KUCHING: Twenty personnel consisting environmental officers, forest management unit coordinators, surveyors and safety officers from eight Sarawak Timber Association ( STA) member companies who have volunteered to undertake a pilot project for Environmental Compliance Audit participated in a training on ‘Environmental Quality Monitoring’ in Bintulu recently.

STA, in a statement, said the training was initiated by them and Natural Resources and Environment Board (NREB) and developed alongside Chemsain HRD Sdn Bhd with emphasis on collecting water samples to ensure compliance to the audit requirement as environmental quality monitoring ( EQM) is a component of Internal Environmental Compliance Audit.

The three- day training was conducted by Prof Dr Lau Seng, an experienced trainer in the field of water sampling and analysis including protocols on water sampling and handling of equipment for in- situ and exsitu analysis as well as hands- on and guided experience on water sampling. It contributed to meeting the objective of the training which is to train personnel in environmental monitoring and sampling method.

With the inception of this structured training course, STA and NREB are looking forward to providing more training in the future not only to build capacity but also enhance environmental stewardship and inculcate self regulation in environmental management and protection within the forest and timber industry in the state.