MALACCA: The Forestry Department is currently testing a device that uses German technology to detect illegal logging activities.
Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia director-general Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Abdul Rahim said the device, which uses radio frequency identification (RFID), is being used on a trial basis.
“We are currently testing the technology in Negri Sembilan and if everything goes well, will use it to thwart illegal logging and encroachment into forest reserves,” he told The Star after opening the 16th Forestry Conference at a hotel here yesterday.
Dr Abdul Rahman said technologies like RFID were vital in forestry management because of European Union regulations for the production of logs and wood products.
The European Union, he said, wanted countries that export wood products to guarantee the trees used to make those products were harvested legally and in an environmentally sustainable manner.
The European Union also wants control and monitoring processes to be transparent.
“Once those controls and processes are in place, the Government will be able to issue export licences that meet EU standards and combat illegal logging,” he said.
The conference, themed “Forest for Community Livelihood”, was opened by Malacca’s Rural Development and Agriculture committee chairman Datuk R. Perumal.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/12/6/nation/10039454&sec=nation
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