For a long time, the forest and forest industry sector has been an important foreign-exchange earner for Sarawak. However, the forest areas has declined at an alarming rate. According to Global Forest Watch (GFW) from 2001 to 2020, Malaysia lost 8.39Mha of tree cover, equivalent to a 29% decrease in tree cover since 2000, and 4.82Gt of CO₂e emissions. During this period Sarawak had accounted for the most tree cover loss at 3.04Mha. With this policy makers have identified the need to shift towards environmentally sustainable economic growth. Chief Minister Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg in a recent event urged the need to balance the demand of the environment, as well as the demand for the economy to move forward. He also said, “Our land-use policy, as well as our forestation, including replanting of forest and also the idea of carbon trading will be included in our future economic strategies.” (The Malaysian Reserve).
Therefore, it is essential that all stakeholders are harmonized on the way forward for Sarawak’s forest industry. Accordingly Control Union (CU), a global leader in Forest Certification will be hosting a webinar on “Future-Proofing Sarawak Forestry through Sustainability” in collaboration with Forest Department Sarawak, FSC Malaysia, Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC), WWF-Malaysia and Malaysia HR Forum on 15th February 2022. The Webinar aims to bring together all relevant forestry stakeholders to review and analyse key challenges facing the sector and ways to address these.
The event is to be officiated by YB Datuk Amar Haji Awang Tengah Ali Hasan Deputy Chief Minister of Sarawak cum Second Minister of Urban Development and Natural Resources, & Minister of International Trade and Investment, Sarawak who will also deliver the Keynote address.
The webinar aims to the exchange of views and experiences on all aspects of forests and forestry-based certifications, which may lead to the formulation of broad recommendations applicable at national and regional levels. The event also provides an opportunity to produce an overview of the sector, in order to discern trends, adapt policies, create awareness in decision-makers, and influence public opinion. Given the high number of participants expected, it intends to be a valuable forum for strengthening the role of forests in general as well as in the context of critical environmental, economic and social issues and taking into account the developments in the global sustainable development agenda in Future-Proofing Sarawak Forestry Industry.
The webinar will include half a day of online sessions including keynote and plenary addresses, as well as a panel discussion. Plenary addresses will feature both research-based talks featuring prominent scientists, and more pragmatic, real-world presentations featuring prominent practitioners or policymakers from industry, government, and NGOs.
Event details:
Date: 15 February 2022
Time: 2pm-6pm
Medium: Remote Online Via MS Teams
Organizer: Control Union
Enclosed herewith Keynote Speaker & Plenary list as invited
Keynote: YB Datuk Amar Haji Awang Tengah Ali Hasan Deputy Chief Minister of Sarawak cum Second Minister of Urban Development and Natural Resources, & Minister of International Trade and Investment, Sarawak
Plenary Speakers
1. Mr. Abg Ahmad Bin Abg Morni, Deputy Director (Forest Management); Forest Department Sarawak
2. Mr. Supun Nigamuni; General Manager, Control Union Malaysia
3. Ms. Charmaine Chee, Country Manager, Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®); FSC
4. Ms. Siti Syaliza Mustapha, Chief Executive Officer, Malaysian Timber Certification Council; MTCC
5. Mr. Arulkumar Singaraveloo, Co-Founder, Malaysia HR Forum
6. Ms. Annie Ting, Chief Executive Officer, Sarawak Timber Association; STA
7. Dr. Jason Hon, Head of Conservation Sarawak, WWF-Malaysia
Registration is now open here. The press release is available to download here.