Park Plan Needs New Boost
By Angela Hijjas
THE gazetting of the Royal Belum State Park in Perak on May 3 was a milestone for conservation organisations and Malaysians who value our natural heritage.
The Malaysian Nature Society has campaigned for the protection of Belum Park for many years, but as logging continues in surrounding forest reserves, I am concerned about the loss of contiguity of our forests and the ever growing threat of climate change.
The fragmentation of our northern hill forests will severely compromise the effective functioning of forest services.
Logging and erosion will damage the structure of the forest.
The rivers will silt up Tenaga Nasional’s hydro and irrigation dams, giving them a considerably shorter lifespan than planned.
The Perak government is to be congratulated on protecting Belum Park.
But for the security of our forests, the services they provide and all the biodiversity they contain, we need to protect a much bigger area than just Belum Park.
The federal government has produced a national physical plan that clearly demarcates important areas that need to be protected, including the Temenggor Forest Reserve just to the south of Belum Park.
The federal government earmarked it as an important water catchment and reservoir of biodiversity.
Now that Perak has committed 117,500 hectares of Belum for a state park, I believe the federal government should commit to its ideals by rewarding Perak, by enabling them to protect an additional area to show its support for state governments that are prepared to set aside valuable logging sites for posterity.
The federal government needs to create a financial mechanism to equal what Perak and other states have set aside for conservation.
A financial incentive from the federal government that would be used to protect an equivalent additional area, another 117,500 hectares, adjacent to Belum would show that the federal government supports states like Perak that commit to conservation.
The nation would be assured of a state park double the current size, and this just might be large enough to support the few tigers and perhaps rhinoceroses that remain in these pristine forests.
Development is not just about logging, pipelines and buildings; development is about preserving our irreplaceable natural resources that literally form the backbone of Malaysia.
Land is a state matter, and Perak is to be commended for protecting Belum Park. But the federal government must play its part so that our development is balanced and sustainable.
ANGELA HIJJAS
Kuang, Selangor
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