end to the illegal activities,” Sui said in a press statement.
Sui, who is also the state’s PKR deputy chairman, said severe flooding and increasing logjams in rural rivers are being worsened by illegal logging.
Seeing how environmental degradation in Sarawak has worsened over the years, Sui called on the state government to take greater efforts to resolve these problems. – The Vibes, March 21, 2023