Area of forest reserves has increased, theft of mangrove wood & dissapearing islands incorrect

SHAH ALAM, 3 Sept: The State Government denies the report issued by a tabloid newspaper yesterday on the alleged theft of mangrove wood which is becoming serious in Selangor.

The acting Executive Councillor in charge of the Environment, Sallehin Mukhyi, said that the State Government is always committed in preserving and conserving the forests reserves and the environment for the survival of the ecosystem which is the mainstay of sustainable living.

He said that the State Government imports mangrove wood from outside to meet the high demand in addition to carrying out efforts to monitor and conserve the mangrove forests with regular patrolling.

“About the allegation that 200,000 mangrove trunks worth RM2 million is stolen every month, the Forest Department informed that the claim in not true because that amount only means that 1,800 hectares of mangrove forests have been cleared when in reality that has not happened,” he said during a press conference after the Exco meeting today.

Yesterday, a Malay-language tabloid newspaper claimed that there has been mangrove wood theft in Selangor which is expected to make six islands in the state vanish.

“The process of erosion and reclamation is a natural process in coastal areas and this process is closely related to the natural ‘cut and fill’ method.

“The reclamation of sea sand produces new land called ‘mudflat’ like what happened at the Pulau Ketam Reserve Forest, the Pulau Tengah Reserve Forest and the Pulau Cek Mat Zin Reserve Forest.

“This information proves that the report by the newspaper that the islands in Selangor will disappear due to erosion caused by waves is impossible and inaccurate,” he added.

Permanent forests reserves in Selangor increased from 15,090 hectares to 18,998 hectares in 2009 including the Pulau Ketam Forest Reserve area which was gazetted as a permanent forest reserve on May 6, 2009, with an area of 2,365 hectares, which was originally government land.

Since 2010 until now, the State Forestry Department, has not issued any gazetting out of mangrove permanent reserve forests, meaning that the cutting of mangrove trees are not accurate at all.