Selangor Journal
Amirudin (centre) at one of the display exhibits during the officiation ceremony of the International Day of Forests at Taman Tasik Millenium in Kuala Kubu Bharu, on November 11, 2021. Photo HAFIZ OTHMAN/SELANGORKINI.

Selangor unveils first-of-its-kind forest conservation plan

By Norrasyidah Arshad

KUALA KUBU BHARU, Nov 11 — Selangor is the only state that has a preservation and conservation plan to protect the diverse ecosystem of the Central Forest Spine (CFS).

Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said the State Executive Council already gave its approval for the initiative in 2019, and that all environmental efforts will actively be carried out from year 2020 to 2029.

Amirudin added that the state government has also given approval for the setting up of a technical steering committee and has received support from all related agencies like the Land and Mines Office, the district land offices and local authorities.

“An allocation of RM60 million has been approved to carry out environmental-related activities for the duration of the initiative. Aside from this, Kuala Kubu Bharu has been chosen as a CFS territory while Felda Soeharto, Gedangsa dan Sungai Tengi are now considered as friends of the CFS.

“The CFS also has a mascot now, which is the black panther. We take pride in this and God-willing, we will see how best to implement everything,” he said.

Amirudin was speaking at the launch of the state-level celebrations of the International Day of Forests in Taman Tasik Millenium, near here, today. At the event, Kuala Kubu Bharu was also officially declared as a territory of the CFS.

The event was attended by the director general of Forestry Peninsular Malaysia, Datuk Mohd Ridza Awang; the state exco for the environment Hee Loy Sian; and Selangor State Secretary Dato’ Haris Kasim.

At the event, Amirudin also spoke about how the North Kuala Langat Forest Reserve has been regazetted as a protected forest in September, bringing Selangor’s protected forest land mass to 31.51 per cent of the state’s land.

“This is a truly significant achievement in our management of our state’s forests,” he said.

During the opening of the 14th Selangor State Legislative Assembly in August, the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj, had said it is imperative that no less than 30 per cent of the state’s land should be reserved for its green agenda.

The Sultan added that up to that point, some 31.47 per cent of land, or 250,000 hectares, had been gazetted and called for the state to increase that figure to 32 per cent by year 2025.

 

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