Seminar on Industrial Forest Plantation 2020
This seminar managed to gather researchers, the industries, the scientists from prominent research institute from China and Indonesia, as well as scientists from FRIM, UKM, UPM and Sabah.
Their share their knowledge that covered topics on R&D development in international forest plantation as well as in Sarawak; community, technology and certification and also include a session covering R&D work on other potential industrial tree species, which are Paulownia and some indigenous species.
We do not wish to work in silo, thus we want the License for Planted Forest holders to collaborate together in this carefully structured programme. Apart from that, we will involve our counterparts in China to help us to alleviate our R&D programme as well as capacity building for our researchers. – Datu Hamden Haji Mohammad
As for Sarawak Forestry Department, Datu Hamden Haji Mohammad, Sarawak Forestry Department, Director mention that, “we are further improving and aligning our R&D to better serve the progress and vitality of industrial forest productivity to support sustainable forestry.”
“Some of the effort that we want to kick start as soon as possible is an intensified genetic improvement programme for our acacia and eucalyptus, as well our own indigenous species.”
Since the Forest (Planted Forests) Rules 1997 came into force, we have seen a lot of development in this industry.
With the increasing demand for raw materials from timber, our natural forests could not afford to supply enough for our downstream industry.
Alternatively, we have to make sure that the industrial forest plantation will be the new source for wood materials which could be produced at a shorter rotation period.
In supporting the progress of Sarawak industrial forest as a whole, the need to update and upgrade technology use is a must. Application of technology particularly Hyperspectral remote sensing has become one of the research frontiers in ground object identification and classification.
The Sarawak Forest Department is the pioneer agency that has the capability and skills to use Hyperspectral technology systems in Malaysia.
