Selangor proposes 120km trail across central forest spine

 

Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari says they will control the number of tourists entering the trail as it will have a direct impact on the forest ecosystem. (Central Forest Spine pic)

SHAH ALAM: The Selangor government plans to create a 120km-long trail across the Central Forest Spine, from Hulu Selangor to Hulu Langat, as a new tourist attraction in the state.

Bernama reported Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari as saying the state would control the number of tourists entering the trail as it will have a direct impact on the forest ecosystem.

Amirudin warned that allowing too many people to enter the forest would lead to issues such as littering and could hinder efforts to conserve the area.

He said that the Selangor forestry department would facilitate the registration and control of entry into the area, noting how entry to the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) in Selayang is being done through the use of a phone app.

He said the department will collaborate with Telekom Malaysia to develop software to monitor activities in the forest.

He was speaking to reporters during the launch of the Selangor Royal Heritage Forest by the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah

The Selangor Royal Heritage Forest, which spans 108,000 hectares, is made up of 26 permanent forest reserves along the Central Forest Spine, from Hulu Langat to Hulu Selangor.

In March, Sultan Sharafuddin ordered the state government to continue preserving the state’s 108,000ha of forest reserves.

In a Bernama report, the Selangor ruler said the state government should extend the 25-year logging moratorium on permanent forest reserves. The moratorium started in 2009. - FMT