No abstract

The forest regeneration study was conducted in a mixed dipterocarp forest and a heath forest at Bungo Range, Sarawak to determine the natural regeneration status after a series of forest disturbances. The research objectives were (i) to estimate the tree diversity in mixed dipterocarp forest and heath forest and (ii) to determine the natural regeneration status of dominant tree species with potentials for reforestation. The systematic sampling method using nested plots was conducted, in which three plots were placed at mixed dipterocarp forest and four at heath forest. The species diversity in the mixed dipterocarp forest was H' = 3.7 and heath forest is H' = 3.8. Neolamarckia cadamba was found to be the dominant timber-producing species in mixed dipterocarp forest with good regeneration. Likewise, Litsea lancifolia and Calophyllum inophyllum were the dominant timber-producing species with good regeneration in the heath forest. There was only one non-timber producing species with good regeneration, i.e. Goniothalamus uvarioides, from the mixed dipterocarp forest.

This article presents an overview of the Native Customary Rights to forests and its role in protecting the future of native people of Sarawak, Malaysia. The native people have had a long history and strong relationship with their forests. Existing documents and studies have been critically reviewed and analyzed in order to elaborate the Native Customary Rights which are critical to the native people of this region. To have a better understanding on Native Customary Rights, it is important to answer three related questions: (i) Who is a native of Sarawak, (ii) What is 'custom', and (iii) What is the nature of 'rights'? The roles of Native Customary Rights for economic, political or social reasons, operate through informal rules embedded in the natives' customs and traditions. These rules have never been codified into formal laws because the adat system merely functions to manage the human relations which are tied to culture thus making it difficult to codify the culture into laws. It is evident that there are several issues underlying the development of Native Customary Rights: (i) Native Customary Rights are considered as inferiority to those of the State, (ii) the issue of over-shadowing of traditional laws by the colonial rule and the current statutory laws and, (iii) projects and land schemes involving the Native Land. It is understood that the challenges of promoting Native Customary Rights are daunting task; however, the constitutional laws need to carefully revise to provide a better future for the natives.

This empirical study measured the community's level of awareness toward forest use rights and the socioeconomic attributes influencing the community's awareness within three villages surrounding the Kawang Forest Reserve, Sabah, Malaysia. A total of 149 respondents were selected by stratified random sampling from the selected villages. A total of 29 scale-based queries related to community awareness from eight major categories (e.g., the forest resources utilization, forest resources extraction, access to forest, knowledge, encouragement, involvement, willingness and interest) were made to attain the objectives. Overall, the respondents possess moderate level of awareness on their rights as forest users with mean value of awareness of about 2.83. The respondents had a higher awareness of forest resources utilization, forest resources extraction, access to forest, encouragement and interest. However, their knowledge, willingness and involvement level in forestry activities were poor (mean awareness value ranges from 1.50 to 2.99), suggesting a need for forestry extension and motivation. There were several negative correlations among the attributes, for example, knowledge about the role of forest to community with r = −0.233. It is suggested that appropriate policy and organizational steps to integrate the local community in the forestry activities through community-based natural resources management in the buffer zone of the Kawang Forest Reserve can be a win-win situation for the local community and the forests in the long run.

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