KUCHING: The Forest Department Sarawak (FDS) has planned more scientific expeditions in the Heart of Borneo (HoB) areas.
Its director Datuk Hamden Mohammad said FDS is also planning a scientific expedition in the Forest Management Unit (FMU) to complement conservation efforts conducted by the licence owner and support FMU in its certification.
“The FMU is now managed based on the principles of sustainable forest management (SFM) and the requirements of the licence agreement of the state government.
“We welcome licence owners to collaborate with us together with the community residing within the FMU to explore the forests and document scientific and social data, and help address and solve issues related to forest management in the area,” he said.
He was speaking during the HoB Scientific Expedition to Pueh Mountain Forest Reserve seminar at UCSI Hotel here, today (Aug 2).
Hamden said FDS will continue to conduct more scientific expeditions in the HoB areas, especially in unexplored areas that may hold more interesting findings and provide more information on the state’s forest heritage.
Apart from scientific expeditions, numerous studies and research work have been conducted by FDS, other department agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and higher institutions which have contributed to the conservation effort in the HoB iInitiative.
“Beside conducting scientific expeditions to forest areas within HoB, the department has also organised many scientific expeditions in other parts of Sarawak,” he said.
The department had recently concluded a scientific expedition to Jemoreng Forest in Matu, Mukah Division and this area is one of the potential areas to be proposed as PPE.
“Within a small area of about 800 ha, the researchers had recorded numerous species of flora and fauna of which some are in the category of totally protected species under the Wildlife Protection Ordinance, 1998 or Threatened Species based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
“Findings of the expedition could lead to further studies on certain species,” he said.
Hamden said the Jemoreng Scientific Expedition was conducted in collaboration with the local Kampung Jemoreng villagers.
“Hence, this could be one of the approaches that could enhance the understanding and awareness of the local community and public on the importance of protecting forests for biological conservation,” he said.
The HoB Initiative is a voluntary trans-boundary cooperation between Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia aimed at conserving and managing the trans-boundary highlands of Borneo and parts of the adjacent foothills and lowland, which straddle the borders of the three countries.
The HoB approximately covers 240,000 sq km of ecologically inter-connected rainforest in Borneo.
