Part II
COUNTRY BRIEFS (continued)

MALAYSIA (continued)

B-SABAH (continued)

Other forest products

A detailed breakdown of wood production into various forms (including poles, firewood, charcoal, etc. is given in the following table:

Out turn of logs, other timber and fuel (13)

1.1.3 Present situation of the growing stock

The forest inventory carried out during 1969–72 is still the basic source of information on growing stock. As has been mentioned earlier, whole of Sabah, for the purposes of this survey, was divided into seven survey units and a number of strata as indicated below (6) (7):

The volume/ha observed in various strata was as follows:

Distribution of total gross volume (m³/ha) of all species in survey units by strata ¹

¹ Volume in m³ under bark for trees > 17.5 cm (or 7") DBH up to 10 cm (or 4") top diameter or crown point whichever is earlier

The composition of total volume by main species groups is given in the following table:

Volume contribution by main species ¹

¹ Stemwood volume underbark of trees more than 17.5 cm or 7" DBH up to 10 cm top diameter.

In the case of mangrove forests the survey shows an average stocking of 75 m³/ha. This includes all the species. Since the time of last survey considerable changes have taken place. The following table presents an estimate of the growing stock at end 1980.

Growing stock estimated at end 1980
(in million m³)

Following remarks are necessary for a correct interpretation of the above table:

• the measurements made by the inventory carried out during 1969–72 refer to the volume underbark of trees more than 17.5 cm (7") DBH up to 10 cm (4") top diameter or crown point, which ever is earlier. To express it as volume over bark of trees more than 10 cm DBH (here termed as VOB) two factors have been applied: (i) a factor of 1.12 to obtain the volume of trees more than 10 cm DBH from the volume given (i.e. for trees more than 17.5 cm DBH) and (ii) a factor of 1.08 to convert the underbark volume into overbark volume. The composite value of the two factors is 1.21;

• the volumes per ha reported refer to stocked forest areas. To account for unstocked areas this has to be reduced by 15%. Thus we get two values for VOB: 313 m³/ha to be applied to stratified areas obtained from aerial photo-interpretation and 266 m³/ha with reference to gross forest areas without any stratification. In this study a value of 313 m³/ha is being used as the area information given earlier refers to stocked forests;

• a value of 90 m³/ha has been assumed for the volume actually commercialized, termed here as VAC. This is based on the assumption that the volume extracted presently at the time of first logging is of the order of 70 m³/ha followed by volume yield of 20 m³/ha at the time of second logging within the assumed cycle of 60 years;

• in the case of logged over forests (NHCf1uc) VOB/ha is assumed to be half that of the virgin forests (NHCf1uv);

• the reported volume/ha in the case of mangrove forests is 75 m³/ha; this has been reduced by half to account for the past logging;

• the volume/ha in the case of beach/fresh water swamps and immature forests (viz. 60 m³/ha) are crude estimates only.

1.2 Plantations

1.2.1 Introduction

The first record of plantations in Sabah dates back to 1921, when an area of half an hectare was planted with teak (Tectona grandis) in Sibuga Forest Reserve. By end of 1965, the reported area of plantations was 127 ha (318 acres) and by end 1975 the area increased to 800 ha (2 000 acres). The most preferred coniferous species was Pinus caribaea; others being Araucaria cunninghami, A. hunsteinii and Pinus merkusii. Main broadleaved species was Eucalyptus deglupta, the others being Acacia mangium and Albizia falcataria. The plantations so far were of experimental nature; results reported being rather disappointing except for Eucalyptus deglupta.

A joint venture company, known as Sabah Softwood Sdn Bhd. was established in December 1973 to plant softwoods for use in the paper processing industry. It started planting in 1975 and plans to cover about 50 000 ha by 1990.

A government statutory body known as Sabah Development Authority (SAFODA) has been created recently to strengthen afforestation activities. It plans to start planting by 1981 and achieve a target of 120 000 ha by 1998.

1.2.2 Areas of established plantations

Industrial plantations

Progress made by end 1980 was as follows:

Areas of established industrial plantations by end 1980
(in thousand ha)

¹ The target refers to 1975 only

Other plantations

As referred to earlier, there are some plantations raised by the Forest Department, which are mostly of experimental nature. The estimated total area by end 1980 is less than 1 000 ha.

