Sabah has established some 226,000ha of forest plantations, of which about 55 per cent are culivated with high-value commercial species.
Sabah Forest Department Sustainable Forest Management division head Jeflus S. Sinajin said Bornion Timber Sdn Bhd had planted 9,770ha of high-value species, followed by Sapulut Forest Development Sdn Bhd(6,740ha), Timberwell Bhd (3,476ha), TSH Resources Sdn Bhd(2,778ha) and KTS Plantation Sdn Bhd (2,198ha) up to December last year.
He said state-owned Sabah Forest Industies Sdn Bhd, which commenced extensive tree plantation projects 30 years ago, took the lead with total plantation areas covering more than 45,400ha.
The company is involved in the cultivation of fast-growing species like acacia mangium.
“Currently, there are 20 players implementing industrial tree plantations in Sabah,” he said when presenting his paper on Sabah Experience In Forest Plantationat Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corp’s industry update.
Sinajin said Sabah Softwoods Bhd was the pioneer in commercial industrial tree plantation which started with the cultivation of 60,000ha in 1974.
This was followed by Sabah Forest Development Authority, which reforested 200,000ha of degraded land caused by shifting cultivation.
In 1987, Sabah Foundation’s commercial arm Innoprise Corp Sdn Bhdinitiated the planting of high-value timber species on 40,000ha of its concessions in Tawau.
Sabah Rubber Industry Board has planted more than 85,600ha.
He said forest plantation produced about 1.3 million cu m of timber last year.
In his presentation, Sarawak Forest Department Planted Forest Division senior assistant director Hii Tow Peck said Sarawak had established nearly 290,000ha of planted forests by both the private and public sector since 1997.
However, he said the figure represented barely 29 per cent of the state’s target of expanding its planted forests to one million ha by 2020.
Hii said to achieve the one million ha target, Sarawak needed to cultivate an average of 79,000ha a year from this year. Last year, only 12,000ha was planted.
