KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is expanding its Totally Protected Areas (TPA) through the gazettement of approximately 216,000 hectares of new areas involving commercial forest reserves and State Land, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
He said the move will increase Sabah’s TPA to 2.227 million hectares, or about 30.06 per cent of the state’s total land area.
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His speech, delivered by Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai at the Sabah Forestry Department’s Excellent Service Awards ceremony on Friday, stated that the milestone meets the 30 per cent TPA target and strengthens Sabah’s position as the state with the largest TPA in Malaysia.
Hajiji said the Cabinet had agreed last year to the Forestry Department’s proposal to gazette additional protected areas under Section 5A of the Forest Enactment 1968, while urging transparency in revenue collection after the department recorded RM161 million last year, including RM92 million or 57 per cent from timber royalties.
He also commended the Department’s conservation, outreach and environmental programmes, including roadshows, seminars, scientific expeditions and international conferences such as the Heart of Borneo, and praised it for receiving the Best Human Resource Management Award 2025.