1.2.3 Plantations characteristics

The available information is very limited: the plantations raised by Sabah Softwoods are planned to be harvested at 10-year rotations. The expected yield per ha at the end of the rotation period is 160 m³ or a mean annual increment of 16 m³/ha/year. The plantations to be raised by SAFODA are expected to be worked on a 15-year rotation.

The following information is extracted from FAO (18):

“Sabah Softwoods is the most successful venture. This project reflects the potentials for good management in reafforestation. At the outset Pinus caribaea Mor. var. hondurensis Barr. and Golf. was especially favoured together with Albizia falcataria Fosberg, Eucalyptus deglupta Blume and Gmelina arborea L. However, Sabah is potentially a major grower of cocoa, oil palm and rubber, therefore considerable care must be taken not to import any of the many serious diseases on the cash crops. There is a phytosanitary embargo on seeds from Central America and Africa; it is therefore difficult to import P. caribaea var. hondurensis and Gmelina arborea from their best known sources. Despite these problems the project progressed with other species adding the lesser known Acacia mangium Willd. later. A number of changes have occurred since the early days of the project and open-ended management planning has permitted significant progress despite these. One exceptionally important decision was made in the late 1970's: this was to diversify into agricultural cash crops utilizing valuable forest tree species as shade. In providing this cash flow situation for forest tree planting Sabah Softwoods are demonstrating the importance of integrated agricultural and forest tree planting giving optimum land use to an extensive tract of land. Much of this would be under a less than productive cover if it were not for the foresight of this joint venture”.

“SAFODA is faced with a different situation and have two serious constraints. As a new government authority it has the problem of assembling qualified and experienced staff; coupled with this is the problem of finding land on which to establish the plantations. Initially planting was confined to degraded lalang grasslands in the Kota Belud area and on the Sook plains using P. caribaea var. hondurensis and A. mangium. An increase in the value of rattan has stimulated interest in the planting of cotan sega (Calamus caesius Blume), irit (Calamus trachycoleus Becc.) and manau (Calamus manau Miq.) mainly in the logged over forests”.

As more land becomes available the number of forest tree species for planting will be increased and agriculture species such as nutmeg, etc. will be included.

2. Present trends

2.1 Natural woody vegetation

2.1.1 Deforestation

There are two main contributing factors to deforestation: (i) increase of shifting cultivation and (ii) transfer of land for permanent cultivation. Increase of area under shifting cultivation could be attributed to demand for more land to support the increasing population of shifting cultivators and/or replacement for land which have been exhausted due to repeated shifting cultivation.

A report from the Forest Department (8) quotes an area of 1 052 000 ha under shifting cultivation. Keeping in view the year of aerial photography, the base year for this figure is being taken as 1970. This information has been updated assuming that the area under shifting cultivation would increase in direct proportion to the increase of population. This would happen if the food production per unit area under shifting cultivation does not change and suitable land is available for the purpose.

Based on existing reports ((2) (14)) the development of indigenous population involved in shifting cultivation is expected to be as follows:

According to the above, the average annual rate of deforestation due to shifting cultivation during 1975–80 comes to 36 000 ha and that during 1980–85 42 000 ha.

The transfer of land for permanent agriculture has been estimated based on the current trends. A report submitted at the 8th World Forestry Congress (14) quotes areas under main agriculture crops in 1970 and 1975 as 230 000 ha and 273 000 ha respectively. According to the agricultural statistics (9) (19) total agricultural area increased from 331 000 to 399 000 ha during the period 1975–78. The two sources indicate the rate of annual increase of area under agriculture during 1970–75 as 3.5% and that during 1975–78 as 6.5%. It appears most likely that the current trend (i.e. 6.5% rate of transfer from forest to agriculture land) would continue till 1985. Based on this assumption, the projected values obtained are as follows:

The estimated rates of deforestation, based on data presented earlier, is summarized in the following tables:

Average annual deforestation
(in thousand ha)

The following comments on the above tables are necessary:

• the total area deforested annually during 1976 –80 and 1981 –85 has been obtained by summing up the area losses due to shifting cultivation and due to transfer of land for permanent agriculture projected earlier;

• it is estimated that the deforested area is derived from the forest type “others”.

2.1.2 Degradation

An area of about 95 000 ha of unused land and 135 000 ha of grassland are reported in the landuse statistics of Sabah for the year 1970. The present status of these cover types, most likely, is due to bad landuse in the past.

