SPEECH OF FRIM DIRECTOR GENERAL DATO’ DR ABD. LATIF MOHMOD
Pasoh International Symposium 10 November 2010
Auditorium, FRIM, Kepong
Yang Berbahagia Datuk Aziyah Binti Mohamed, Deputy Secretary General I of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment,
Yang Berbahagia Dato Razani Ujang, Director General of the Forestry Department Peninsular Malaysia,
Tuan Haji Roslan Ariffin, Director of the State Forestry Department Negeri Sembilan,
Dr Stuart Davies, Director of the Centre for Tropical Forest Sciences (CTFS),
Professor Dr Toshinori Okuda, representative of the National Institute of Environmental Studies (NIES),
Esteemed researchers, ladies and gentlemen, a very good morning to all of you.
May I take this opportunity to extend a special word of welcome to everyone here this morning. I’m sure some of you are already quite
familiar with FRIM, and of course, the Pasoh Research Station in Negeri Sembilan, which is the highlight of this two-day summit. We are gathered here today to “Celebrate 25 Years of Tropical Forest Research”, an achievement we should all be proud of. The main aim for organizing this symposium is to share the research findings of scientists that have made a mark in Pasoh these past 25 years. I look forward to the research presentations and discussions, with sincere hope that this symposium can catalyze new ideas for the betterment and benefit of forestry research both in Pasoh, and elsewhere in Malaysia.
I have a passion for history and looking into the history of Pasoh since its establishment in the early 1970s, I am truly proud with how far Pasoh has come. Located in a small town in Negeri Sembilan called Simpang Pertang, this ecologically rich haven has managed to bring together people from different nations all in the name of research. Since 1970, this humble station has received more than a dozen local and international research institutions particularly from Japan, Scotland, the United States and the United Kingdom. It is my hope that this tradition will continue for many years to come.
Pasoh Forest Reserve was declared an International Biosphere Reserve under the Man and Biosphere Program in 1969. Biosphere reserves are areas that are meant to demonstrate a balanced relationship between man and nature. Despite affiliations to scientific societies across nations, Pasoh has also been truly remarkable for incorporating the local community into the world of ecological
research by providing job opportunities for them. Knowledge and awareness is vital in nature conservation efforts, and Pasoh is becoming a small hub for environmental education activities, as well as a comprehensive laboratory for graduate students hoping to study rainforest ecology.
Pasoh made its second debut on the global map in 1985, with the establishment of its 50-ha research plot, through the collaboration of FRIM, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in the United States of America. It has come to my attention that among the audience today, we have some of our earliest FRIM staff who were part of the pioneer Pasoh 50-ha research team. I would like to humbly request that they stand up so that we may recognise their faces and acknowledge their contributions. Thank you.
The Pasoh 50-ha plot was the second out of 40 plots established around the world as part of the CTFS network. Initially, these plots were set up for studies to understand the mechanisms by which tree species populations are maintained in a biodiverse tropical forest.
With such research initiatives promoted by CTFS, we are able to look into cross-site comparison studies of these ecological plots to address fundamental and applied ecological questions pertaining to the global issue of climate change.
Other study areas have also found their way into Pasoh’s research repertoire, such as forest productivity, faunal diversity, impact of
forest edge and land-use changes on forest biodiversity, dynamics of organic matter, and socio-economic studies. We have learned tremendously from our collaboration with the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science and the University of Aberdeen in the 70s and early 80s, and we are still discovering new things through our alliance with the Centre for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS) and the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) in Japan.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The 16 presenters lined up for our symposium will present the research findings made over the past 25 years, in line with the theme of the symposium, ‘Celebrating 25 years of lowland tropical forest research’. They include notable speakers such as Dr. Stuart Davies and Professor Dr Okuda who are proud pioneers of tropical forest research in Pasoh.
I am also proud to inform that we will be officiating the recently- upgraded arboretum at the Pasoh Research Station during the Open Day on Friday. The arboretum that was established in 1989 houses 874 trees belonging to 279 species and 44 families. The main purpose of the arboretum is to assist in the conservation of the original tree species from Pasoh Forest Reserve and enhance awareness on biological diversity conservation of lowland tropical forests among students and visitors. As we are gearing to develop Pasoh Research Station as a centre for research and education on tropical forest ecology, we hope this arboretum will aid in the learning
process of tree species identification, a skill which needs to be sharpened among our younger staff.
Before I end here today, I would like to take the opportunity to invite you to the Pasoh FRIM Research Station on the 12th to witness the splendours of Pasoh Forest Reserve. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to the State Forestry Department of Negeri Sembilan for hosting our research station and granting permission to FRIM and our collaborators to conduct research and technical visits in the forest reserve. Their support throughout the last few decades has been very critical to the success we celebrate today, and we look forward to their continued support for conservation and research. I would also like to thank them for having planned, what I believe will be a memorable Open Day Opening Ceremony at the Pasoh Station as well as for the launching of the Pasoh Arboretum this Friday.
Finally, I would like to thank each and every one of you, who has directly or indirectly contributed to the 25 years of research in Pasoh, and I hope you will continue to work with us into the next 25 years.
Thank you.
