Guest guest Posted March 25, 2003 Report Share Posted March 25, 2003 ***************************Advertisement*************************** TechCentral http://star-techcentral.com ***************************************************************** This message was forwarded to you by yitzeling. Comment from sender: This article is from thestar.com.my URL: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2003/3/25/features/lihelilog2 & se\ c=features ________________________ Tuesday, March 25, 2003 Much to lose despite heli-logging By TAN CHENG LI GREEN groups have always eyed so-called Reduced Impact Logging or RIL techniques with suspicion. Although they do incur less damage to forests then conventional logging methods, RIL methods such as skyline yarder, long haulage ground cable system and helicopter logging & #8211; which essentially lift felled trees from the forest floor instead of dragging them & #8211; have remained controversial. There is a nagging fear that they may be misused to log areas inaccessible to bulldozers and tractors, thereby opening the most remote forests to loggers. Or they may be used to log ecologically-sensitive sites on the pretext that they cause little destruction. And now, those fears have come true. Sarawak timber giant WTK Holdings Bhd plans to extend the use of helicopter logging (or heli-logging) to forests in Kedah & #8211; forests which are not only untouched, but designated as water catchments. WTK says heli-logging is the best option for the site as it is less destructive than conventional logging. The Kedah Government has bought into that idea. Last March, it approved in principle heli-logging of 122,798ha of forests. Timber harvesting will stretch over 10 years in two phases in the project by WTK which holds a 80% stake and the Kedah Yayasan Islam, 20%. Phase I covers 72,934ha of the Ulu Muda forest reserve. Phase II covers 49,864ha in six forest reserves: the Ulu Muda, Chebar Besar, Padang Terap, Pedu, Bukit Saiong and Bukit Keramat. A detailed Environmental Impact Assessment, but only on Phase I, is being reviewed by the Department of Environment (DOE). If the project proceeds, much is at stake. These forests are gazetted as “protection forests” because they function as the water catchment for three important dams: the Ahning, Pedu and Muda. Kedah, Perlis and Penang depend on these dams and their catchment for water, as do the 96,000ha Muda Irrigation Scheme, otherwise known as Kedah & #8217;s Rice Bowl. “If trees are harvested, the catchment forest will no longer function as a source of water,” warns a forest botanist familiar with the project. “The terrain is hilly and logging will lead to erosion and eventually, the dam may be silted up.” Local folks are protesting too. “Logging will threaten farming in the Muda area,” says padi farmer Ahmad Fadzil Mohammad, 52, of Kampung Padang Tui Air Hitam, near Alor Star. “The dams may dry up. Once you cut the trees, there will be less water.” As it is, the Muda area has suffered water woes. Just last year, a water shortage prevented the double cropping which had made padi cultivation there a success. “Even before logging, we already have water problems. After logging, it will be worse. Only the state will profit from the project. We, the farmers, will suffer,” says Ahmad. He says many farmers are unaware of the project and its ecological consequences. “We have formed a group to explain to people so that they will not be confused. They can then judge for themselves whether the project is good or bad.” About 10,000 farmers have supported a signature campaign protesting against the project. What with Kedah being known as a “water deficit” area, the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) says the important consideration here is to protect its water catchment. “The loss of water due to logging will offset any economic benefits from logging,” says CAP president S.M. Idris. Furthermore, the Ulu Muda forest is one of the last tracts of remaining virgin forests in the country and is known to harbour rich wildlife. Regrettably, these facts and the basic principle that the area is a gazetted catchment have been blatantly ignored. “It should not be logged whatever the technology,” asserts Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) president Datuk Dr Salleh Mohd Nor. “It is a matter of principle. If this is allowed, then no virgin forest in the country will be safe from the chainsaw. This will create a precedent with tremendous implications. Will they log national parks next?” As it is, Kedah has little untouched forest left, having exploited almost all its production forests. Yet it has signed off 35% of its remaining forest to WTK. “Kedah has exhausted all of its other production forests and this is being used to justify the project. This is unacceptable and ironic. At a time when the state should be addressing issues on forest conservation and regeneration, it instead chooses to log the only intact water catchment left,” says Meena Raman, legal adviser of Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM). Sources say WTK, arguing its case in meetings on the project, insists that the logging ban in catchment areas applies only to conventional ground-based logging and not RIL techniques such as heli-logging. The EIA says because helicopters will lift felled logs from the forest floor and drop them at log landing sites, soil disturbance is reduced. In conventional logging, bulldozers drag logs along skid trails to