Tasik Chini: 80 per cent of area restored, says MB

KUANTAN: Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail on Tuesday (Aug 2) said restoration of the Tasik Chini area in Pekan has been smooth, with 80 per cent of it having been rehabilitated.

Wan Rosdy who visited the area two weeks ago, said the state government was committed and striving to ensure that the status of Tasik Chini, recognised by Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) as a biosphere reserve in 2009 would be in perpetuity.

Among the actions taken to rehabilitate the affected lake and its surrounding area due to mining and logging activities has been the gazetting of this government land as Chini Forest Reserve based on Section 7 of the National Forestry Act 1984.

Wan Rosdy said Tasik Chini had been gazetted as a forest reserve of 6,502.80 hectares and this was publicised via a government gazette dated Aug 5, 2021.

"Greening effort has been undertaken by growing ground-cover plants at the 200-hectare area at a cost of RM3.95mil starting last year, using an allocation from the Forest Development Trust Fund

"The erosion and sediment control project at the Tasik Chini buffer zone of 1.75 kilometres long and costing RM2.5mil had been completed by last June 22 through the Joint Rehabilitation Fund with the project implementation by the Pahang Drainage and Irrigation Department.”

Wan Rosdy said this to a supplementary question from Lee Chean Chung (PH-Semamu) at the State Legislative Assembly sitting, here, on Tuesday on measures taken by the state government to rehabilitate Tasik Chini until Sept 30 for it not to lose its biosphere status.

He also said that the rehabilitation process of the lake that had been associated with a mythical dragon legend, also involved the Orang Asli living in the area through implementation of the 'Buy Back Guarantee' programme which had so far involved 14 participants from Kampung Gumum, Kampung Cendahan, Kampung Puput and Kampung Melai.

"Through this programme, the participants are provided with basic facilities for the plant nurseries and are allowed to collect and plant the seeds and saplings from the nearby forest.

"Each plant that reaches three feet high will be bought by the Pahang Forestry Department at RM3 each and so far, 3,344 plants have been bought,” he added.

Wan Rosdy also said that the tree planting campaign was carried out last Feb 5 and 6 Feb involving about 3,000 saplings and 400 participants including villagers and 25 non-governmental organisations in rehabilitating Tasik Chini and its surrounding area.- Bernama