Sarawak has gone a long way in conserving the environment and natural resources, whatever evil writers from the West say about it, as the government believes that effective environmental management is crucial in the effort to balance economic development with environmental protection.
The State government, after the Rio Summit in 1992, has put in place the legal framework, regulations, standards, guidelines and institutional capacity to manage the environment in a systematic and professional manner. The overall goal is towards sustainable development for continuous economic growth and well being of our people.
The major thrust for the protection and enhancement of the environment in Sarawak has been based on statutory legislations. Retrospectively, Sarawak enacted its Natural Resources Ordinance 1949 under the White Rajah, who later ceded it to the British colonial government.
The Ordinance was amended in 1993 and reconstituted as the Natural Resources and Environment (Cap. 84, Laws of Sarawak) Ordinance, 1993. It is an extended and more comprehensive version of the original Natural Resources Ordinance of 1949.
Sarawak introduced various environmental legislations and established an environmental agency namely Natural Resources Environment Board or NREB on February 1, 1994 to enable the Government to enforce the requirements for environmental protection in the State. Both NREB and Federal Department of Environment (DOE), together with other relevant government agencies are continuously monitoring the ambient environmental qualities in the State particularly, water and air.
Since the 50s, the State Government has been emphasizing on the importance of conservation program in forest management. Hence, the Government has formulated policies and several laws such as The Statement of Forests Policy in 1954; Natural Resources and Environment Ordinance, 1993; Sarawak Rivers Ordinance, 1993; Water Ordinance, 1994; Sarawak Forestry Corporation Ordinance, 1995; The Wild Life Protection Ordinance, 1998; The National Parks and Nature Reserves Ordinance, 1998; and Sarawak Biodiversity Centre Ordinance, 1998.
The row of related legislations inherited from the Colonial Government and now still being enforced, indicates that the Government is very serious about forest conservation. The State has made substantial progress in this direction to prove that it is serious about forest conservation.
Sarawak has been implementing the integrated conservation programs and activities for flora and fauna, including environmental and ecological resources to ensure that the forest resources are sustainably managed so that the new generation can inherit the Natural Resources in future.
Sarawak On Line 