BINTULU 10 Dec - The Sarawak Government has appointed UPM Bintulu Campus as a forestry research hub for Sarawak with a funding grant of RM10.95 million, to ensure the continuity of research and forest resource management efforts.

Chief Minister Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg when announcing the grant said the implementation of the collaboration involved three phases to develop sustainable capabilities and skills as well as enable relevant research to be carried out.

"I will instruct the Sarawak Economic Planning Unit (EPU) to issue funds as grants to the Sarawak Forest Department (JHS) and JHS will provide the funds according to the level of research progress implemented," he said. The Sarawak Chief Minister said this in his keynote address while officiating the 2021 International Conference on Forest Resource Management here today.

The two-day virtual and physical conference was jointly organized by the Sarawak Forest Department (JHS) and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Bintulu Campus and was attended by 157 participants and 22 presenters from various countries including Japan, Singapore and Italy.

The allocation of research hub funds from the Sarawak State Government is in line with and further strengthens the direction of Universiti Putra Malaysia referring to the UPM Strategic Plan 2021-2025 on its second goal which is to create a Research and Innovation Hub that Generates Sustainable Ecosystem-Based Value.

In the same context, Abang Johari said, the Sarawak government is studying new revenue streams from forest resources through Ecosystem Service Payments (PES).

According to him, new approaches such as the carbon offset project will help the public or local communities benefit from forests as a source of clean water.

“Arranging payments for benefits provided by forests, fertile land, protection of wetlands and other natural ecosystems is a way to recognize their value and ensure these benefits continue well into the future.

"Following the declining revenue from natural resource management, various PES have emerged as potential sustainable funding sources for conservation," he said.

Abang Johari said Sarawak's main goal was to develop a portfolio of conservation best practices and a holistic approach to forestry in the state, adding that the state had so far acquired a total of 1.3 million hectares of certified natural forests.

Meanwhile, the two-day forres2021 conference provided an opportunity for participants to discuss the future direction of forestry, especially the situation in the tropics during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the same time is to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined by the United Nations (UN).

In addition, the conference was held hybrid involving participants from the public and private sectors, environmental organizations, non -governmental organizations, scientific bodies and forestry associations in discussing best practices of forest resource management given the current global scenario.

The Chief Minister of Sarawak also paid a working visit to the campus in UPMKB, Sarawak. Also present was the Minister of Utilities of Sarawak, Yang Berhormat Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Anak Utom; Minister in the Sarawak Chief Minister's Department (Integrity and Ombudsman), Datuk Talib Zulpilip; Chairman of LPU UPM, Tengku Syarif Laksamana Perlis, Dato 'Seri DiRaja Syed Razlan Syed Putra Jamalullai, Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Prof. Dr Mohd Roslan Sulaiman and Director of UPMKB, Prof. Dr Shahrul Razid Sarbini.

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Date of Input: 13/12/2021 | Updated: 27/04/2022 | lanz