DEGAZETTING A FOREST
RESERVE 'CAN TAKE YEARS'
• B Y K U R N I A W A T I K A M A R U D I N & S A K I N I M O H A D S A I D
The Selangor government's proposal to degazette the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve for development has caused much consternation among nature lovers and environmental health specialists who are concerned about the dwindling size of Malaysia's peat swamp forests. This article delves into what the Selangor Forestry Department has to say about the issue.
W h i l e t h e f a t e o f t h e >Kuala L a n g a t N o r t h F o r e s t Reserve (KLNFR) is hanging by a thread, those o p p o s e d t o its p r o p o s e d d e g a z e t t e m e n t can take heart in t h e k n o w l e d g e t h a t t h e process o f w i t h d r a w i n g t h e p r o t e c t e d status o f a f o r e s t reserve " c a n take years" t o c o m p l e t e .
A s S e l a n g o r F o r e s t r y Department (JPNS) director Datuk Ahmad Fadzil Abdul Majid puts it, it is not that easy t o degazette a permanent forest reserve (HSK).
Reiterating this point during an exclusive interview with Bernama at his office here recently, he said:
"That's t h e reality ... due t o the difficulties involved, degazettement processes (of HSK) in the past have taken years."
One of the main reasons for the time-consuming process is meeting the criteria for degazetting a forest reserve, t h e most i m p o r t a n t of w h i c h is securing tracts, of land o f equivalent or higher value t o replace t h e one e a r m a r k e d f o r degazettement, as required under Section 12 of the National Forestry Act 1984.
Under the current circumstances in Selangor, f i n d i n g a s u i t a b l e replacement for a HSK that is facing degazettement is not an easy task due t o the limited availability of land in the state> as well as t h e Selangor government's unwavering c o m m i t m e n t t o p r o t e c t i n g its natural resources and ensuring that the total land area designated as HSK is maintained at not less than 30 percent.
KLNFR, w h i c h is l o c a t e d in Mukim Tanjung 12 in Kuala Langat d i s t r i c t , Selangor, c a m e u n d e r scrutiny when JPNS issued a notice early last year t o secure p u b l i c views on a proposal by the state g o v e r n m e n t t o d e g a z e t t e t h e forest reserve. However, t o date, no decision has been made on the
THE degazettement process can take years as one of the main reason is meeting the criteria, the most important of which is securing tracts of land of equivalent or higher value to replace the one earmarked for degazettement, as required under Section 12 of the National Forestry Act 1984. Photo: Bernama
proposal.
KLNFR used t o spVead.over 7,246.96 hectares of land. Today, only 957.63 hectares are left, out of which the state government hopes t o degazette 931.17 hectares as per its proposal for development purposes.
N o t o n l y are e n v i r o n m e n t a l non-governmental agencies and the local communities living on the fringes of KLNFR dead set against t h e p r o p o s a l t o d e g a z e t t e t h e valuable forest tract, even federal government agencies such as the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and Forest Research Institute of Malaysia are opposing it.
Apart f r o m that, the Selangor State Legislative Assembly passed a resolution last year urging t h e state government t o protect the status of its forests g a z e t t e d as f o r e s t reserves. The r e s o l u t i o n received the unanimous support of the assembly members from b o t h sides of the political divide.
M u s t be replaced
"I want t o make it clear... it'snot easy t o degazette an HSK. Getting approval (for the degazettement) is not something that can be done within the snap of a finger. This
is because it has t o g o t h r o u g h various processes and studies also have t o be done. This is why it can take years," Ahmad Fadzil said.
He a l s o s t r e s s e d t h a t t h e d e g a z e t t e m e n t of an HSK w i l l n o t p r o c e e d if t h e a u t h o r i t i e s concerned are not able t o replace it with another tract of land.
"The process of w i t h d r a w i n g an HSK s forest reserve status and replacing it with land of equivalent
•size or m o r e has to, b e d o n e simultaneously.
"For example, if a 100-hectare HSK is g o i n g t o be degazetted, t h e n it has t o be replaced w i t h a n o t h e r t r a c t m e a s u r i n g 1 0 0 hectares or more," he added.
He also said that JPNS w o u l d oppose any proposal t o degazette an HSK if there is no strong basis for it and if it lacks socio-economic benefits.
