On 5 April 2024, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO) and Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) for a project titled: Mangrove Rewilding Project in Rajang Mangrove National Park (RMNP) in Sarawak, Malaysia, which is funded by SK Innovation as part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project.
Sarawak is the largest state in Malaysia, and is bordered with Burnei Darussalam and Kalimantan (Island of Borneo), with an abundant and diverse animal and plant species within its tropical rainforest. Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) was established by the State Government and launched in June 2003. Over more than two decades, the corporation was worked relentlessly toward forest conservation and restoration with a focus on sustainable management of numerous national parks within Sarawak, as well as the indigenous flora and fauna within the parks.
The mangrove rewilding project in Rajang Mangrove National Park (RMNP) is another step towards achieving not only SFC’s vision and mission, but also AFoCO’s strategic priority in forest land restoration and conservation in Asia. The project aims for the following:
- To restore degraded areas in Rajang Mangrove National Park in lind with the state government policy
- To improve the rural livelihood of the local community (Rural transformation program)
- To contribute to Malaysia’s global aims of climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration
A total of 22,000 magrove seedlings will be planted through this project (Rhizophora apiculata) with direct involvment and participation from the community members during the preparation, planting, and managing the newly restored mangrove forest.
During the MoU signing ceremony, which was attended by the Deputy Ministry for Urban Planning Land Administration and Environment Ministry of Natural Resources & Urban Development of Sarawak, who emphasized the importance of preserving and expanding the mangrove forest in Malaysia and the Sarawak state government’s interest in cooperating further with Korean enterprises for not only restoration and CSR projects, but also carbon credit projects as well, as the state government has now prepared domestic regulations and guidelines for the field.
(Left) Dr. Pham Duc Chien, Director of Project and Program Division of AFoCO
(Middle) H.E. YB Datuk Haji Len Talif Salleh, Deputy Minister for Urban Planning Land Administration and Enviroment, Ministry of Natural Resources & Urban Development of Sarawak
(Right) Mr. Abang Arabi Abang Aimran, Chief Executive Officer of SFC
The project will begin with several stakeholder meetings with the local community and nearby villages for smooth implementation and prior consultation.