the main logging road. This exposes huge tracts of soil, damages surrounding trees and compacts the forest floor. WTK says the helicopters will drop the logs on road shoulders instead of cleared log landing sites as is the norm in any logging concession to further lessen forest-clearing and soil disturbance. This also reduces flight time, thus lowering cost. WTK has given the assurance that it will cut only three trees per acre (or 7.4 trees per ha), hence it will open up only 20% of the forest. A WTK consultant says only one main logging road will be built. This will lay bare 0.55% of the forest and result in a road density of 5.5m per ha. In forests logged conventionally, he says cleared areas range from 8% to 9% and road density reaches 40m per ha. Dismissing public fear over water problems, the consultant contends that the project will have minimal impact on water supply as heli-logging will only raise sedimentation rate to 7.1% over 30 years from the natural level of 4.5%. He says once mitigating measures to prevent erosion are taken, sedimentation will be even less. He adds that studies show that clearing of vegetation can increase water yield from the catchment because the process of evapotranspiration (water lost as vapour from soil or plant surfaces) by vegetation is removed. Highway in the forest Green groups, however, challenge the “eco-friendliness” of heli-logging given the sensitive environment involved. “It is still very much conventional logging,” says Phang Fatt Khow, chairman of the MNS Kedah branch. For one, there will still be plenty of roads. The main logging road proposed for Ulu Muda will be 10m-wide which is bigger than the roads seen in forests logged the ground-skidding way. Furthermore, some stretches will be 24m-wide & #8211; with an additional 7m on either side & #8211; to provide manouvering space for vehicles. The road will run for 404km. A soil erosion consultant foresees severe erosion if preventive measures are not taken. “A large area will be cleared for the road and because the terrain in Ulu Muda is undulating, erosion will occur.” Over half of the logging concession is hilly land with slopes ranging from 12 to 25 degrees gradient, while one-fifth of it has steep gradients of 25 to 35 degrees. The consultant says the National Erosion Risk Map issued by the Department of Agriculture ranked erosion rates at Ulu Muda as “high,” with a discharge of 150 tonnes of silt per ha if forests are denuded. The helicopters will not fly beyond 1.5km each time it carries a log. This means more roads are needed to provide log landing sites. “The distance between any two roads is not more than 3km. So at the end of the logging, the whole area will consist of small forest patches no more than 9sqkm encircled by abandoned logging roads,” says Phang. Ultimately, this will threaten wildlife survival, he adds. “Some mammals found there such as the Sumatran rhinoceros and the Malayan tiger can survive only in larger tracts of forests.” He also fears that the 404km of access road will increase intrusion into the forest reserve by poachers, plant collectors as well as illegal settlers and farmers. “Once there is easy access, there will be demands for the land to be converted into other uses such as plantations, housing and unsustainable tourism activities,” warns Phang. SAM argues that even with the three trees cutting limit, some 921,000 trees will succumb to chainsaws. The resulting 20% of open space comes to 22,560ha. “That is still an intolerable amount of open space in a catchment forest. What is worse is the gaps left all over which will fragment the forest,” says Idris, who is also president of SAM. And what about forest-clearing for the road? The forest botanist estimates that over 250,000 trees of commercial value (meeting the Forestry Department cutting limit of 60cm in diameter) will make way for the road. Add to that another 3.8 million trees below 60cm diameter. There are also herbs, shrubs, climbers and other flora which will be removed. “A huge amount of biomass will be wasted,” says the botanist. A hydrologist familiar with the project points out that WTK & #8217;s logging target of 10,000 ha a year is way above the 3,000 ha limit set by the National Forestry Council. “With this project, we will have a new scenario of logging in the country, (one where) a gazetted catchment is logged and at fast speed. If it is all done quickly, we may not have enough officers on the ground to check on them.” WTK director Kim Tham asserts that they will be cutting few trees despite the large area involved. “We are limited by technology and the number of trees, so there & #8217;s an exception to the project. Heli-logging is very costly, so we need that kind of size to make it feasible.” The WTK consultant also argues that there is a misconception that the forests will be clear-felled. “Logging will be done progressively over 10 years. Logged areas will be closed, so the forest can recover.” Despite these assurances, there are lingering doubts. “There is still a lot of uncertainties about the environmental impact of logging catchment areas,” says RIL researcher Dr Shamsudin Ibrahim. He says this concern, raised by forestry experts at a meeting called by the DOE, prompted a suggestion that a small area be logged first to study the impact before authorities decide whether the heli-logging project should proceed. Echoing the views of other forestry experts, he says heli-logging will have an environmental edge