Teck Guan Group to operate bio-ethanol project in Tawau

Pic: BEST

Syarikat Teck Guan Group has launched a pilot project to produce lignocellulosic bio-ethanol from oil palm biomass.

The setting up of the plant which began in May, is expected to be operational by month-end.

According to its Operational Innovation, Research and Development director Douglas Furtek, the plant can produce 72 litres of ethanol from a metric tonne of wet empty fruit bunches, and capacity can be easily upscaled.

Furtek hoped more foreign investors would be attracted to the state, the country's largest palm oil producer.

It is informed that the plant is the first in the country to produce ethanol from empty fruit bunches (EFB) and it will contribute to the production of bio-fuels, bio-plastics and other environmentally-friendly products.

Agensi Inovasi Malaysia strategic innovation executive vice president Bas Melssen said biomas products, in the form of pellets, bio-based fuel or bio-based chemicals, can contribute RM30bil a year to the national economy and create 66,000 high-value jobs by 2020, adding half of these jobs would be in Sabah.

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Musa stresses sustainability in oil palm production

Chief Minister Musa Aman

 

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Haji Aman urged plantation operators to take appropriate measures to protect wildlife as many important sites for biodiversity lie close to to plantations.

"Let us all work together to find the best solutions as we move forward in the palm oil sector while keeping ourselves mindful of biodiversity conservation," he said in his speech read by Deputy Chief Minister cum Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Datuk Seri Panglima Yahya Hussin at the 123rd Annual Dinner of the East Malaysia Planters' Association (EMPA) on Saturday in Tawau.

Musa reminds the planters that palm oil remains a key contributor to the country's economic growth and has helped the government's effort to eradicate poverty in rural areas.

Palm oil figures strongly in the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) and is one of the 12 National Key Economic Areas (NKEA) that will spearhead Malaysia's transformation into a high-income nation by 2020.

Musa stressed that this would be achieved through the implementation of entry point projects (EPP) that will cover the entire palm oil chain - ranging from upstream productions to downstream processing and expansions.

According to Musa, the issue of sustainability has become the focus of consideration in the production of commodities in the global arena. This is especially true in the production of palm oil. Global markets, particularly markets in the European Union and the United States demand that palm oil must be sustainably produced.

Musa hoped that more oil palm growers would be mindful of sustainability in palm oil production.

"I also wish to encourage smaller estates to similarly undertake efforts under the Roundtable on Sustainable of Oil Palm (RSPO) guideline. I hope EMPA members are responsive to these sustainability requirements, and are making progress in producing certified sustainable palm oil," Musa said.

RSPO is a non-profit, market-led association that aims to promote the growth and use of sustainable oil palm products through credible global standards.

On the subject of mechanisation, Musa pointed out that there is an urgency in the industry to accelerate work on farm mechanisation in order to reduce the sector's dependence on foreign labour, as the supply of foreign labour may become limited in the future.

"Within this context, I strongly urge EMPA members to adopt proactive measures to meet the projected reduction of manpower, and to invest in mechanization," he said.

Musa also reminded plantation owners to pay attention on the welfare of their employees, saying that this will help attract the locals to work in plantations.

 

Source: Insight Sabah

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Orangutan Conservation gets a Boost

KOTA KINABALU: Orangutan conservation and research is given a boost with the setting up of the Sabah Orangutan Conservation Alliance (SOCA).

Sabah Wildlife Department director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu said the SOCA would coordinate orangutan conservation and research efforts in Sabah, implement and monitor the Orangutan Action Plan, advise the government on orangutan conservation issues, share information on orangutans and promote orangutan conservation in Sabah by raising awareness nationally and globally.

“We will prepare a cabinet paper on the setting up of SOCA and we will bring it to the utmost attention of the State Cabinet. We hope that SOCA can be rapidly established,” he said at an orangutan conservation dialogue at Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort in Tuaran.    More than 80 participants were invited to discuss the implementation of the strategies and objectives highlighted in the Orangutan Action Plan 2012-2016 launched last January and set up the SOCA.

