Penang government has identified a total of 449.12ha of peat swamp forests in the island’s southwest district to be gazetted as permanent nature reserves under the National Forestry Act 1984.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said this was in line with the state’s objective under the Penang Green Agenda 2030.
Part of this agenda is for the state to identify potential peat swamp forests, covering at least 655.2ha, to be gazetted as permanent reserves.
“These efforts are being taken to complement the state’s vision of becoming a sponge city that prioritises environmental protection and sustainable resource management,” said Chow.
The Padang Kota assemblyman was speaking during the tabling of the Penang 2025 Budget at the Penang State Assembly sitting at the State Legislative Assembly building in George Town.
State publisher Buletin Mutiara reported on Chow’s explanation of the Penang government’s aim of transforming the rapidly developing state into an urban area rich in natural features that could absorb water during floods.
Chow further said that the Penang Structure Plan 2030 focused on two areas, namely identifying potential forest reserves and peat swamp forests.
This is part of the state government’s ongoing efforts to preserve the forest ecosystem and ensure environmental sustainability.
Chow also highlighted that Penang has a total of 7,245.25ha of forested land.
Of this, 6,063.25ha are designated as permanent forest reserves while the remaining 1,182ha make up the Penang National Park.
“The area of permanent forest reserves in Penang has increased by 18.8% since 2019 – from 5,100.93ha in 2019 to 6,063.25ha in 2024,” said Chow.
Given Penang’s increased permanent forest reserves, the Federal Government has distributed RM5.2mil to the state under the Ecological Fiscal Transfer for Biodiversity as of November this year.
