Kuala Krau forest to be a bio-valley

TEMERLOH: Pahang has gazetted 76,000ha of the Kuala Krau Forest Reserve near Lanchang as the state bio-valley.

Logging would be prohibited in the area, said state Information, Innovation, Science and Tech­nology Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Sharkar Sham­suddin.

With the move, he said any encroachment, felling of trees and poaching would banned in the 1,000-year-old forest.

“The forest is rich with wildlife such as rhinoceros, deer, antelope, napuh and wild ox,” he told reporters after attending the Biodiversity Goodwill Programme hosted by the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) in Bukit Rengit, Lanchang, yesterday.

Mohd Sharkar, who is also Lanchang assemblyman, said the state government was also planning to turn Lanchang into a natural food production centre with a honey processing factory and a mineral water plant being earmarked for the area.

“Lanchang has enough resources for the production of honey and mineral water. The projects will not only be a source of income for the local community but also the state government,” he said. — Bernama