Sarawak pays dearly for saving forestsKUCHING: Sarawak paid a heavy price to achieve sustainable management of its tropical forests over the last decade.
By reducing timber production from its permanent forest estate from 12 million cubic metres to nine million cubic metres, 10,000 timber workers lost their jobs in the 1990s while the total loss of income amounted to US$56mil (RM212.8mil).
Besides, the state incurred a permanent loss of about US$50mil (RM190mil) in revenue while the loss in foreign exchange to the state was some US$500mil (RM1.9bil), according to Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan.
He said the International Tropical Timber Organisation had described the state's forestry practices as one of the most advanced in the world.
"Sarawak promotes the multiple roles of forests by enhancing the protection, sustainable management and conservation, efficient use and assessment to recover the full valuation of goods and services provided by forests.''
Dr Chan, who is also Finance and Public Utilities Minister, was opening the first Sarawak-Sabah environmental convention attended by government officers from both states here yesterday.
He said as environmental protection was key to sustainable development, the state had integrated it into the development planning process.
He said the state had embarked on several major projects aimed at coming up with an integrated management of the resources and to protect the environmental quality.
These projects included the integrated coastal zone management, integrated development plan studies on peat land areas and the sustainable urban development project.
"It is necessary to strike a balance between development and environmental protection,'' said Dr Chan.
He said as Sarawak and Sabah were rich in natural resources on which their economic growth depended on, it was important for them to draw up strategies to protect the environment effectively.
He suggested officers from both states work together to prevent the recurrence of peat fires two years ago.