JOHOR BARU – In a bid to hasten the planting of mangrove trees and create greater awareness of their importance, the Government will embark on a programme of community involvement. The public, especially those staying near mangroves, will be asked to "adopt" designated mangrove areas for replanting and monitoring the trees that helped reduce the impact of last year’s tsunami.
The concept was revealed today by Natural Resources and Environment Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Dr Isahak Yeop Mohamad Shar, who heads a special task force overseeing mangrove replanting projects following the tsunami.
"It is important to preserve mangroves through education and involve the grassroots community in the projects," Isahak said after the third meeting of the task force here today.
School teachers would be encouraged to take students to coastal areas and plant mangrove seeds on a periodic basis, he said.
"We must spread the importance of preserving mangroves as widely as possible. The school is the ideal place to create love for the environment. Government agencies can’t do it alone."
The task force comprises representatives of Wetlands International, the Global Environmental Centre, the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia, the Forestry Department and the Department of Irrigation and Drainage.
The task force will visit the Sungai Pulai forest reserve and observe replanting activities at Tanjung Piai tomorrow.
Set up in February this year, it has carried out mangrove replanting in Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Penang, Selangor and Terengganu.
Up to November, 163.7 hectares in peninsular Malaysia have been replanted with 466,800 mangrove saplings and 7,802 other kinds of coastal vegetation.
A much wider replanting and rehabilitation programme, covering about 4,000ha at a cost of RM110 million, has been proposed under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.
However, environmentalists today said it was more practical to focus on preserving existing mangroves than spending money and time on replanting.
Malaysia has 566,856ha of mangroves, with 436,714ha gazetted as permanent forest reserve.
Environmentalists said the remaining 130ha of mangroves, declared as state land, was at risk of exploitation. They want these areas gazetted as well.