Forestry research and education in Malaysia

Abstract

Similar to other disciplines, forestry research and education are inseparable. Both need each other to be able to progress, especially with the ever‐challenging demands facing the various fields of forestry today. With the current pressing issues related to forestry, such as deforestation, trade (especially timber certification), sustainable forest management and forest ecosystem management worldwide, the roles of both forestry research and education are becoming more necessary and relevant than in the past. Above all, the relationship between research and education is just like that between a song's rhythm and its lyrics. A song would not be pleasing to the ear if there was no appropriate rhythm to accompany the lyrics. Put simply, both rhythm and lyrics must blend together to create a pleasing and acceptable song. The same analogy holds true for research and education where they must go hand in hand if current issues at hand need to be resolved. Begun as a timber research laboratory in 1918, the Forest Research Institute (FRI), responsible for conducting research and development (R & D) in Malaya at that time, focused its efforts exclusively on testing aspects of various species, such as their physical properties, seasoning qualities, woodworking characteristics, durability, and receptivity to preservative treatment. Forestry education in the country on the other hand, was started in 1927 with the establishment of a vernacular school meant for training field staff. Today, both these fields have merged intrinsically and have achieved remarkable progress along with the support of an increasing number of universities, institutions and agencies which too have become involved in forestry research and education. This paper therefore sets out to explore the progressive development of forestry research and education in Malaysia over these long years to meet the changing needs with time