Kugan handing over the report to Safar.
The revenue collected from timber royalty and other charges in 2024 was RM171 million.
This is a significant increase of RM16 million, compared to 2023
KOTA KINABALU : – The Chief Conservator of Forests, Datuk Frederick Kugan, presented the 288-page 2024 Annual Report of the Sabah Forestry Department (SFD) to the State Secretary Datuk Seri Safar Untong representing ths Chief Minister of Sabah during the States Forestry Appreciation Ceremony in Kota Kinabalu on 9 May, 2025.
The report showcases all project implementations, activities and achievements of the department throughout the year.
It is the Key Performance Index (KPI) or the report card of the department.
Many activities were implemented with achievements accomplished in 2024.
The department hosted the 20th Malaysian Forestry Conference, held in Kota Kinabalu in October 2024, and was officiated by the Chief Minister of Sabah.
Sabahs Mangrove Action Plan was launched during the conference.
The department has also been invited to numerous international, national and state events to showcase the success in forest management, protection, and conservation efforts.
Some of the events are the ASEAN Sustainable Agriculture & Food Security (ASEAN SAFS) Forum 2024, the Southeast Asia Biodiversity Workshop, the Sabah International Blue Economy Conference (SIBEC) 2024, the International Conference on Biodiversity, Agroforestry, Non-Wood Forest Products and Sustainable Livelihoods, and the Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Forest Landscape Restoration 2024.
Various programmes were conducted to enhance public awareness and knowledge on the importance of tree planting, as a step to preserve and conserve Sabahs forests.
Sabah has planted 23 million trees thus far, under the Greening Malaysia Campaign.
To date, about 63% or 4.6 million hectares of Sabahs landmass is still forested, with 2 million hectares or 27% as Totally Protected Areas, in line with the departments vision towards the realization of sustainable forest management.
The revenue collected from timber royalty and other charges in 2024 was RM171 million.
This is a significant increase of RM16 million, compared to 2023. In diversifying contributions and revenue from forests, carbon has been incorporated in the Forest Enactment 1968 as one of the forest produces.
The department is tasked to house the Green House Gases (GHG) Unit for two years to support the States climate change agenda.
This is a legacy, initiated by the department, to build capacity on climate change in a span of two years, beginning with the GHG Unit and would eventually evolve into a department or ministry.
The department was appointed as the Permanent Secretariat of the Sabah Climate Action Council (SCAC).
The Sabah Timber Legality Assurance (Sabah TLAS) is currently being revised, to align with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and the European Union Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (EU CS3D) requirements.
This is to allow the Sabah timber industry flexibility to enter international markets, particularly the EU market. On forest plantation target, some 178,000 hectares have been established.
It is important to encourage the timber industry players in Sabah to tranform the timber industry by exploring the Economic Value Chain (EVC) concept, which integrates both upstream and downstream sectors.
