OBSERVACIÓN CRÍTICA TERMINADO
8. IMPLEMENTACIÓN DE PROPUESTAS
The pre-independence scenario had witnessed a vast amount of deforestation for the purpose of increasing the country’s revenues. Most forest areas had been explored for timber, new town development, rubber estates and mining activities. Hence Malaysia
39 See note 31 at 18. See also Eartquake Intensity in Malaysia, 25 July 2009 <http://www.met.gov.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=265&Itemid=367>
40Ai Chun, Yeng, “Temperatures May Go up by 3°C with El Nino Phenomenon”, The Star Online, 10 June 2009, 25 Aug 2009 <http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/6/10/nation/4084162&sec=nation>. See also Giri, C. et al., “Mangrove Forest Distributions and Dynamics (1975-2005) of the Tsunami-Affected Region of Asia”, Ed., Bowman, David, (2008) 35, Journal of
Biogeography 519-528.
Abdul Rahman Mahmud. “Menghadapi Fenomena El Nino”, Utusan Online 15 June 2009, 25 August 2009 <http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2009&dt=0615&pub=utusan_malaysia&sec=Rencana&pg=re_05.htm&arc=hive>. 41 B.K., Tan and W.H. Ting, “Some Case Studies on Debris Flow in Peninsular Malaysia”, Proceedings of the 2nd International
Conference on Geotechnical Engineering for Disaster Mitigation and Rehabilitation (GEDMAR08) at Nanjing, China, May 30-June 2, 2008. Eds. Liu, Hanlog, An Deng and Jian Chu, (Beijing and Berlin: Science Press Beijing and Springer Berlin Heidelberg,
2008), 231-235. 42
Dalam negeri, “Kemusnahan Bakau Boleh Bawa Bencana”, Utusan Online, 15 May 2008, 25 Aug. 2008 <http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2008&dt=0515&pub=utusan malaysia&sec=Dalam Negeri&pg=dn 09.htm&arc- hive>.
47 had lost quite a lot of its forest cover which was supposed to serve various functions benefiting humankind.
Forest is now being recognised as capable of carrying out multipurpose functions as compared to the past when it was seen only as a profitable instrument. The government introduced a new agenda for forestry when the amendment of the National Forestry Act 198443 (NFA) was passed. Under section 10 of the NFA, forests in Peninsular Malaysia have eleven functions listed from (a) to (k); among them are timber production under sustained yield, water catchment, education, research, federal purposes and others.44 This kind of effort is seen to be succeeding in viewing forests from a new perspective. At the very least, forest is seen as the most valuable green heritage that could be inherited by generations.
The role of forest as water catchment area is considered vital in the sense that about 20 million of Peninsular Malaysia’s residents are dependent on this natural resource, and it is significant to note that the fresh water from the watershed area (forests) has contributed 97% of all types of uses in Malaysia45. To sustain these natural resources, it is crucial to preserve and maintain forests. As at December 2006, there were 6 water catchment areas in Peninsular Malaysia: Tasik Pedu, Empangan Muda and Sungai Empangan, Sungai Perak in Kedah, Empangan Air Itam, Pulau Pinang, Tasik Kenyir in Terengganu and Empangan Sultan Iskandar in Perak.46 These areas have also been recognised as an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) in order to prevent any development that might later affect the function of forest as a water catchment area.47
43 Laws of Malaysia the National Forestry Act 1984 (Act 313). 44 Ibid.
45 Malaysia, Ministry of Primary Industries, Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, Forever Green, (Oxford University Press: Capital Communications, 1992), 8.
46
Jabatan Perhutanan Semenanjung Malaysia-Laman Web Rasmi JPSM, Kawasan Tadahan Air, 2006, 12 Mar. 2006 <http://www.forestry.gov.my/kawtadahanair.html>.
48 Recent water resource crises in Selangor and Malacca resulted from the decrease in the size of the forested area which has preserved this unique water catchment function for thousands of years.48 This indicates that uncontrolled development had affected the forested area; hence the public needs to bear the responsibility for sharing the water supply.
Research and amenity purposes were also introduced and included as new forest functions in the amendment in 1992 of the NFA 1984. The government felt that this function is crucial to ensure public participation in forests. Involving the public with forests will indirectly educate them about the significance and functions of forests, consequently helping to preserve and maintain the forest environment. Forest education normally involves schoolchildren and both urban and forest communities, where activities such as school camping, briefings and exhibition will be conducted for the public’s benefit. To date 125 recreational forests have been established in Peninsular Malaysia for the public to participate in learning about forests.49 For the purpose of education and research, the Selangor State Government in 1966 gave Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve an area of 1,248 ha.50
Besides the functions provided under section 10 of the NFA, there are also unique features that need to be highlighted. Forest provides clean air which derives from green plants and trees. These groups of trees provide a special service at no cost to clean the contaminated air. As mentioned earlier, forest’s function as a carbon sinker indeed explains the ability of forest to perform as a mechanism for refreshing the air. Although
48 Melati Mohd Ariff, A Shared Responsibility to Rectify Water Supply Issues, Bernama.com., 20 Jan. 2009, 23 Nov. 2009 < http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsfeatures.php?id=384799>.
49
Forestry Department Peninsular Malaysia, Forestry Statistics Peninsular Malaysia, (Kuala Lumpur: Jabatan Perhutanan Semenanjung Malaysia, 2006), 156.
50
Faculty of Forestry, University Putra Malaysia, Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve, 26 Nov. 2009 <http://www.forr.upm.edu.my/eng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=150&itemid=187>.
49 the depletion of forests is reported to reduce, it is nearly possible for the air to stay clean and fresh even though forest situation is in alarming rate.51 Nonetheless, relentless efforts must be made by the forest authorities and the public to ensure our air quality is at a healthy level.
Urbanisation has caused people to migrate from rural to urban areas. As a result, many hectares of forest area have been logged to make way for the developing residential areas. This can be clearly seen in the state of Penang, Selangor and Klang Valley. The Forestry Department has taken on the duty of planting green trees in response to public demand for trees to be planted in their area.52 This occurred as the brand new urban areas became the centre of attention; hence the numbers of residences and people started to rise whilst the temperature increased. It was only then that the residents began to realise that they needed trees to balance the rise in temperature. This scenario illustrates the importance of sustaining and properly managing the forests. Felling trees without limit will affect the quality of air and life.