FAO study (16) indicates extensive damage during logging in Sabah. Areas of forest, ranging from 14–40% are made bare of forest growth by tractor tracks and landings (loading areas) in the felling coupes. There is significant damage to natural regeneration and advance growth.

2.1.3 Trends in forest utilization

Sabah supply of wood, standing at a peak of 10 million m³ in 1980, is expected to steadily decline during 81–85 and reach a level of 7.5 million m³ by 1985 (17). There is, however, a prospect of yield from plantations raised by Sabah Softwoods: starting from a production of 0.3 million m³ in 1982 it is expected to reach a steady level of yield of the order of 0.6 million m³/year by 1985 (17). This yield will be mainly composed of light hardwoods such as Eucalyptus, Albizia and Acacia mangium and will be of much smaller dimensions than those which the industry is currently handling.

2.1.4 Areas and growing stock at end 1985

The expected areas and growing stock of Sabah by end 1985 are presented in the following two tables:

Area of natural woody vegetation at end 1985
(in thousand ha)

Growing stock estimated at end 1985
(in million m³)

The average volume/ha figures for various classes are available in the table giving growing stock by end 1980. For VAC a value of 100 m³/ha has been assumed as compared to a value of 90 m³/ha for 1980 table. This is based on the FAO report (17).

2.2 Plantations

SAFODA (Sabah Forest Development Authority) plans to step up its plantation activities and cover an area of 70 000 ha during 1981–85. It intends to make use of the experience gained by Sabah softwoods plantations in respect of choice of species, spacing, rotation etc.

Another agency Silam Forest products, which have a major investment in a veneer plant, plans to raise plantations on 15-year rotation for supply of peeler logs. Presently they have established trial plantations of 160 ha.

Most of the plantations, which are planned, are intended for industrial use. In view of decline of yield from the natural forests, the stress on plantations is expected to increase in future.

Areas of established industrial plantations estimated at end 1985
(in thousand ha)

¹ assuming a 70% rate of successful implementation

Bibliography

(1) Nicholson D.I. 1958 “An Analysis of Logging Damage in Tropical Rain Forest, North Borneo” - Mal. For. XXI (4)

(2) UNDP 1966 “The Development of the Labuk Valley, Sabah: Malaysia” - Development and Resource Corporation - New York

(3) Fox J.E.D. 1968 “Logging Damage and the Influence of Climber Cutting Prior to Logging in Lowland Dipterocarp Forests of Sabah” - Mal. For. XXXI (4)

(4) Forestry Department 1968 “Sabah National Progress Report” - Asia Pacific Forestry Commission

(5) Forest Department 1972 “Manual for Silviculture for Use in the Productive Forest Estate” - Sabah Forest Record No. 8 - Sabah

(6) Forest Department 1972 “Sabah Forest Development Study Phase III. Economic Evaluation” - A report prepared for Canadian International Development Agency

(7) Udarbe, M.P. 1972 “The Implications of Forest Resource Inventory on Forest Development in Sabah” - Mal. For. XXXV No. 4

(8) Forest Department 1974 “Sabah Forest Statistics” - Kota Kinabalu

(9) Agriculture Department 1975 “Agricultural Statistics” - Kota Kinabalu

(10) Forest Department 1975 “Annual Report of the Forest Department 1975 - Sabah” - Kota Kinabalu

(11) Chai D.N.P. and Udarbe M.P. 1977 “The Effectiveness of Current Silvicultural Practice in Sabah” - Mal. For. 40 (1)

(12) Forest Department 1977 “Forest Resources of Sabah” - Asean Seminar on Tropical Rain Forest Management - 7–10 November 1977 Kuantan, Malaysia

(13) Forest Department 1977 “Sabah Forest Statistics” - Kota Kinabalu

(14) Forest Department 1978 “Country Report - 8th World Forestry Congress” - Kota Kinabalu

(15) Fox J.E.D. 1978 “The Natural Vegetation of Sabah, Malaysia 1. The Physical Environment and Classification” - Tropical Ecology Vol. 19 No. 2

(16) FAO 1979 “The Effects of Logging and Treatment on the Mixed Dipterocarp Forests of South East Asia” - based on the work of D.I. Nicholson - FO:MISC/79/8 - Rome

(17) FAO 1980 “Prospects for Developing the Domestic Wood Sector in Sabah” - based on the work of Roger J.N. Busby - FO:MAL/77/016 Field document 5 - Kota Kinabalu

