MALAYSIA: Forestry Groups Must Curb Shortfalls in Forest
Management - Lim
Copyright 2001 BERNAMA (Malaysian National News Agency)
October 17, 2001
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17, 2001 - All forestry personnel must make good any shortcomings in the country's forest management system in order that the objectives of the process can be fully achieved, said the primary industries minister, Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik.
He argued that, to achieve the set objectives, a climate of close cooperation must exist not only between the central (federal) and state governments but also between the public and private sector groups and individuals. "I urge that the cooperation that already exists be further reinforced in future. This is important to ensure the full and timely achievement of the set objectives of forest management," the minister said when officiating at the centennial celebrations of the Forestry Department (Peninsula Malaysia) here today.
Lim said that having an effective forest management system is vital in view of the increasingly rapid rate of economic growth and the increasingly widespread recognition of forest management as a key factor in renewable resource management and environmental conservation.
"Although Malaysia has been identified by the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) as a country with a high potential for achieving the objectives of ITTO 2000, efforts must be sustained to improve or, at least, sustain the rate of progress achieved," he said.
According to the ITTO 2000's objectives, all internationally-traded wood-based products must be extracted from forestry areas that come under sustainable management.
Lim emphasised that the government had worked hard to ensure that efforts to manage the available resources and develop the forestry sector in an apt and timely manner.