Selangor Journal
Selangor State Forestry Department director Datuk Ahmad Fadzil Abd Majid during a media interview at the Selangor State Secretariat Building in Shah Alam. — Picture by SELANGORKINI

Fires destroyed 40 pct of KLNFR, RM1 mln spent on reforestation last year

By Khairul Azran Hussein

SHAH ALAM, Sept 8 — Selangor State Forestry Department (JPNS) has spent RM1 million to help put out fires in the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve (KLNFR) last year.

Its director Datuk Ahmad Fadzil Abdul Majid said the department had also spent more than RM500,000 as of August this year for other costs including pump maintenance, purchase of equipment and staff allowances.

He added the figure did not include an RM30,000 expenditure to conduct post-fire restoration work on one hectare of land that includes replanting of trees.

A view of the peatland area in the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve (KLNFR) from the Selangor State Forestry Department observation tower during a visit on February 26, 2020. — Picture by HAFIZ OTHMAN/SELANGORKINI

“We also cooperated with the Department of Environment which employs People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela) members besides building towers to detect intrusion,” he told Selangorkini yesterday.

According to JPNS figures, ​​fires have razed about 359.6 hectares of KLNFR land from 2012 to 2017, including 132.0 hectares during its worst fires in 2014.

The fires have damaged between 30 to 40 per cent of KLNFR flora, as 95.6 hectares of its land were burnt in 2017, 82.0 hectares (2013) and another 50.0 hectares in 2012.

Thus he regretted that some people often blamed the Forestry Department for not doing its job to restore KLNFR.

“The fact is, we have done a lot of restoration efforts but after only two or three years of planting and as the new trees are about to grow, fires broke out again.

Firemen putting out fire at Kuala Langat Selatan Forest Reserve, in Kuala Langat, on March 2, 2021. — Picture by ASRI SAPFIE/SELANGORKINI

“More disappointingly, the fires were caused by people’s poor attitudes, who encroached the forest to do farming activities or throwing cigarette butts around,” he said.

The frequent fires in KLNFR have degraded its flora and fauna diversity value, leading to the degazettement of 536.7 hectares of its area and the approval for 581.48 hectares of permanent forest reserve replacement in the Sabak Bernam, Hulu Selangor and Hulu Langat districts.

The degazettement covers approximately only half of KLNFR’s 991.9 hectares of land and was done after receiving feedback from the public in a public investigation that took more than a year.

Although the Orang Asli settlement area in Busut Baru is not affected by the degazettement, the state government has gazetted an additional 42.1 hectares of land to increase their settlement reserve.

However, the decision on the degazettement of KLNFR will be reviewed by the Selangor state executive council meeting (MMKN) soon.

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