Penang Hill's Unesco application may take one to two years to be approved, says Corp

GEORGE TOWN: It will take between one and two years for Penang Hill and its surrounding areas to be recognised as a Unesco biosphere reserve, says Datuk Cheok Lay Leng.

The Penang Hill Corporation general manager said his team started the whole Unesco biosphere reserve application process about three to four years ago.

“We completed the first version in 2017 and subsequently, we missed the deadline for submission because we had to go through a long process of approval.

“There are many agencies that need to sign and have to be approved by the Water, Land and Natural Resources Ministry before we can submit to Unesco.

He said that in recent months, the corporation has managed to get it through the whole process and the ministry has signed the application.

“The ministry will have to submit the application to the Malaysian National Commission for UNESCO (MNCU), ” he told reporters at the Hillside Retreat Bungalow launching ceremony at Penang Hill on Saturday (Sept 19).

Cheok added that the corporation had met the deadline for submission, which is at the end of September.

“We have to wait now. It may take one to two years and the experts from Unesco may come and visit Penang Hill and then we will take it from there.

“The area is about 12,480 hectares covering Penang Hill as a central park, Teluk Bahang National Park and Marine Park, as well as Penang Botanic Gardens, ” he said.

He said the wait could take longer, as Unesco might not be able to send anybody to look at Penang Hill immediately due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We will be following up very closely to speed up the process, ” he said.

According to the Unesco website, biosphere reserves are areas comprising terrestrial, marine and coastal ecosystems.

Each reserve promotes solutions reconciling the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use.

At present, Unesco’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves lists 701 in 124 countries, including 21 transboundary sites.

Malaysia has two biosphere reserves – Tasik Chini and the Crocker Range.

Unesco biosphere reserve is recognised by how human and economic activities can coexist with nature.