Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) urges the Perak State Government to maintain and protect the forest and natural terrestrial environment (including mangrove forests) that still exist in Manjung district in order to maintain a balance between physical development and environmental conservation.
From time to time, the forested and natural environment areas in Manjung are decreasing at an alarming rate.
Based on the 1966 Land Use Map prepared by the Department of Agriculture, it was estimated that more than 60 percent of land use in Manjung district was forests and natural environment area but unfortunately, it has decreased to about 12 percent according to the land use stated in the Manjung district Local Plan 2030 (RTD Manjung 2030).
A substantial decrease in forests and terrestrial natural environments can significantly affect the surrounding ecosystem of Manjung and this will have an impact on the environment, socio- and micro-economy.
In fact, according to SAM’s research based on the journals and reports of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks of Peninsular Malaysia (PERHILITAN), what is interesting is that there were elephants and their habitat in Manjung till the mid-1990s.
But, all of the remaining elephants in Manjung were transferred to the Royal Belum State Park, as their natural habitat and roaming areas were converted and developed for large-scale agricultural purposes.
In order to ensure that the forest and natural environment that still exists in Manjung district are maintained and protected, SAM has proposed to the State Government to:-
- Gazette the turtle landing site at Pantai Pasir Panjang, Segari as Protected Area (PA);
- Gazette the nearby areas of the turtle landing site in Pantai Pasir Panjang, Segari on state land as Permanent Reserved Forest (PFR), as part of the proposed Tanjung Hantu Forest Reserve (HS Tanjung Hantu);
- Gazette the mangrove forests that still exist in Manjung district as PFR;
- Amend the Land Use Zone of Kawasan Perancangan Kecil Blok 4.9, RTD Manjung 2030 (Quarry/Quarry-Based Industry Zone to Forest Zone); and
- Not to approve the application for 122 hectares of a proposed quarry project in parts of Compartments 19, 20 and 21, in the Segari Melintang Forest Reserve (HS Segari Melintang).
SAM’s call was presented during participation as a panelist in a public forum on ‘Manjung Green Initiative’ – Towards Environmental Conservation in Manjung district on 5th March 2022 which was organised by the Persatuan Aktivis Sahabat Alam (KUASA).
The panelists of the forum were Meor Razak bin Meor Abdul Rahman from SAM; Mohamed Shah Redza bin Hussein, Director of Perak State Park Corporation and Ibrahim bin Ngah Ahmad, Secretary, Persatuan Sahabat Ekologi Perak.
