New Straits Times 24 Mar 14;
SIBU: Sarawak has dismissed claims and criticism by international non-governmental organisations of the state's orangutan being threatened by logging and new oil palm plantations.
The state's Second Resource Planning and Environment Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan said the two orangutan habitats in the state, in Batang Ai in the Sri Aman Division and Sebuyau, had been turned into totally protected areas (TPA).
"Logging and agricultural activities are disallowed in these TPA, and this is totally controlled. In fact, we have even expanded the areas for the orangutan in the TPA.
"As such, any criticism of the orangutan being under any threat is based purely on assumption,"
Awang Tengah said logging and oil palm plantations were confined to areas outside its habitats.
"Under the Sarawak land utilisation policy, the state government had allocated one million hectares as TPA, which included national parks, and six million hectares as permanent forest reserve.
"Altogether, seven million hectares have been allocated for forestry, which is almost 60 per cent of the 12.4 million-hectare acreage of Sarawak." Bernama
