Sustainable forest management and development will remain the main emphasis for this period. A National Committee on Sustainable Forest Management in Malaysia was established in 1994. Based on consultation amongst State representatives, the National Committee had identified a total of 92 activities based on the 5 criteria and 27 indicators of ITTO to be implemented at the national level, and 84 activities based on 6 criteria and 23 indicators of ITTO at the forest management unit (FMU) level. In this regard, the due implementation of the Malaysian Criteria, Indicators and Activities for Sustainable Forest Management (MC&I) for the period 1997-2000 in particular would be critical and of prime priority as Malaysia moves towards achieving the ITTO Year 2000 Objective. In addition, forest certification and timber labelling are expected to become an integral component of forest resource management and development. It is envisaged that more intensive forest management will be carried out in the coming years, particularly with the increasing emphasis now being placed on tropical forest with regard to its sustainable management, conservation and development. Efforts will also be undertaken by Malaysia to facilitate the full implementation of the UN Non-legally Binding Authoritative Statement of Principles for a Global Consensus on the Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development of All Types of Forests, and the obligations as required under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.
A Land Use Master Plan is expected to be formulated as the current land use delineation does not adequately address the need for environmental protection and the maintenance of ecological balance. In this context, a common forest classification system in the context of sustainable forest management and conservation with agreed definitions would be developed.
In addition, the National Forestry Policy, 1978 (Revised 1992) and the National Forestry Act, 1984 (Amended 1993) will be reviewed periodically to assess their adequacy, and where necessary, these documents will be further revised/amended to ensure that the forest resource is managed sustainably.
Non-wood forest produce and the protective and environmental functions of the forest are expected to be accorded higher priority during this period. Amongst the main focuses are the development of rapid assessment techniques for the complete appraisal of the biological resources of the forest, methodologies for ascribing economic values to them, the formulation of nationally agreed biogeographic areas for the conservation of biological diversity and the completeness of representations of the various forest ecosystems.
In the field of national accounting, methodologies for the internalization of the full replacement costs, as well as the environmental and social costs in the prices of forest products, and the inclusion of the cost of forest depletion are expected to be developed.
As the current installed capacity of the wood-based industry exceeds supply in Peninsular Malaysia, the establishment of new primary processing mills will be controlled while the existing mills will be encouraged to increase efficiency and recovery with greater emphasis towards the processing of small-sized timber and the under-utilized timber species. On the other hand, the setting up of small-scale rural based industries using other forest produces such as rattan and bamboo will be promoted so as to enhance the socio-economic development of the rural areas.
