Establish Community Woodlots in Stateland Area in Tambunan Adjoining FMU 10.

The objective of this strategy is to provide necessary wood resources for the Tambunan local communities in a stateland area outside FMU 10 near kampong Kaingaran. This objective is also expected to abate or reduce the threats of communities engaging in illegal timber extraction in FMU 10 by providing alternative timber resources for their domestic usages and managed them sustainably by the communities themselves.
A quick survey of the villages situated along the fringes of FMU 10 in the early days of the planning stage indicated that the houses in those villages are primarily built using chainsaw-cut timber. As for now, those villagers got their timber from their own lots of forest but these privately owned forests are being converted to agriculture land. It is envisaged that in a not too distant future, wood will be in a very shot supply around the tambunan area, thus putting FMU 10 increasingly threatened from illegal wood harvesting.
To abate the threat, it was decided that a community woodlot outside the Forest Reserve establish. The area formally issued with logging TOL to Ipang Ganggal, Anthony Dubis, Regina Rundi and Jimmy Jipulis, Intra Bayangan and Alam Semesta which is situated on the headwaters of Namadan and Kaingaran rivers and has a combined area of approximately 3,700 ha. The area was selected because of two reasons; firstly it will act as a buffer zone for FMU 10; and secondly because the soils of the area falls within the Trusmadi soil series, which is best left forested due of its fragile characteristics and therefore not suitable for agriculture development.
The woodlot administered and manage by a committee which which will be headed by the District Forest Officer of Tambunan. Members of the committee includes the District Officer of Tambunan, the District Cheif of Tambunan and the relevant Heads of Department in Tambunan. Through such mechanism, each of the relevant department will play their roles in supporting the management of the Woodlots Strategy. Forestry Department through FMU 10will be entrusted in forest inventory, data analysis and preparations of Comprehensive Harvesting Plan and in seedlings supply.
A sub-committee, headed by the Native Chief is also formed. The Native Chief will be assisted by all the village headmen and the Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK) chairpersons from participating villages. It will function as a communal work coordinating body.

Work Progress from 2009 until 2012
A briefing related to the concept and implementation of the community woodlot, the beneficiaries and mechanisms was done at length by Rahim Sulaiman, DC (MGT) in a special meeting with the District Officer and PPHT personals of Tambunan District in the middle of 2009. The woodlot matter was also highlighted during the Stakeholder workshop in Hotel Perkasa Keningau and was endorsed by all except by delegates from Kaingaran, Pononoburan and Nandal. Overall the responses were positive especially from The District Officer of Tambunan as Chairman of the committee. However, SFD was advised to apply for the area to the Assistant Collector of Land Revenue (ACLR) Office not only for the purpose of the Creation of the Woodlot but also for gazette purpose. The advice given was supposed to be following the standard procedure for any normal land application. Mapping and documentation was duly done by the DFO Tambunan as per advised.
In 2010, not much progress was achieved. The Land App;ication was submitted to PPHT Tambunan and given the reference PT NO. 20-10140023 but unfortunately, the land application was not tabled at any of the LUCmeeting in 2010. It was later understood that a working paper was needed. A working paper was submitted to PPHT as requested but still the application was not tabled at the LUC meeting despite all the reminders.
Despite various reminders by DFO Tambunan, hearing of the application was not acceded by the Land Utilisation Committee until the end of 2011. The main reason cited this time around was that the Land and Survey Department was directed by the government to expedite the processing of outstanding land applications from the public yet to be tabled in the Committee Meeting.
Finally the SFD Land Application was brought up and tabled in the Land Utilisation Committee Meeting on 12 Mac 2012 with comments from the District Surveyor from Keningau as follows:
•    The area applied by Sabah Forestry Department also fall within the water catchment area of Sag Kaingaran being applied by Jabatan Pengairan Sabah under Land Application No.PT 2009140029.

•    The area applied was also overlapping with a land application under T.O.L.95142010 P 141226953.

The Committee was not able to come up with any recommendation yet with regards to SFD’s application. Instead, the SFD was advised to present its case with detail justification in the next Committee Meeting. ADFO. Julius Peter Indu duly did the presentation to the Committee Meeting in June 2012. The said meeting of June 2012 again advised SFD to submit a detailed working paper for presentation in the next meeting envisaged to be held in March 2013.

Work Progress from 2013 until 2017
In 2013, Sabah Assistant Director of Land and Survey and New Chairmen of Tambunan LUC meeting Mr. Lee Chun Khiong inform DFO Tambunan that the proposed woodlot area should be discussed higer level management between Cheif Conservator of Forest and Land and Survey themselves.
This point the proposed area should be amended from the 3,000 ha near Kg. Pononoburan to 500 meter in with through out the border line of Nuluhon Trusmadi Forest Reserve (to which the exact measurement is yet unknown). The reason for this amendments was:
•    Serves as a buffer zone along the border line of the Forest Reserve.
•    To avoid the woodlot to converge on a certain area only.
•    To ensure that the community woodlot could be shared together as the villages lies along the border of FMU 10.
 Year after year meeting after meeting was arranged concerning the community woodlot without any positive progress. These failures are mostly because of the lack of support and help from the appointed head of Departments in the district. Sensing that it is a futile and time wasting effort the DFO of Tambunan made the decision to annul the community woodlot program. And through MPCT meeting on FMU 10. on 02nd August 2017 this proposed woodlot strategy was drop.