Conservation Program

     From the first planning phases of the Planted Forest Project, the Sarawak State Government has insisted that conservation of biodiversity be given equal footing with plantation development.

The aim of the program is to set a new precedent for best practices in conservation management and produce a model for the integration of plantation forestry and biodiversity conservation locally, nationally and regionally.

Due to the extent of the project area and the requirement for an integrated development model, the PFP provides a regionally unique opportunity for advancement of conservation knowledge and objectives.

The Forest Department has thus committed significant project resources to maintaining a balance between the development of sustainable managed forest plantations and the protection of high value conservation forest as well as to qualifying the nature of the biodiversity resources within the Planted Forest Zone.

Specifically, the Conservation Program strives to meet its objectives through the following activities:

• Biological inventories, assessment and monitoring of flora and fauna through collaboration with local, regional and international research agencies.
• Implementation of an education and awareness program with local community, school children and the general public in Bintulu district.
• Implementing and Enforcing Conservation Rules i.e. the opening and planting of land and building of roads to ensure that it will not cause damage to the soil system and watersheds areas

Within the Planted Forest Zone, substantial areas will remain as contiguous tracts of natural forest. Besides these areas, additional forest in the form of riverine vegetation, contained in an extensive network of riparian buffer zones, will be preserved. Old secondary growth within the Planted Forest provides protection and food sources to wildlife. By and large, all these areas combined contain many endemic, rare and endangered species of plants and animals. Close cooperation with leading biologists from various institutions is painting a more definitive picture of these populations and their health