Give RM1bil incentive to each state to protect forests, govt told

 

The Selangor government had come under criticism for development at the Bukit Cherakah forest reserve.

PETALING JAYA: An environmental group has urged the Pakatan Harapan-led federal government to allocate at least RM1 billion to each state government as an incentive against degazetting forest reserves.

Under environmental protection in PH’s election manifesto, the coalition had pledged to allocate up to RM1 billion in “forest financing” for state governments not to degazette their forest reserves.

The Green Party Malaysia (GPM) said it was shocked to find the Negeri Sembilan forestry department advertising logging activities at a forest reserve in a newspaper recently.

Its pro tem secretary, Abdul Razak Ismail, also expressed concern over the Selangor government’s plans to implement development projects at six locations in forests, which comprised forest reserves and state- or private-owned forests.

He claimed that these projects were deemed “dangerous” as they could destroy the natural ecosystem and animal habitat.

Razak, who is the former secretary of the pro-Anwar Ibrahim group Otai Reformis 1998, urged Putrajaya to take proactive action and declare a climate emergency to prepare for environment destruction caused by climate change.

He also said GPM was applying for registration as a political party with the Registrar of Societies.

Selangor had courted controversy over the degazettement of parts of the Bukit Cherakah forest reserve, which menteri besar Amirudin Shari said was necessary to avoid legal action by companies with interests there.

When he was still with Otai Reformis, Razak had urged Anwar to pay more attention to the management of Selangor’s forests, warning that failure to do so could further affect PH’s reputation in the state. - FMT