KUALA PILAH, Jan 15 — The Negeri Sembilan Forestry Department (JPNS) is committed to increasing the total area of permanent reserve forest (HSK) in the state by another 500 hectares, to preserve and conserve the quality of the environment and thus boost the state’s ecotourism.
Its director, Saleh Awaluddin said currently the HSK covers 155,000 hectares, or 23 per cent of the entire state, and of that, 60 per cent is timber production forest and the remainder is protected forest, including water catchments, wildlife, and research.
“This is one of the efforts we have to take, to look after the existing forest areas and how to ensure that it remains, apart from trying to increase it, even if it’s a little but that’s the best. The same goes for the mangrove forest which is seen to be decreasing now.
“We have identified the areas involved, including the water catchment area and around the dam, but we are now in the process of gazetting them, which is not an easy matter and takes a bit of time,” he told reporters after the reopening of Taman Eko Rimba and the HSK hiking track here today.
He said Taman Eko Rimba and hiking tracks in the state had started to reopen to the public, effective yesterday, including Ulu Bendul, Batu Maloi, Jeram Tengkek, Gunung Datuk, Gunung Angsi and Gunung Tampin.
Meanwhile, he said that repair work on the facilities of Taman Eko Rimba Jeram Toi, Jelebu, which were destroyed in a major flood in December 2021, is expected to start in March and be completed this November, through an allocation of RM1 million from the state government.
“However, it will only be reopened next year, because we want to make sure it is really safe. We don’t want that, in the enthusiasm of the tourism industry in the state with people starting to visit certain locations, we put aside the safety aspects and dangers that may occur,” he said.
Almost the entire Taman Eko Rimba Jeram Toi area, including facilities such as offices, prayer hall and toilets, were destroyed in the flood, and the structure of Sungai Toi has also widened with the water no longer clear due to the flood, so that the repair work in the area had to be postponed.
Saleh also said that JPNS is targeting the overall revenue collection, including through permits to enter HSK, and rentals amounting to RM10 million this year, compared with RM8 million collected last year.
— Bernama
