Ling, W.C. & Imamura, H. Potential Contributions Of Effective Wood Utilisation Research Towards Sustainable Forest Management In Sarawak
In 1991, the Sarawak government requested the Japanese government to provide technical assistance in the field of timber utilisation technology. Subsequently, the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) was assigned the task of providing expertise, equipment and counterpart training under a 5-year technical co-operation project called "Effective wood utilisation research in Sarawak". The objective of this project is to develop and transfer wood processing technology so as to promote effective utilisation of Sarawak timbers. Joint research in the field of wood properties, sawmilling and machining, drying, wood lamination, particleboard and wood improvement commenced in April 1993 with the arrival of 3 long term experts. Of the 22 sub-projects which have been identified as priority projects, 4 have been completed while 14 others are in various stages of completion. Equipment like scanning electron microscope, treatment plants, Universal testing machine, research kiln, particleboard plant valued at over RM 9 millions have been commissioned by short term experts and put to good use in TRTTC. Normally, four long terms experts are stationed in TRTTC at any one time to conduct joint studies with local officers. An average of 2 local officers are despatched to Japan each year for 3 months training in various fields of timber utilisation. It is expected that with technology acquired from the project, more efficient wood processing techniques and utilisation of resources will result in contributing to better utilization of raw materials and indirectly, to sustainable forest management in Sarawak.