only if it adheres to stringent guidelines, and if it is supervised and monitored. “The loggers must build only the main logging road and not skid trails. The trees to be cut must be spaced out and not clumped together as this will create a big gap that will raise temperatures within the forest. Technically, heli-logging is not a problem but if the management and monitoring is lacking, then I & #8217;ll be worried,” says Shamsudin who is director of the natural forest division in the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia. The unfortunate thing is, our logging practices leave much to be desired. The MNS warns: “Actual logging practices have ignored requirements on tree size, residual stands, directional felling, silvicultural treatment, and river buffers. In some cases, adjoining forest reserves were illegally logged first, before starting on their assigned concessions. On the basis of past practices alone, what assurance do we have that this will not happen again?” SAM points out that WTK has been criticised for indiscriminately logging the forests of Sarawak, Brazil, and Papua New Guinea. Timber revenue Sources say that at meetings on the project, state officials had argued that Kedah should be allowed to develop its forests like the other states. The officials also questioned why Kedah should keep its forest intact just to provide water for its neighbours. They contended that timber revenue will help settle the state & #8217;s debt to the Federal Government. However, calculations show the state will get a raw deal. For one, WTK is exempted from paying premium on the concession as this amount will be deemed as Yayasan Islam & #8217;s (WTK & #8217;s joint venture partner) investment towards its 20% share of the project. Thus Kedah will only earn timber royalty of RM62.5mil over 10 years & #8211; only RM6.25mil a year. “This is a paltry sum compared to the environmental costs that may arise from logging activities,” says MNS Kedah. The group estimates that rice cultivation, ecotourism, commercial fisheries and recreational fisheries rake in almost RM360mil annually. Add to that revenue from water supply and other biological resources such as herbs, medicine, food and other forest products and the sum will be much higher. Instead of eyeing its last swathe of pristine forest as its cash cow, Kedah should instead find other sources of revenue. MNS Kedah suggests that the state reviews irrigation and land taxes and put more effort into its collection. It should also negotiate for more substantial compensation from the Penang Government for use of its water resources. It could also press for higher Federal allocations to protect the country & #8217;s Rice Bowl to ensure food security. Yet another option is to develop ecotourism in Ulu Muda & #8211; that has the dual benefit of bringing in revenue as well as preserving the forest. Studies show that the Ulu Muda forest harbours diverse wildlife, including endangered species such as tigers, elephants, Sumatran rhinoceros, banteng, tapirs, flying lemurs and red giant flying squirrels. It hosts at least 110 bird species, including the endangered Malay peacock pheasant, crested fireback and great argus pheasant. Of the 270 tree species recorded so far, 47 are endemic or rare. They include members of the mango, nona, kedondong, berangan and jambu families found only in this forest and that too in low numbers. All of which highlight the importance of conserving this forest. Furthermore, Ulu Muda is contiguous with the Belum and Grik forests in Perak, the Setong forest in Kelantan, and the transborder Halabala forest park in Thailand. Its biological richness has not gone unnoticed. The National Parks and Wildlife Protection Department had recommended it for a national park. That did not materialise and so a few years ago, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) proposed it as a state park. It has submitted an eco-tourism development plan to the state government. But is the park still viable once loggers have ploughed through the adjacent forest? With so much at stake, green groups have urged the Kedah Government to call off the project. After all, it is not without reason that the Ulu Muda forest was designated a “protection forest” under the Forestry Act with the specific role of catchment forest. “Catchment forests provide vital ecological, environmental, and economic services which cannot be compromised by logging or any developmental activities within them,” says the MNS. SAM & #8217;s Idris says Malaysia may be blessed with much rainfall but given past water crises, existing water resources must be conserved. “Logging an environmentally sensitive area is grossly irresponsible and imprudent. And heli-logging technology should not be seen as an answer to all environmental problems. It may have its place in forestry management but not to log in water catchment areas.” Direct feedback to <a href= " startwo " >startwo</a><p> ________________________ Your one-stop information portal: The Star Online http://thestar.com.my http://biz.thestar.com.my http://classifieds.thestar.com.my http://cards.thestar.com.my http://search.thestar.com.my http://star-motoring.com http://star-space.com http://star-jobs.com http://star-ecentral.com http://star-techcentral.com 1995-2002 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Star Publications is prohibited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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