Source : The Borneo Post
Date : 9th Sept 1993
Dateline : Kuching
By : Aden Nagrace
"M'sia Has Right to Develop its Forests"
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KUCHING,Wed. - Malaysia has the right to develop and utilise its tropical
forest but with a sustainable forest management, an ambassador from
Switzerland, Nicholas Imboden said today.
"We are not of the opinion that Malaysia has to pay, in the sense of keeping
its forest reserve for the pollution that we have made in the North," he
stressed.
Nicholas, the Ambassador for Trade Ageements, was speaking in a press
conference upon arriving from Bintulu after visiting Penan settlements at
Long Kevok and Sg.(river) Binyo in the Miri Division.
He was accompanied by Swiss forest engineer Jurgen Blaser and an officer
from the Sarawak State Forest Department.
"We have all the advantages and disadvantages, and I think we should try to
talk to each other on how we can make use of most of the natural resources
in total, and that's the purpose of our visit here."
He said that the purpose of his and his six-member delegation's visit was
"to explore by ourselves the tropical rainforest here."
His delegates include two members of parliament, a parliamentary secretary
and a TV crew from the Swiss television.
They also wanted to find out whether there was any possibility for
discussion between the Swiss and Malaysian or Sarawak Governments about
logging activities and tropical forest in Sarawak, he added.
He said this visit was upon invitation by the State Government.
Asked on what was his view about logging activity and the tropical forest of
Sarawak prrior to his visit here, Imboden did not reply specifically, but
said that there was much discussion of logging needs and how to save the
tropical forest.
"Many people have different opinion and therefore, it is important for us to
come here to have a first-hand look and information on the real situation,"
he added.
Imboden, who is also an active member of ITTO, disclosed that basically
there were two major different opinions among the Swiss about Sarawak's
forest and logging activities.
"One is those who are concerned about the tropical forest in general and
whether the tropical forest can be maintained not only in Sarawak but
anywhere else in the world. Second is the old question of the Penan as to
whether they are treated in an acceptable way or not by logging companies
and what is happening in the forest where they live."
Asked on logging activities in Sarawak, Imboden, who admited he was not a
specialist on tropical forest, said that he was impressed that the logging
activity was done in an orderly and proper manner.
He said if the Swiss Government was really of the opinion that a tropical
forest should and could be utilised in a sustainable way, that "was also the
objective of your government."
However, he said he could not say whether the Sarawak Government had achieve
the level of sustainable management or not.
Nevertheless, he noted the great effort made by government to achieve it.
Imboden also said he was impressed with the government's effort in providing
the services to the Penan community in Long Kevok, adding that the medical
services were excellent.
He hoped such effort would be one of the ways to integrating the Penan into
a modern society without losing their identity and culture.
He said that he choose to visit Sarawak instead of other countries because
of the publicity thrown up and because they wanted to find out what the real
problem was.
Saying that there were rooms for improvement in forest management in the
State, Imboden added that "the problems brought by logging activities in
Canada is definitely worse than in Sarawak."
He commended the use of helicopters in the logging, saying that it helped
to reduce damage to the forest.
On whether the bad publicity churned up by environmentalist Bruno Manser was
influencing the Swiss opinion, he said it affected the people emotionally.
He said Bruno Manser believed that he was doing good for the Penan. "The
Swiss may not agree to what he is doing but they believe that Bruno was
doing what he thinks is right."
-END
--- * Origin: Asia Pacific Solidarity - Sarawak (90:600/108)--