Forest road construction in the tropical forest has been shown to cause considerable damage to the soil physical properties, river siltation, forest environment and watershed areas. These effects can be minimized through R&D in the use of logging machines and conservation guidelines. The implementation and enforcement of a Forest Engineering Plan before the commencement of any logging operation under the supervision of a Forest Engineer can reduce the ecological effect. In a comparative study site in Bukit Berembun Forest Reserve and Nanga Amang, Kapit, Sarawak, it was found that secondary damages are mostly found along main roads and skid trails. In order to minimize such damage, current research activities are geared towards developing and formulating research strategies and identifying priority projects in accordance with problems affecting the forest roading activities. The R&D in the field of machinery specification can help in reducing the present problems in road construction. It is concluded that a wide variety of problems will surface and this can hopefully be solved through applied research and application.
Key words: tropical road construction, roads and environmental protection.
Correspondence: Kamaruzaman Jusoff, Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Pertanian Malaysia, Serdang 43400 Selangor, Malaysia
Telefax: +60-3-9483745