National Forest Inventory

1. Every 10 years the Forestry Department Peninsular Malaysia conducted nation-wide thorough forest inventory. Using standard methods their officers and forest contractors did the inventory surveys diligently to take stock of forest resources and their distribution.

2. In spite of the department's effort in documenting the number of stands and distribution of those species in their reports, CITES still felt many species such as Intsia palembanica, Gonystylus bancanus and Aquilaria malaccensis, amongst others are at the brink of extinction.

3. Botanists like me laughed at the way CITES worked as Gonystylus bancanus is no where near extinction in the peat swamp forests of Peninsular Malaysia. Similarly, Aquilaria malaccensis is also no where what CITES had reported.

4. However, many species were not identified to the species level in the previous inventory. This is in parallel to the value of timber as posted by MASKAYU, as they are quoted as "species-group" e.g. "nyatuh" for all the Sapotaceae and "resak" for all the Vatica species, for example.

5. In the coming 5th National Forest Inventory, I suggested it should be done to the species level. Specimens should be collected as evidence of their distribution. This will definitely help the preparattion of the Flora of Peninsular Malaysia.