Tasmanians Impressed with Sarawakians Logging Practice

The logjam incident caused a bad name to the Sarawak timber industry.  'They' claimed that we are not ethical in managing our resources especially the logging activity. 

 

Here we have the Tasmanian coming up to see for themselves if we managed our forest badly.  

To my surprise, they were impressed with our forest management and logging practice.  Below is the report published in the local newspapers.

 

Tasmanian govt on mission to Sarawak
Utusan Borneo
by Zoee Hillson. Posted on October 19, 2010, Tuesday

KUCHING: The Tasmanian government is on a fact-finding mission as part of an effort to refute allegations by environmentalist against Ta Ann Holdings Berhad’s operations in the Tasmania, Australia.

FACT FINDING: Harriss (right) in a discussion with Awang Tengah (centre) and Len Talif after the courtesy call at Wisma Sumber Alam.

Member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council Andrew Paul Harriss said yesterday that allegations by some environmental groups against Ta Ann were scathing and unreasonable.

He also said the allegations were damaging to Ta Ann and the state’s timber industry as a whole.

“It’s fair to say that some environmental groups in Tasmania have been unreasonable and too critical of Ta Ann and they have tried to bring that back to forest practices in Sarawak.

“We seek to rebut that allegation based on proper information gathering and proper technical assessment,” he said when met by reporters after paying a courtesy call on Second Minister of Planning and Resource Management Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan at Wisma Sumber Alam here.

Harriss added that this was his third visit to the state to gain an insight intoTa Ann’s credibility and performance.

“So, we have a delegation here to understand exactly what Ta Ann logging practices are like in Sarawak and also the broader operation industry in Sarawak,” Harriss said.

“Ta Ann is a credible organisation and an organisation of integrity. I’m satisfied with that and this trip is just an upgrading of knowledge on the ongoing operations.

“We are satisfied with Ta Ann’s operations in the past and the information we gather this time confirms that satisfaction.”

He said they were very impressed with Ta Ann’s operations in Tasmania and added that the forest industry was the state’s fundamental economic driver.

“They’re employing many Tasmanians in the local community and 10 per cent of our total workforce in Tasmania is employed in the forest industry operations,” Harriss said.

He also said Tasmania was opening a wide opportunity for the forest industry operators from around the world, including from Sarawak.

VicForests director Robert Patrick Smith, Ta Ann Tasmania director David Riley and Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) chief executive officer Datu Len Talif Salleh were also present during the courtesy call.

 

 

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DAP Sibu behind the Logjam Disaster?

‘Logjam a man-made disaster’

by Peter Sibon. Posted on October 14, 2010, Thursday

KAPIT: Land Development Minister Dato Sri Dr James Jemut Masing has declared the recent logjam that clogged the Baleh and Rajang rivers a “man-made disaster”.

SABOTAGE: Is DAP behind all this un-natural event?

Masing warns of more such river destructions if uncontrolled logging unchecked

He said ecological devastation at Ulu Melatai, one of the tributaries of Baleh River, could be the main contributor to last week’s disaster.

However, the Baleh assemblyman said the Baleh River’s other tributaries could also have contributed to the devastation.

Baleh River has at least 10 tributaries similar to Ulu Melatai, such as Seranai and Entuloh.

“It is a man-made ecological disaster. It created a mud pool, which completely wiped out the flora and fauna in the area. This includes animals and fish,” Masing told The Borneo Post after a site visit to Ulu Melatai yesterday.

Ulu Melatai is located some 100km southeast of Kapit town and is very close to the Kalimantan border.

With Masing were political secretary to the Chief Minister Angeline Umis, Kapit District Officer Simon Japut Tiok and Kapit district councillor Tan Kian Hoo.

Masing attributed the devastation at Ulu Melatai to extensive logging with little or no control by the authorities.

“It is as if the loggers are in a hurry to clear the whole area above the proposed Baleh hydroelectric power dam, which is currently under feasibility studies,” he said.

He warned that more similar incidents could happen again if such manner of logging was allowed to continue.

Besides, he said, the soil along the Baleh tributaries was loose and heavily churned up by logging activities, which could easily turn into mudslides by prolonged heavy rain.

While the government’s policy on forest management was very clear, he said, greater implementation and enforcement were needed.

“I would like to urge the big boys to stop sub-contracting the jobs to others to prevent illegal logging and gangsterism in the area,” he said, adding that no such incident occurred when large companies operated in the area over the last three decades.

He added that this was the third such incident to happen at Baleh River, causing havoc to the local community.

The first was recorded in 2008 at Sg Ga’at, while last year a similar incident happened at Sg Tutoh.

According to him, the upper reaches of Baleh River are a very hilly and rugged terrain, making logging very dangerous. In a related incident, two people reportedly died in that area when the bridge was swept by the mudslide.

Both bodies have been found.

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