KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Forestry Department is formulating a statewide 25-year  Forest Master Plan as a guide to pave the direction of the state's long-term forest  resources management.  

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji Haji Noor said the Plan, In line with the  Sabah Forest Policy 2018 will focus not only on forest reserves but also forest areas  within state land and alienated lands.  

He said the State Forestry Department has taken various proactive measures to protect  Sabah's forest, and since 1997, the Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) concept has  been fully implemented in Sabah. 

"Sustained efforts in creating a balance of socio-economic development and  environmental conservation through rationalisation of land use should be continuously  implemented as an alternative new and sustainable income generation for Sabah. 

"This includes exploring various initiatives which can support forest conservation  programme through non-timber-based income generation (Forest Beyond Timber)," he  said at the Heart of Borneo International Conference: An Ecosystem That Provides at  the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) here today. 

Deputy Chief Minister I/Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Industry Datuk Seri  Panglima Dr Jeffrey Kitingan read his speech. 

Hajiji said the Sabah Government is committed towards the conservation of its natural  resources through protected areas in line with the objectives of the Heart of Borneo  Initiative.  

"I am happy to see that the International Conference on HoB today has brought together  various stakeholders and individuals from all over the world to work together in  environmental conservation efforts. 

"Since the declaration of the Heart of Borneo Initiative in 2007, the Sabah Government,  through the Sabah Forestry Department, has made much progress in conservation. 

"More than 27 per cent of the State's land area or about 2.0 million hectares have been  gazetted as Totally Protected Areas (TPAs), and 75 per cent of the TPAs are located  within the boundaries of Sabah's Heart of Borneo," he said. 

The Chief Minister said in line with the Sabah Government's development roadmap, Hala  Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ), the Sabah Government is also committed to expanding  the size of the TPA to 30 per cent of Sabah's land area by 2025. 

Sabah, he said is also committed to supporting the United Nation's Sustainable  Development Goal (SDG) for enhanced climate actions and will continue to promote the  strong linkages between climate change and sustainable development whilst  mainstreaming climate change-related actions into Sabah's development agenda.  

"Sabah is also committed to implementing necessary mitigation actions, as well as  adaptation actions, across all sectors to support the Nationally Determined Contribution  (NDC) that Malaysia has set under the Paris Agreement by 2030," he said.  

In this regard, Hajiji said the Sabah Government has established the Sabah Climate  Action Council (SCAC) to set the direction and coordinate climate change mitigation and  adaptation-related projects at the State level.  

"All conservation efforts, starting from protection, restoration, management and up to  mainstreaming forest conservation and biodiversity protection, are emphasised," he  added. 

Hajiji said all these efforts require cooperation and collaboration from various parties  consisting of government agencies, non-government organisations (NGOs), private  sectors and industries, institutes of higher learning, and local communities.  

"It is important that we continue to engage and work together as well as collaborate with  new partners. To date, Sabah has collaborated with various implementing partners  through 110 Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) and Memoranda of Agreement (MoA).  

"Today will see six more memoranda of understanding added to the list of conservation  partners," he said. 

He also thanked the Federal Government, particularly the Ministry of Natural Resources,  Environment and Climate Change (NRECC), for its strong support of the HoB Initiative.  

Since 2009, some RM48 million has been disbursed to Sabah for the implementation of  the HoB Initiative and under the 12th Malaysian Plan, the Federal Government has  pledged another RM13 million for the initiative, he said. 

Ends