The Sabah Wildlife Department organised the dialogue.

“We recognised that the time for conversation was over, that it was time for conservation,” said Ambu.

“It is time for the oil palm industry to acknowledge that there are problems and take the necessary measures to address the issues of forest fragmentation and clearings of riparian forests in Sabah, as well as orangutan killings currently happening in palm oil estates in Kalimantan,” stressed Ambu.

He pointed out the problems in the Kinabatangan were also addressed.

“We have identified approaches to maintain viable wildlife populations in the Kinabatangan. Orangutans are also found outside protected forests in the Lower Kinabatangan floodplain. Our recent analysis of satellite images have shown that 25,000 ha of such forests still remain.

“If we want to secure the orangutan population in Kinabatangan we cannot afford to lose another hectare of forest. We asked the government to call for a moratorium on forest conversion in the Kinabatangan and to recreate forest connection in areas where riparian forests have been converted,” added Ambu.

Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun gave his support for rehabilitation and protection of riparian reserves in his speech at the closing ceremony.

“River reserves are strictly not to be used for any plantation development. Maybe many plantation owners did not know that riparian reserves are protected and must remain under natural forest. These reserves must be rehabilitated and if
they had been encroached on, actions will be taken,” stressed Masidi.

Also addressing a zero tolerance of wildlife killings in oil palm plantations, Masidi said: “I would like to call the plantation owners to sign an agreement adopting a zero tolerance of wildlife (and especially orangutans) killings in their respective estates.

Orangutans are totally protected in Sabah and anyone killing one must be prosecuted.”

Source : Borneo Post

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Remove Oil Palm Tress along Riparian Reserve - Saddi

Sukau Assemblyman Saddi called on the large number of oil palm trees planted along the riparian reserve in Kinabatangan , particularly in Sukau, to be removed immediately in order to protect the river from pollution. Authorities will take serious action towards errant oil planter that refuse to comply the order.

Irresponsible palm oil mills will be suspended by the State if they keep discharging effluents into Sabah's rivers. Fishermen in Sukau along the river have been complaining that the fish and prawn catches from the river have been depleting and this affected their earnings. Saddi said he has raised the same issue on mills polluting the Kinabatangan river several times in the State Legislative Assembly and called on the relevant authorities to take action on those found committing the offence and destroying the environment, unfortunately no concrete action has been taken. In a related development, he proposed that the inter departmental committee headed by the permanent sec of Masidi's ministry's, Michael Emban, should include the elected people's representatives in the respective areas and the local authorities like the district office; he also recommended that the environmental issues affecting the Kinabatangan be brought up and fully addressed in the committee.

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Stop the River Pollution

Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun has urged oil palm plantation owners in Kinabatangan to fulfil their promises to ensure that river pollution problems caused by factory discharge are solved immediately.  

According to Borneo Rhino Alliance (Baro) executive director Datuk Dr Junaidi Payne, existing vegetation along the water courses is better to leave unmanaged in order to minimize soil erosion and runoff of chemicals. It means weeding and herbicide or fertilizers should not be applied for the row or rows of oil palm plants closest to the water courses.

Dr. Junaidi also added that if oil palm industry players cannot address the issue of water pollution that results from their activities, then the government has to do so, by policy, legislation and enforcement. 

For every metric tonne of palm oil produced, 2.5 metric tonnes of effluent are generated from processing the palm oil in mills. Direct release of this effluent can cause freshwater pollution, which can affect downstream biodiversity and people. Control of effluents from mills was probably one of the most difficult challenges, but if not tackled would result in a bleak future.

Therefore, oil palm plantation owners must play their role in ensuring they are following the rules and regulations in managing the plantations. Getting big profits is meaningless if at the same time the environment is polluted.

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