Sarawak issued three forest carbon licenses, eight study permits

KUCHING, Oct 15: Three entities have obtained Forest Carbon License from the Sarawak Forest Department (JHS), covering an area of 56,806 hectares, while eight other entities were granted forest carbon study permits covering 179,327 hectares.

Sarawak Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Urban Development, Datuk Len Talif Salleh said that out of the three licenses approved, one is undergoing a validation process by a validation and verification body recognised under international carbon standards, while two new ones were approved to licensees.

"Eight other entities have been granted Carbon Study Permits (CSPs) covering an area of 179,327 hectares.

"This permit allows the holder to conduct a study and provide 'Sarawak Project Design Document' (SPDD) as one of the requirements for approval of the Forest Carbon License", he said.

He said this while answering a question of Member of the National Assembly (ADUN) Tebedu Dr Simon Sinang Bada at the 19th Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN) Conference today.

Len Talif explained that forest carbon credits can only be generated after the project through a validation and verification process before obtaining certification which allows it to be registered in the carbon market system as well as traded to domestic and international buyers.

Responding to an additional question from ADUN Daro Dr Safiee Ahmad, he said that CSP permits are essential in order to allow the preliminary study to be carried out thoroughly before the forest carbon license is issued by the Sarawak Government.

"Through this permit, the developers can assess the technical progress of the project including potential carbon uptake and reporting as well as determine the suitability of forest carbon project areas.

"Moreover, this study also covers the economic aspects to ensure that the project has the potential to generate a reasonable return in the carbon market", he said.

According to him, the provision of SPDD in that phase helps ensure that projects meet the requirements of international carbon standards.

In related developments, he announced that a carbon study permit was issued for the implementation of Blue Carbon Project excluding Paloh and Serdeng areas.