(18) FAO 1980 “Forest Tree Planting Trends in Sabah” - a paper prepared by Norman Jones (MAL/78/009) for Seminar on Sabah Forest Management held in Kota Kinabalu

(19) FAO 1980 “Annual Questionnaire for the Production Yearbook - 1978” (computer printoutputs for the year 1975 and 1980) - FAO - Rome

MALAYSIA

C- SARAWAK

Sarawak is situated on the north-west coast of the island of Borneo, between the latitudes 0°50' and 5° north and longitudes 109°35' and 115°40' east. It is bordered to the north and west by the South China Sea, to the south by the Indonesian state of Kalimantan, and to the east by the Malaysian state of Sabah. It also surrounds, on the landward side, the state of Brunei. The total land area of Sarawak is 124 449 km² (48 050 square miles) with a length of 740 km (460 miles) and a maximum width of 257 km (160 miles).

Topographically, it is characterized by a seaward fringe of peat swamps beyond which the terrain is sharply and frequently dissected with ridges often knife edged. The major part of the interior of Sarawak lies at an altitude of less than 760 m (2 500 feet) with the higher land forming the main mountain range, the crest of which is the Sarawak/Kalimantan border. The highest point in Sarawak is Gunong Murudi at 2 420 m (7 950 feet) and which is situated on this border range. A subsidiary range, the Hose mountains, forms the watershed between the two major catchment areas, which are drained by the Rajang and Baram rivers respectively.

Because of the deeply dissected nature of the country, roads are difficult and costly to construct. Rivers form the major arteries of communication and it is in the vicinity of these that settlement occurs. The Rajang and Baram rivers, which form the main access routes into the interior, are navigable by small boats of 500 tons for 160 to 190 km (100 to 120 miles) respectively. Most major rivers, such as the Niah, Kemena, Tatau, Balingian, Mukah and Oya, are navigable by small crafts in their lower reaches.

In geologic terms, Sarawak is young and it is only in the western part of the state that outcrops are found which out-date the upper cretaceous; over much of the interioir of the state, small stream erosion in sandstone hills has resulted in a highly dissected, sharply broken land forms. The underlying geological strata, because of the tight folding, are frequently exposed at sharp angles of dip (in excess of 65°) and thus tend to be characterized by abrupt boundaries which, due to the shallow nature of the soil, may induce narrowly banded soil types creating a complexity of microsite conditions each with its associated vegetational change.

The soils are mainly clay. The sandstone-shale-greywacke rock is generally too soft for use in road construction but outcrops of limestone and igneous rock do occur and these are quarried. Frequently hard rock has to be transported far to road construction sites and this greatly increases costs.

Sarawak has a climate which is typical of the humid tropics, with the following characteristics:

1. mean air temperatures ranging from 26 to 29°C (79°–84°F) with the absolute minimum and maximum temperatures as recorded at Kuching airport for the period 1963 to 1971, being 19° and 35°C (66° and 95°F);

2. diurnal temperature changes are normally 5–8°C (9°–14°F) over grass and several degrees less under forest cover;

3. mean annual rainfall of 3 000–4 000 mm (120–160 inches) over the greater part of the country and humidity constantly high. The area of lowest mean annual rainfall - 2 000 mm (80 inches)- is approximately mid-way between Bintulu and Miri Guite, near the coast.

The climate is dominated by the north-east monsoon which starts in November and lasts until March. This is a period of heavy and persistent rain accompanied, in the coastal areas, by strong winds. In the inland areas, the rainfall between March to October is relatively light at 120–150 mm (five to six inches) per month. The actual rainfall varies considerably from area to area and is sufficiently frequent and heavy to constitute a major constraint to road construction and to the use and maintenance of roads. It is also a problem to be faced in the planning and phasing of logging operations.

The reported total population of the state in 1970 was 975 000 and its growth rate between 2.8 and 3.0% (1). The projected figures for 1980 and 1985 are as follows:

The urban population constituted about 21.1% of the total population in 1970. The population density on an average was 52 persons per km², the predominant occupation sector being agriculture, forestry and fisheries, which accounted for 81.4% of the economically active population in the reported year.

It is estimated that some 50 000 households, involving some 266 000 people, were engaged in shifting cultivation in 1977 (8).

