KUCHING, Oct 13 — Sarawak is currently working on the final draft of the Revised Sarawak Heart of Borneo (Sarawak HoB) Project Implementation Framework, said Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan.

According to him, the draft will be handled by the Sarawak Forestry Department (SFD) which acts as the secretariat for the Sarawak HoB.

"This document, a revised version of the Sarawak HoB Implementation Framework 2009, will guide the prioritisation and implementation of programmes and activities within the HoB region up to year 2030.

"It is not intended to replace the earlier 2009 framework but rather serves as an updated and supplementary document to it,” he said in his speech read by Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Urban Development Datuk Len Talif Salleh at an event to inaugurate a HoB Seminar at a hotel here.

He added that after more than a decade of implementation of the HoB Initiative in Sarawak, the state government has implemented various programmes and projects with federal funding.

Meanwhile during a press conference after the ceremony, Len said the review needed to take into account Sarawak’s rapid development to achieve the Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030.

He added there was a need to update the programme’s approach and to connect with the local community in the HoB area.

"We need people in Sarawak to understand how HoB benefits them if they are involved in this initiative. This review is only for HoB areas in Sarawak and Sabah will do the same,” he said.

He emphasised that implementing the HoB initiative in Sarawak must be in line with the existing state development policy and agenda, which include development corridors, digital economy initiatives, rural transformation programmes and other state socio-economic agendas.

"This includes efforts to restore forest areas with high-value timber species, especially in the Permanent Forest Area (PFE), as well as supporting Malaysia’s goal of planting 100 million trees,” he said, suggesting that industrial forest plantations in degraded areas can also be included in the HoB Initiative plan to pursue the objective.

The HoB Initiative is a voluntary trans-boundary cooperation aiming at conserving and managing the transboundary highlands of Borneo and parts of the adjacent foothills and lowlands, which straddle the borders of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Malaysia.

The HoB approximately covers 200,000 square kilometres of ecologically inter-connected rainforest in the island of Borneo.

The state governments of Sarawak and Sabah have identified areas of approximately 3.9 million hectares and 2.1 million hectares respectively for HoB, which approximately covers 60,000 square kilometres.

Sarawak has received funding from the federal government since 2009 for the HoB initiative and the state government has contributed funding for various projects and activities implemented by the various government agencies under the initiative.

Also present during the event were SFD director Datu Hamden Mohammad and other officials. — Borneo Post Online