" I n f a c t , w e are c o n s t a n t l y working t o expand the size of our existing HSK," he said.
Due t o the difficulty in meeting the criteria, only three tracts of HSK have been degazetted in Selangor over the last decade, comprising B u k i t L a g o n g F o r e s t Reserve (3.164 hectares), Ulu G o m b a k Forest Reserve (20.03 hectares) and Rantau Panjang Forest Reserve 41.589 hectares).
The withdrawal of forest reserve status f r o m these t h r e e t r a c t s , however, did not impact the state's 30 percent forest reserve policy.
As of April this year, Selangor had a b o u t 250,000 hectares of forests designated as HSK as part of its sustainable forest management policy t o p r o t e c t its e c o n o m i c , social and environmental interests.
S e l a n g o r ' s p e r m a n e n t f o r e s t reserves comprise 31 percent of the state's total land area, which is above its 30 percent target.
There are 71 HSK in Selangor consisting of three types of forests, namely terrestrial forest (142,156 hectares), marine swamp forest (18,998 hectares) and peat swamp forest (82,890 hectares).
KLNFR not e x e m p t e d
Referring t o KLNFR, A h m a d Fadzil said the state government had, at a state executive council meeting on Oct 16,2019, approved an area o f 9 3 1 . 1 7 h e c t a r e s o f KLNFR for land acquisition under Section 76 of the National Land Code 1965.
A c c o r d i n g t o t h e s t a t e government, the proposed change in status of the forest reserve was in line with Section 11 (b) of the National Forestry A c t (Adoption)
Enactment 1985 which stipulates that t h e state " m a y remove any land area within a permanent forest reserve if it is satisfied that the land is needed for economic use higher than the current use".
H o w e v e r , as A h m a d F a d z i l pointed out several times during t h e interview with Bernama, the state government w o u l d have t o replace the land area it seeks t o w i t h d r a w f r o m KLNFR, as is t h e case with any HSK.
He also said that Selangor cannot degazette an HSK without getting the feedback of the public.
"Selangor is t h e first state t o enforce a ruling requiring public participation in matters concerning its f o r e s t r e s e r v e s , i n c l u d i n g degazetting them," he said, adding that the ruling came about following an a m e n d m e n t t o Section 11 of the National Forestry A c t (Adoption) Enactment in 2011.
"This clearly shows t h a t t h e Selangor government is committed t o p r o t e c t i n g i t s n a t i o n a l treasures."
Even Selangor M e n t e r i Besar D a t u k Seri A m i r u d i n Shari has asserted t h a t he has no wish t o be an M B u n d e r w h o s e t e n u r e Selangor's forests have dwindled in size.
N o t high-quality species
' T h e s t a t e g o v e r n m e n t has p r o p o s e d t o replace t h e area it intends t o d e g a z e t t e in KLNFR with t w o tracts in Sabak Bernam district — Sungai Panjang (308.62 hectares),and Sungai Panjang 2 (606.88 hectares) — and one in Kuala Selangor d i s t r i c t , Sungai Kuala Selangor (261.81 hectares).
Interestingly, t h e peat forests t o u t e d t o replace KLNFR are said t o be of better quality. N o t only that, t h e p o t e n t i a l g a z e t t e m e n t of the Sungai Panjang tract as a forest reserve will enable it t o be m e r g e d w i t h t h e e x i s t i n g Raja Musa Forest Reserve, thus creating yt h e largest peat forest in Peninsular . Malaysia.
On the quality of KLNFR, Ahmad Fadzil admitted that 40 percent of the forest has degraded in quality due t o encroachments and fires.
" H e r e , d e g r a d e d means t h e f o r e s t is p o o r in t e r m s o f t h e diversity of its species. It means in a one-hectare area, only five or six big trees and t w o or three species can be found.
" A normal forest w o u l d have h u n d r e d s o f s p e c i e s ( t h r i v i n g ) in an area of the same size," he explained.
W h i l e he a c k n o w l e d g e d t h a t e f f o r t s w e r e b e i n g m a d e b y NGOs and the local communities t o r e h a b i l i t a t e p a r t s of KLNFR i m p a c t e d by fires, he said t h e replanted trees belonged to species that grew fast and were g o o d for greening purposes. - Bernama