1. Present situation

1.1 Natural woody vegetation

1.1.1 Description of the vegetation types

Major forest types of Sarawak and their estimated areas around 1966, based on (11) are given in the following table:

Forest area by types

Closed broadleaved forests (NHC)

- Mixed dipterocarp forest is the main forest type of Sarawak constituting around 78.6% of the total forest area and having the greatest potential for wood-based industrial development. It occupies most of the area from the inland limit of the freshwater peat swamps, to the lower limit of the montane forests. In its primary state, this forest generally consists of:

1. emergent trees of some 60 m (200 feet) in height;

2. a dominant and co-dominant strata having a height of about 45 m (150 feet);

3. an intermediate layer of trees with canopies at between 23 to 30 m (75 to 100 feet);

4. suppressed vegetation.

In some instances, where emergent trees are rare, the forest becomes a three strata stand. Ground vegetation is of moderate density and does not seriously impede walking.

The mixed dipterocarp forest, as its name implies, is dominated by the family Dipterocarpaceae which accounts for between 65 to 80 percent of the total stemwood volume of trees having diameters in excess of 30 cm (12 inches). A significant feature of this forest type is that over wide areas, average stand volumes and volumes expressed in terms of the main commercial timber groups are remarkably uniform.

The FAO inventory (3) recorded 606 species (of which 179 were dipterocarps) from 210 genera and 61 families. Non-dipterocarps, which account for roughly 30 percent of net volume, consist of 427 species from 201 genera and 50 families, and with few exceptions, do not occur with sufficient frequency to be considered as important commercial species under existing circumstances.

The following list summarizes the species composition of the main timber groups encountered during the inventory:

Although these forests show a remarkable homogeneity at the timber group level, the distribution pattern at species level is extremely complex.

- Keranga forest is generally included as part of “hill forests” and contains trees of poor form and small size and generally located on white soils, or on beach terraces at all elevations, or on weathered steep ridges at the higher elevations. The main species are Casuarina, Agathis alba, Dacrydium, Tristania and, infrequently, Shorea albida. Contribution to the total forest area is only 3.9%.

- Riverine forest sometimes described as a distinct forest type, should be considered, more appropriately, a subtype of the mixed dipterocarp forest as suggested by recent work. Its area is insignificant.

- Peat swamp forest is of major commercial importance and forms 15.6% of the total forest area. Since 1946 it has made a major contribution to the economy of Sarawak. The main commercial species occur in two of the six subtypes of the peat forest. These are:

(i) in mixed swamp forest: ramin (Gonystylus bancanus), jongkong (Dactylocladus stenostachys), swamp merantis (Shorea uliginosa, S. teysmanniana, S. platycarpa and S. scabrida), jelutone pacsa (Dyora lowii), sepetir (Copaifera palustris), swamp kapur (Dryobalanops rappa) and (ii) in alan forest: (Shorea albida).

The swamp forests are largely depleted of the valuable ramin but still contain substantial commercial volume of other species, particularly of alan, the demand for which has shown an important increase. A significant feature of alan is its occurence in virtually pure stands over extensive areas, in what is known as alan bunga forest, where the trees are tall (46–61 m or 150–200 feet), slender (41–71 cm or 16–28 inches) and very dense.

- Mangrove forest contributes around 1.8% to the total forest area. It is found only in the more sheltered areas of the coast or in river estuaries. It is of local domestic value for poles, fuelwood and charcoal and is also a source of wood chips. The main commercial species within this forest type are of the genera Rhizophora and Bruguiera, with seaward fringe species of Avicennia and Sonneratia. Mangrove forest is worked under management plans based upon a 25 year cutting cycle.

Two types of swamp palm are also included in the mangrove forest type, which are nipah (Nypa fruticans) and nibong (Oncosperma horrida). Nipah is a general utility species providing local products such as housing thatch, sugar, alcohol, vinegar and salt. This species frequently occurs in pure stands. Nibong occurs in the drier zone of the mangrove forest and is the only palm in Sarawak valued for its wood.

- Beach forest is restricted to sandy coastal soils where it occupies strips seldom more than a hundred metres in width. The main species is Casuarina equisetifolia. Beach forest has no commercial value and its area is insignificant.

Scrub formations (nH)

Insignificant area is reported under these formations mainly occurring on rocky outcrops or degraded lands with exhausted soils.

