According to a recent news report, “more than 8,000 tonnes of timber debris, have been found in the logjams, choking Sarawak rivers.”
Our fight against decades of illegal and indiscriminate logging will never end, after having been successfully swept under the carpet all these years.
Timber debris will continue to mount and it will continue to be the topic of conversations and discussions, decades down the road.
Adding to this monumental wastage of priceless raw wood is the huge, unaccounted wood waste from industry, mainly the wooden pellets and crates.
These are commonly used as packaging for all kinds of manufactured goods, from food produce to machinery. They are also used in transport and storage.
These pellets and crates are later often dumped and left to the ravages of nature.
Industrial wood waste, discarded wooden furniture and trees that have been cut down from roadsides and kerbs are carelessly and wastefully dumped all over the country.
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Perhaps, a creative solution to manage this wood waste would be to jump-start domestic and cottage carpentry in a big way.
The “Madani” (civil and compassionate) government will long be remembered if it can use technical and vocation education and training programmes to revive interest and skills in carpentry.
It could deploy the Ministry of Domestic Trade to drive a hugely successful cottage industry of recycled materials that can be used for reinvented and locally made furniture, for building or renovating homes and for finishing and fittings.
Rather than make empty politically correct promises to reduce timber waste, we need to clamp down on logging.
However, it would be far more meaningful to turn timber and wood waste into lucrative, creative products that can put us on the global map. We can learn from other successful nations that have cut down on such waste.
Our creative cottage industries must be revived and turned into an economic option for nation-building and wealth creation. This approach will not only provide a healthy, financially rewarding pathway for our youth but also contribute immensely to achieving environmental sustainability.
Will the government of the day take up this suggestion? It is left to be seen.
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
