Green Party Malaysia has called on the Selangor government to take responsibility for the many weaknesses in the management of State Forest Reserves as highlighted in the Auditor-General’s Report.
“The Green Party would like to propose to the Selangor government to appoint some senior environmental NGO figures to form a special committee as a forest reserve ombudsman in Selangor.
“We believe that the 76 permanent forest reserves should be monitored by the State Forestry Department, the state government, and environmental NGOs.
“This will ensure that they are protected and maintained for future generations in line with the recommendation of His Majesty the sultan of Selangor, who suggested that the Raja Muda of Selangor, Tengku Amir Shah, be involved in monitoring and multiplying efforts to maintain the green environment of Selangor by targeting the planting of 11 million trees by 2026,” said Green Party secretary Abdul Razak Ismail in a statement today.
This came after the Auditor-General’s Report 2021 Series 2 on the Special Audit of Forest Management and Environmental Impact found weaknesses in the management of 40 out of the 76 permanent forest reserves in Selangor.
They have a combined area of 250,250.33ha within the state.
In a statement on Tuesday, the National Audit Department said the report revealed that there had been no work done on measuring and marking the outer boundary of the forests.
“We are also disappointed with the role of the Selangor State Forestry Department (JPNS), which is considered to be the ‘guardian of the forest’, but has been negligent to the extent of having 40 cases of illegal exploration in the forest reserves.
“This involves agricultural activities, settlements, infrastructure, as well as animal husbandry, which should be under the regulation of JPNS.
“The Green Party is also very disappointed with the JPNS and the state government for failing to inform the people of Selangor about the proposal to de-gazettement of seven permanent forest reserve areas as per the report,” Razak added.
The report also disclosed that 40 cases of illegal land clearing were recorded involving an area of 3,537.01ha, namely for agricultural activities (3,356.67ha), settlement and infrastructure (146.08ha), and animal husbandry (34.26ha).
“This raises the concern of stakeholders that the state government will only announce the de-gazettement quietly and ‘retrospectively’, such as the case of Bukit Cherakah Forest Reserve, where the state government was dragged to the Court of Appeal in March by two environmental NGOs,” said Razak.
Delay in re-gazettement
The Green Party also chided the authorities for failing to register and gazette nine new forest areas as permanent reserves involving an area of 106,754.66ha, which has dragged on for up to seven years after being approved by the state council.
“The same delay occurred to the ‘re-gazettement’ of the Kuala Langat Utara Forest Reserve after the state government cancelled plans to develop it in September 2021 due to the intervention of the Pakatan Harapan leadership, strong objections from the Orang Asli community, NGOs, and concerned communities.
“It has been more than a year and the state government has not yet re-gazetted that area.
“The Green Party also received information that the forest reserve has been encroached upon by pipe installation works, which have damaged some areas inside the forest,” Razak said.
The party also took aim at the state government and the JPNS for failing to monitor EIA non-compliance by quarries in the Bukit Lagong Forest Reserve and several other quarries.
This included oil storage containers being placed in open areas, scheduled waste not being properly managed, the impact of open burning on quarry sites, and unsatisfactory water and air quality. - Mkini
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