1.1.2 Present situation of the woody vegetation

Present areas

An estimate of the area of various classes of the woody vegetation, based on the existing records of the Forest Department of Sarawak and some necessary adjustments is given in the following table.

Areas of natural woody vegetation estimated at end 1980
(in thousand ha, and, in brackets, in thousand acres)

The following remarks are necessary:

• the forest types appearing as rows in the above table correspond to the classification used by the Forest Department of Sarawak. The classes appearing as columns refer to the classification of natural woody vegetation used in this study;

• the annual report of the Forest Department of Sarawak (10) is the main source of land use and forest type area information. This in turn derives information from the land use surveys conducted by the Land and Survey Department of Sarawak, which was obtained using serial photographs taken during 1962–1966. In order to arrive at 1980 estimates, an adjustment was necessary to account for the loss of forest areas since the last survey due to shifting cultivation. The estimated losses till 1980 appear in the column “forest fallow” (NHCa). Details of the method used for this purpose are described later on. By adding up the areas of closed forests (NHCf) and forest fallow (NHCa), one would get the total forest area reported by the Department, viz. 9 433 000 ha which has been rounded off to 9 435 000 ha;

• the shifting cultivation appearing in the row refers to the area reported at the time of 1966 survey. The “unused land”, also appearing in the row, is a class of land without any specific use. It is, however, reported that it mostly contains secondary growth. Most likely these areas are abandoned shifting cultivation regions. Both the classes, viz. “shifting cultivation” and “unused land” are classified as non-forest land by the Sarawak Land and Survey Department;

• managed forest area (NHCf1m) is the sum of the mixed dipterocarp and swamp forest types covered by working plans. The actual area towards the end of 1978 was 1 974 000 ha (4 878 000 acres). It has been assumed that by the end of 1980 all licensed permanent forests would be covered by a working plan;

• the areas in the column “virgin” forest (NHCf1uv) represent residual areas obtained after subtracting the total of the other columns from the total NHC area;

• the figures for the column (unmanaged) logged over forest (NHCf1uc) are explained in detail later;

• the area of “unproductive forests for legal reasons” (NHCf2r) includes the forest area in the national parks (66 000 ha or 162 000 acres) and community forests in the mixed dipterocarp (27 000 ha or 66 000 acres) and in peat swamp forests (4 000 ha or 10 000 acres);

• the area of “unproductive forest for physical reasons” (NHCf2i) includes 1 237 000 ha (3 056 000 acres) of mountain forests above 800 m (2500 feet), 174 000 ha (429 000 acres) of mangrove and 366 000 ha (904 000 acres) of keranga forest types. These are considered to be of less interest for industrial log production.

Ownership and legal status

All the “forest land” in Sarawak belongs to the state.

There are two main legal classes - “permanent forest” and “stateland”. The permanent forests, covering 3 174 000 ha (7 842 000 acres), are under the full control of the Forest Department. The fellings are controlled under prescriptions of “working plans”. The statelands, covering 6 260 000 ha (15 468 000 acres), have somewhat unsettled status. These are partly forested and partly non-forested. Logging, in the forested “statelands”, is licensed and controlled by the Forest Department with the help of what is known as “felling plans”; however, systematic management is legally not feasible. In the non-forested and secondary growth areas, customary rights of local people exist and are exercised.

The permanent forests are further distinguished into three classes: (a) forest reserves; (b) protected forests, and (c) communal forests. Briefly, forest reserves are set aside for productive forestry and are destined to be the principal permanent sources of the country's supplies of timber and other forest produce. Entry to a forest reserve is forbidden except when a license is issued for a specific purpose. On a protected forest the law admits certain rights to the people for the taking of forest produce for domestic use and for hunting and fishing (which are not permitted in a forest reserve), while a communal forest is made for local communities to serve their domestic needs for timber, fuel and other forest produce. The law does not permit commerce in products from a communal forest.

In recent decades the progress in the constitution of permanent forests has been rather slow. From 1970 to 1978, there has been an increase of only 1.6% in area of permanent forests. In 1979 the breakdown of commercial forest areas into legal classes according to (11) was as follows:

Forest area by type and legal status ¹
(areas in thousand units)

¹ The hill forests include mixed dipterocarp and keranga forest types. A part, viz. 1 603 000 ha (3690 000 acres) of this hill forest is above 760 metres (2 500 ft) altitude. The FAO inventory report (4) states this is montane forest, of low commercial value.

Management

The forest policy of Sarawak stipulates that:

1. the Conservator of Forests is responsible to the government for the management of forest reserves and protected forests. He is to ensure that productive forests are so managed that they will provide the highest possible sustained yield of timber and other forest produce. The principle of sustained yield will apply, as far as may be possible to each district and not only to the country as a whole;

2. where protection of soils and water is the primary object of a permanent forest, the Conservator is to ensure the control of exploitation of forest produce in such manner that the protective value of the forest is not impaired;

3. officers in charge of communal forests will ensure that the felling of trees is within the limits of a possible sustained yield.

Progress of inventory

The inventory of the forest resources started in the swamp forests in the early fifties and for the hill forests in the mid sixties. A considerable impetus was given by the inventory of eight potential forest development areas in the hill under the previous FAO projet. Further inventories are undertaken by the Forest Department on a continuous basis. The following table based on (11) presents a summary of this inventory.

Areas inventoried at end 1977

1 This has been calculated by dividing the inventoried area by the total forest type area.

Growth and yield studies/silvicultural research

A number of permanent sample plots for monitoring of growth have been laid out in the mixed swamp and dipterocarp forests. A number of research experiments dealing with diagnosis of forest condition after felling, and post-logging silvicultural treatments, including investigations in the mixed dipterocarp forests on “liberation thinning”, were in progress during 1974–80.

Progress of working/felling plans

Considerable progress has been achieved since 1970 in preparation of working/felling plans for the permanent forests and the statelands as is indicated in the following table from information contained in Forest Department's Annual Reports (5), (7) and (10).

Area under working/felling plans

Silvicultural treatments

Silviculture in the mangrove forests is still under study. The total area treated in the “mixed peat swamp forest” until 1976 was 27 900 ha (69 000 acres); a further 8 500 ha (21 000 acres) and 9 300 ha (23 000 acres) were added in 1977 and 1978 respectively. The total area of forest (mixed dipterocarp and peat swamp) treated is stated to be 150 000 ha (370 000 acres in 1979".

In the hill (mixed dipterocarp) forests, the silviculture based on liberation thinning method is still under study with the assistance of FAO.

Forest utilization

The utilization of the forest is regulated by the government through forest exploitation licenses, whereby a licensee is authorized to remove trees against payments of certain fees and royalties. The situation in this regard is given in the following table based on (11). In addition, there are 49 000 ha (121 000 acres) of mangrove forests under license, not included in the table.

Licensed areas at end 1977
(areas in thousand ha and, in brackets, in thousand acres)

The following table is intended to show the progress of logging till the end of 1978 and the projected figure for 1980 based on (5) and (7).

Progress of forest utilisation in Sarawak
(in thousand ha and, in brackets, in thousand acres)

Log harvesting

In the past, log production was largely based on the plains (peat swamp forest). Recently, extraction from hill (Dipterocarp) forest, has been stepped up, and in 1978 the production from hill forest exceeded that from peat swamp forest as shown in the following table based on (8):

Forest production 1970–1978 ¹

¹ 1 Hoppus ton = 1.8027 m³; 1 ton = 1.416 m³; 8 Pikul of charcoal = 1 hoppus ton; 30 Pikul of firewood = 1 hoppus ton.

In 1978 there were 12 logging units under long term management in the hill forest. Annual logging in these units covered an area of some 30 000 ha (74 000 acres) varying from 2 000 to 4 000 ha (5 000 to 10 000 acres) in each of the units. Average log yield obtained from the hill dipterocarp forest was about 67–89 m³/ha (15–20HT/acre) according to (8).

Three more long term logging units are now being demarcated. Total area of the 15 long term logging units will be about 971 000 ha (2.4 million acres). More such units are expected to be formed in due course.

Log harvest is regulated generally by a system of selection felling based on size limits and a felling cycle.

While logging continues to be the major activity in the forestry sector, there have been developments recently in wood processing. The wood processing sector of Sarawak consists of some 135 sawmills, 3 veneer/plywood mills and 34 other (including 15 moulding/dowelfactories and one wood chip factory using mangrove wood) wood-based industrial units. Most of the wood processing facilities are now concentrated in the coastal areas for geographical (location of peat swamp forest) and economic (cheap water transport, electricity, availability of skilled labour force) reasons. But, with increased logging activities in the hill forest, some relocation/new development of processing facilities is most likely.